Strange Thoughts

Trying something new

2010-09-28T10:30:00.000-04:00

Today I have decided to dive into Garageband. I like it but now I want to get Logic. This sound thing is starting to get under my skin in a big way.

Grandma Jenkins UNCENSORED from TalkTones

2010-09-03T16:10:00.000-04:00

And here for your viewing pleasure. Talk Tones. 15 all together but this one is my favorite. It's so dirty.

work work work

2010-08-28T07:31:00.000-04:00

Well it has been a fun couple of weeks so far.

I am in Ottawa for the next couple of weeks doing a consulting gig for a start up game studio. At the same time I did post on a series of 15 shorts for an ad campaign. Made for a long week last week but very rewarding all around.
The game studio is really cool and doing some very innovative stuff. I feel proud to be part of it.
The videos were great fun to work on as well. It sucks when these things overlap mind you. This was a 110 hour week!

I hope to be able to link to the work at some point.

One of those weeks.

2010-08-04T12:57:00.000-04:00

Feeling a little down in the dumps. The bottom end of the manic phase I think....

Trying to focus my manic energy on doing something creative.

Maybe it has something to do with sun spots.. Or just Wednesdays...

Casual Connect

2010-07-29T10:42:00.000-04:00

A personal opinion

I spent last week in the wonderful city of Seattle for the Casual Connect conference.

It was my first time going. I tried to keep my wonder lust to a minimum and just experience the talks and people as best I could.

It was quite the mix of excited hope for the future of the social game space and the fear that the social game bubble has burst.

If you only listened to the big players in the space then you would have walked away feeling somewhat disheartened that the future of social games has been locked up and that there was little point in even trying to get into this market. Companies like Zynga and Playdom had some discussions about what they expect to happen in the coming months. The words “Viral is dead” were thrown around a lot as well as it is all about “retention of players” now. I would agree that this would be the case for studios that have seen massive growth in this area for the past couple of years. When you start a game with a small team and a few players then balloon to 80+ million players in a year, only to see 20 million leave in a couple of months, you are going to want to focus your future on keeping everyone you can.

I see companies falling into the Hollywood model of success. The big folks don’t want to take the risk of coming up with something completely new and having it fail. They have too much to lose, at least that may be what they are thinking. When we see a hit movie come up and make loads of cash there follows a rash of copycats and similar films that try to capitalize on the success on the original. This works well enough and has been a model for games as well over the years, either through sequels or similar types of games. How many “Ville” games are out there now? I wouldn’t consider this a bad thing. What can be bad is when companies feel there is no room for risk taking at all and if you believed the discussions at Casual Connect, this seemed to be the case.

I still think there is room for small studios to make an impact in this space. You may not get to be as big as some of the others but if you focus on creating something that people will want to play then even a couple of million players can give you a return on investment.

Paying attention to the lessons of the past is a good place to start. Entertainment has evolved quite a lot over the years. TV shows, movies and games that we enjoyed, as kids don’t always hold up to our memories. Technology plays a role in this. So does our collective desire to be surprised by what we see or play. Creatively we are always trying to push to the edge of what is enjoyable. Sometimes it can be too extreme and other times too familiar to be seen as a true hit. In TV, Lost and 24 have changed how we are entertained and have spawned a large number of similar styles of story construction. In film The Blair Witch Project helped change our perception of what made a good film, (I’m not a fan but I can see how it affected the industry), I suspect that JJ. Abrams film Cloverfield owes some its success to that earlier film.

Casual games are still very much in their infancy and I think evolving much faster than other forms of entertainment. Its growth, in many ways, is unlike any other before. Its evolution will most likely be as fast.

I live in excited hope for what ever comes next!

Imaginary world

2010-07-25T07:43:00.000-04:00

Is a very detailed place in my house. My three Daughters have made a very complex world indeed. A summer camp for dolls that my youngest has made now includes special badges for various achievements.

1. First day badge for, you know, the first day. Plus it has the camp maskot on it.
2. First night badge. Get this when you successfully sleep at camp for the first time.
3. First day at camp in winter badge. Pretty self explanatory.
4. One week without help,(the independence badge). A good badge to have!
5. "5th badge", badge. Given to you after the fourth badge. This one was explained to me with a very serious face. It is my favorite badge ever.

8 bit Canada day

2010-07-03T08:50:00.002-04:00

8 Bit Fireworks from Rob Anderson on Vimeo.

Dive right in

2010-06-23T07:02:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, after a couple of months of telling myself that I really didn't have enough time to try or that I really wasn't smart enough, I decided to say F**k it and dive into the deep end. If I fail, so be it.

I have given myself 30 days (give or take a day) to learn Action Script 3. The code language for Flash.

There are a few people that have inspired me to give it a try. The most influential being Shane Neville of Ninja Robot Dinosaur and Andy Moore of Steambirds fame.

Shane has collected an amazing list of resources to get started. He went down this road a while ago and is living his dream!
Yesterday I did lesson 1 of AS3 101 from his list. I feel like I got it and did have the lesson completed in a couple of hours without too much problem. Today I will do a quick review of what I did and move on to number 2. I must spend no less than 2 hours a day-no matter what-doing a lesson of some sort.
I don't expect to become some sort of code guru by the end of the month but I do hope to be able to get immersed in the language of flash game making. I know the language of film pretty well, or at least I like to think I do, so knowing the game language from the ground up only makes sense to me.
If you can immerse yourself into a process so that it can become intuitive then innovation and creativity can be released.

Jump!

Post Jalloo

2010-06-21T08:10:00.000-04:00

That was a fun week.
I tried to post while the conference was going on but realized quite quickly that I didn't even have enough time to sleep.

Some highlights for me was going to the State of the game industry panel. Listening to knowledgeable folks talking about Flash games in particular was great!
I was also asked by Canadian Animation Resources ( Mike Valiquette )to jump in on the panel about animation in Canada. It was a well received panel!

The Wednesday night party was fun as always with a huge lobster feed. I didn't eat as many this year as last but had a good feed regardless.

I was involved in a 24 hour game jam where I was able to help create a flash game with Gene Fowler, Andy Moore and Steph Arseneaul. The four of us had a great time! We put up the game on Flash Game License to see if someone would buy it. I will let you know if it happens!

This was only the third year for the festival. I love being in on the start of little things like this. Every year they find excellent speakers and bring it up a notch with content from across the country. I expect that this will become a major event in the next couple of years. There really isn't anything else like it in the Atlantic Provinces and it is a well put together show.

I am inspired to do great things this week!

Jalloo

2010-06-16T10:33:00.001-04:00

First day of the Jalloo festival here in town.
I am having a good time meeting new folks and touching base with old friends!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Trying something out

2010-06-16T06:06:00.003-04:00

Trying out the new Blogger templates that are available. Tell me what you think?

A good day

2010-05-28T13:07:00.000-04:00

That is all I have to say.

Content is King?

2010-05-06T06:21:00.000-04:00

Or: I don’t think he is wearing any clothes.

I hear this term used a lot in regards to Animation shows. Usually in terms of what makes a good show. I have long felt that A; I never really understood it and B; I felt it was being used incorrectly so I decided to try and do a bit of digging on the interweb. All I could find was a reference to an article that Bill Gates wrote back in 1996. Here is a brief article on it. His opinion was focused mainly on web sites and how he saw them being able to make money as content creators. According to the linked article he was wrong. Of course at the time the Internet was a much different space but I digress. How does the term apply to an animated TV show?
The dictionary describes the word content as such:

content 2 |ˈkänˌtent| |ˈkɑntɛnt| |ˈkɒntɛnt|
noun
1 (usu. contents) the things that are held or included in something : he unscrewed the top of the flask and drank the contents | he picked up the correspondence and scanned the contents.
• [usu. in sing. ] the amount of a particular constituent occurring in a substance : milk with a low-fat content.
• ( contents or table of contents) a list of the titles of chapters or sections contained in a book or periodical : the contents page.
• information made available by a Web site or other electronic medium : online content providers.
2 the substance or material dealt with in a speech, literary work, etc., as distinct from its form or style : the outward form and precise content of the messages

So in its purest form it is what is in the package, the package in our case being the show. So what makes the content king in a show? That is a simple little phrase that has much to it. I like things like that! Being a science geek I like to try and boil down things to its very essence. If I was better at math I would have loved being a physicist. As simple as they sound Newton’s three laws still apply today. They sound very simple yet we can use them as the basis for figuring out the motion of objects in the heavens. I doubt that making cartoons would be harder than that! Or I could be wrong!

One of the most influential books I have ever read was called the 5 C’s of Cinematography. They are Camera angles, cutting, composition, close ups and continuity. These are only one aspect of the contents of a show but are very important. Other important elements should be seen as narrative structure and design. Narrative structure or story probably being the most important and most elusive part. This is all stuff that is taught in schools and are the fundamental laws of good shows. The difference in these laws versus Newton’s is that while you can’t break the laws of physics no matter how hard you try, you can and should break the laws of film. Doing so will allow you as the creator to explore areas that maybe no one has seen done before. In this way we get innovation. Take a look at shows like Ren and Stimpy or more recently Adventure Time. Both these shows follow the rules mentioned above but also have found ways to break them. Break them in ways that make them very popular.

There are many shows that defy my belief that good equals success. I guess it comes down to my view of good isn’t going to be the same as other folks. I spent many a year working on children’s shows that I wouldn’t watch or even let my kids watch but I have to admit they did something right. They followed the basic rules of good story telling and mostly the rules of good film language. I just didn’t like the contents of the package. Then again they weren’t made for me. For example, some non-cartoon shows that I loathe; BattleStar Galactica and Lost. Going into the details on why I don’t like them would take time and maybe best left to my blog. Although I don’t like them I can see how they follow the rules and break them in innovative ways.

I guess that in my round about and obtuse way of thinking, I have to conclude that as far as animation is concerned, content IS king. Or at least it should be!

Uprezed moon footage

2010-04-27T11:43:00.000-04:00

Apollo 11 Enhanced EVA Television from Mark Gray on Vimeo.

I was three when I saw this. I am so glad that there are folks keeping this footage alive!

Today Facebook, Tomorrow the World

2010-04-26T07:47:00.001-04:00

Today Facebook, Tomorrow the World

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Rule

2010-04-24T07:35:00.000-04:00

GDC Walkabout!

2010-03-26T16:31:00.002-04:00

GDC Walkabout from Rob Anderson on Vimeo.

Geek out time!

2010-03-25T13:12:00.000-04:00

I had a dream....

2010-03-24T12:44:00.000-04:00

It was so strange I had to share.

I was at a party. There were thousands of people at it. Although I recognized most of the faces that passed me by I didn’t know them very well. I wondered through in a haze trying to listen to conversations as I passed. Nothing new here other than I was completely naked.

People would notice me and look away uncomfortably or turn their nose up at me as I passed. I would try and strike up a conversation. Being naked seemed fine to me. I wasn’t uncomfortable in the least.

At some point I found a trench coat to wear. I suspect I was cold. Then I had an urge to go to the bathroom. When I got to the toilettes there was a huge lineup of guys standing around waiting to use them. Again conversations were flowing and I couldn’t get heard among the throng. After some time it looked as if the line up wasn’t going away. People were going to the urinals but the crowd wouldn’t thin out. I noticed there seemed to be another aisle around the corner. I got out of line, loosing my spot in the cue, and walked around the corner. There was an entire line of urinals that no one was using.

I went back to tell the others in line. They just looked at me with blank stares and continued on with their conversations. I turned and used the free urinal and then left. At which point I woke up feeling slightly confounded.

Not sure what my subconscious is trying to tell me here….

Some GDC pictures

2010-03-23T13:40:00.000-04:00

GDC was an absolute blast.

The view from the Hotel.

The world of video game making is one that I am learning more and more about with each passing day! I have fond memories as a 12 year old geek trying to write programs on the old TI 99. Much different now.

At least as far as processing power goes. While games have become far more complex in execution I find that the fundamentals of good game play probably has not changed since we first started throwing sticks.

Much of my time was spent in the Social games summits.
Much discussion was had about the growing influence of Facebook and other networks. These being realms where the idea of a virtual board game played amongst friends is becoming the next big thing.

Interesting fact: There are over 1.8 billion internet users around the globe. Only 400 million of these are on Facebook at the moment. But 50% of these play some form of social game on a weekly basis. That's 200 million players. Even the best selling console game is only a fraction of this number.
Of course game complexity and quality are not the same but the fundamental game concepts and mechanics can be very similar.

It was a profoundly informative trip as well as amazingly fun. I must go back next year and hopefully I will have a game or two under my belt as well.

The beginning of 3D

And some tourist pictures. Or pictures of tourists.

How Playing Games can save the world

2010-03-20T08:28:00.002-04:00

Sorry

2010-03-14T18:01:00.001-04:00

Sorry for the lack of updates
Wifi has been crappy and I have been too busy at the conference.
Expect a big post when I am back plus pictures

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Road trip!

2010-03-06T07:50:00.000-05:00

So I will be heading off to this little shindig in San Francisco for the week. I plan on taking some pictures and reams of notes. Oh I am also going to this one too.
I expect this to become a defining moment in my life. Then again every moment is a defining moment in ones life. I think that is a good attitude to carry ones self with.
While I have worked in Cartoons for most of my adult life I have been a gamer even longer. This week I shall attempt to marry these two sides of my self and become one with reality.

I will be with Peter all week. If you would like a photo taken with him just find me!

Tales from the front lines

2010-02-19T10:20:00.000-05:00

I find myself reflecting a lot lately on what I have done over the years and the experiences that I have gained through fun/hardship/stress/enjoyment of this industry.

I thought I would take some time to do some stream of consciousness writing on my experiences in the animation world.

This is not meant to be historically accurate in anyway but simply what I can remember while writing.

My first job in animation was with a company called Crawley Films in Ottawa. This was 1986. I was hired in the Ink and Paint department. In order to get the job I had to do a test to see if I could paint within the lines. Sounds kind of silly really but that was the gist of it. I guess I passed as I was hired the following day. I have some very fond memories of working there as well as many tales of stress and chaos. The lens of time has made these feel quite silly to me but at the time they were not so much fun.

I can’t remember the exact size of our department but I do remember that we were crammed into every available space that existed at the studio. There was people set up under the stairs, people in the hallway, long rows of flat desks surrounded with shelves that could house the multitude of cells that we had to work on. I remember a close and cramped world with the smell of bodies and paint with the loudness of headphones pouring out from all around me.

The walls and floor in our area was made only of particleboard in front of cinderblock. The heating system was wildly out of control and at one point we knocked a hole in the cinderblock wall to try and get more air in. In the middle of winter the temperature rose to above 100 degrees and we decided to hold a beach party in protest. Everyone showed up in bathing suits.

There was a room near us that housed all the old film cans from the years of production that Crawley’s had done. The temperature in there was even more than where we were and at one point we discovered there were canisters of Nitrate films in the hole. Nitrate is a chemical that used to be part of film stock. It was discontinued in the 30’s due to it being a massive fire hazard. Once ignited, nitrate creates its own oxygen and cannot be put out until it is entirely consumed. Even in a vacuum.

I sat across from a guy who was a very vocal bigot/homophobe and didn’t care who knew. I would always get into massively heated arguments with him which I think he enjoyed. I don’t think anybody else did.

We were on minimum wage, which at the time was; I think $3.80 an hour. We had a weekly quota that we had to meet and if memory serves was something like 200 cells a week. My wife and I (who was hired at the same time) would get out our Walkman and put on audio books that we got from the library. We would get into work around 8 and not leave till 5:30 – 6. We loved it. At some point there was a bonus system created for those that could do above quota. Quota, of course was increased but the incentive was an extra 50 cents a cell. Over a few weeks those that wanted to go balls out and paint as much as we could gravitated to one area and proceeded to make extra cash. This was not a big % of the people but enough that we were able to help meet deadlines. Of course the deadlines would constantly shorten from week to week and we started working longer and longer hours. At one point I started cranking out over 600 cells a week. My wife was even faster. I had my desk surrounded with shelves like a little fort. This was on a project called Yse the Magnificent. I am sure few people have heard of it since it was never completed.

To this day I don’t have the facts as to what happened. It was a co production and somewhere along the line money ran out and cash became scarce. Our checks started to bounce. People started to leave but many of us stayed. Not sure why other than personal pride. I remember there were a couple of people that threatened to go to the paper and start some investigations. At one point the studio owner showed up with, quite literally a couple of garbage bags full of cash to hand out to those in greatest need. Morale was low.

We fell behind in all departments. On a Thursday a second team was hired in ink and paint to try and make up time. Some 40 people I think. On the Friday they were all let go.

Despite what it may sound like I have very fond memories of all those that worked at the studio. I remember how personable everyone was in each department, as I would go around and learn more about what they did. Any chance I could I would find ways to do something else to help the show along. I loved the fact that everything was done in one place and the talent behind each job was incredible.

I can’t remember exactly how it all ended only that we stopped and the doors were locked. I was lucky in that I was only out about 2 paychecks worth of cash. Others were far worse off. This was my first taste of working in a studio environment. Bloodied, tired and depressed I immediately did the only sensible thing that I could think of. I applied for work at Hinton Studios. But that is a story for another time.

Know your role

2010-02-16T14:49:00.002-05:00

Or: Weren’t you supposed to take care of that?

I enjoy being a part of a small company. In a startup the roles that everyone plays can be very wide and fluid. An artist can do everything from board to final animation. You learn tons fast and get to have your fingers in as many pies as you can handle. What happens when you get involved in a large studio with 50 or more staff all working on the same project? Your ability to be flexible can still be an asset but if you are not careful it can also be a hindrance.

If joining a large studio for the first time take the effort to find out if there are standard job descriptions for each position. Read them and find out if there are any overlap areas based on the skills you know you have. Also pay attention to the positions that are directly connected to your own. Knowing what they do and what they need from you will go a long way in speeding up the process.

Sometimes the drawback can be how you interact with those around you. Don’t assume you know better. Learn how the team interacts with each other. Feel the personalities out. I am not trying to say find a way to fit in but try to find a way to work with the team that doesn’t make them want you gone. No one wants to work with a no it all even you are one! That was supposed to be funny by the way.

On a film set you might have upwards of 50 or more people that have to know exactly what their individual jobs are and exactly when they have to step up to do them. If not you have a very expensive day. You might have to shoot 3 pages of script or more a day, which can translate into half a dozen setups. That means setting up lights and dressing the set, getting the camera and actors prepped and a host of other things. It usually runs in a ten-hour day. Knowing your role here can save huge in both budget and time.

In animation the production cycle is much longer. There are most likely more people involved but the need to know your role is just as important. I find the big difference lies in how long it can take to realize a missed event or a mistake. On a film set it could be minutes or maybe a day. In animation it could be months before the impact is felt. Doesn’t make it any less important and potentially more expensive on a cartoon.

Ultimately knowing the role you are meant to play on a project will help you do your job better and reduce the chances of redundant work or missed processes. The larger the crew the more important this becomes. Don’t expect someone to be constantly telling you what to do. Be proactive and find out what you are supposed to do and then do it well!

Test

2010-02-14T12:05:00.001-05:00

Test

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Zen and the art of cartoon making

2010-02-08T13:23:00.000-05:00

Or: Wrong, do it again.

I have three daughters. They are all aspiring artists with different levels of talent, as you would expect from kids of different ages and mentalities. This past weekend we had an interesting debate around the dinner table. My oldest, (14) was concerned that we didn’t praise her art enough. She felt that when she brought us a drawing that we didn’t get as excited about it as she did. It sort of stunned us into contemplative silence for a moment. My first thought was, am I being harsh or non-committal when looking at my child’s work? Am I not giving praise or encouragement? Am only pointing out what was wrong and not what I liked? We discussed this at length and all agreed that this was not the case. We do praise their work. We do let them know what we feel is well done and we do discuss with them what may be done better and give them encouragement as to how to make things better. We also provide examples of other artist’s work and resources that may help them to evolve their own art.

What we don’t do is give false praise or misdirected feedback. Meaning that we don’t always simply say, “that is great” or “perfect”. We don’t take the easy way out with whatever our children bring to us for our input. That isn’t to say we do things like “that sucks, do it again”. No we don’t do that. We encourage their talents to grow and help them realize that getting something wrong isn’t bad it’s part of the process of learning. Diner was done and everyone went off to do his or her thing for the night.

It got me thinking though. Why do we, as adults, get so irate when we are given a revision to our work by our superiors or clients? Does this go back to our childhood desires to impress those we look up to? Are we looking for some form of validation as a being? Are those that give the revisions aware of how fragile our sense of self is when it comes to our art? Am I completely full of it and this is nowhere near the truth? Probably the latter….

One thing is certain; most peoples first gut reaction to a retake/revision is one of pure frustration. It may not show but it is there. I suspect it has much to do with the emotional involvement one gets when creating something and one feels that making a comment on the art is also a comment on the self. I know that I have felt it many times.

We work in an industry:

(noun ( pl. -tries)

1 economic activity concerned with the processing of raw materials and manufacture of goods in factories : the competitiveness of American industry.

• [with adj. ] a particular form or branch of economic or commercial activity : the car industry | the tourist industry.

• [with adj. ] informal an activity or domain in which a great deal of time or effort is expended : the Shakespeare industry.

2 hard work : the kitchen became a hive of industry.

Sometimes we forget what that means. Sometimes we forget that we are individuals with feelings that are doing the best that we feel we can but we as individuals can also forget that this a business that relies on consistencies of style and delivering a specific product in a certain amount of time. Truth can be subjective.

When getting a revision try to remember:

A. It isn’t personal

B. As far as the scope of the project you are on it isn’t up to the required level of completeness.

C. Don’t be afraid to get more information on how or why it is wrong.

D. Remember that you are dealing with a human being and all that entails.

E. Do it again.

When giving a revision:

A. Remember that you are dealing with a human being and all that entails.

B. Don’t just point out what is wrong. Give constructive input on how to make it better. If needed give examples.

C. “I have no time to explain” is not an excuse. You are supposed to be leading not complaining.

D. Ask yourself, “How would I feel getting this note?”

E. Never make it personal.

My all time favorite retake note was, “This does more to destroy than it does to create”. Needless to say this ended up on the wall for all to see. And laugh at.

In the final analysis I hope to never be the supervisor to one of my kids on a cartoon.

Bump in the night.

2010-02-02T07:38:00.000-05:00

Bump in the night.

Click on the link to find the game and download to play!

Last moments of the Global Game Jam!

2010-02-01T15:49:00.000-05:00

GGJ. Last hours of the race! from Rob Anderson on Vimeo.

GGJ the last breath almost

2010-02-01T08:46:00.000-05:00

We made it!
We got a playable version done in time for the deadline. As we got closer and closer we had to start ditching elements that we had planned for much like an old pirate ship being chased by the navy. Luckily the proverbial cannons didn't get tossed!
I will have a final video of the madcap craziness of the last 2 hours cut later and will post it as well.

GGJ the Zombie

2010-01-31T10:34:00.000-05:00

GGJ Zombie revealed! from Rob Anderson on Vimeo.

GGJ Day 3 and the last dash

2010-01-31T09:10:00.000-05:00

It has been a fun experience doing this jam. It is neat to see the kind of games everyone has come up with. A huge variety of styles and game play here in town and around the world.
It has been a great learning experience in trying to create something not only fast but (hopefully) interesting to play.
We now have slightly less than 5 hours to complete coding, animation and any last minute tweaks that might come up.
We decided at the start to make a flash game but also to add 3D elements to the world. It will be a stand alone swf to play.
We call it Bump in the night.
The guys on the team have all been top notch and have been willing to do what it takes to make it to the finish line.
Hats off to:
Brad Lamey: art, animation and level design
Martin Copp: programing and level design.
Patrick Ward: art and level design.
Ghislain Comeau. art and level design.

GGJ the A team

2010-01-30T18:42:00.000-05:00

GGJ The team from Rob Anderson on Vimeo.

Some day two goodness

2010-01-30T17:57:00.000-05:00

Midget Zombies from Rob Anderson on Vimeo.

GGJ testing from Rob Anderson on Vimeo.

GGJ first video

2010-01-30T17:51:00.002-05:00

Global Game Jam Miramichi! Day 1 from Rob Anderson on Vimeo.

Day 2 of GGJ

2010-01-30T15:32:00.000-05:00

Day 2 is going well. It is 4:30. I have been here since 9 this morning. One of the team stayed all night to create art and it is looking pretty cool. I expect to be here all night as well since our deadline is less than 24 hours away.

The brainstorming last night was fun. We decided to go with a twist on the discovery style of game. You start in a room that is completely black. You can't even see the character. When the character moves his boots make sound on the floor that cause waves to go out briefly revealing where he is. As you explore you find objects that you can interact with to make sound and reveal more of the room.

The theme is deception though so we have added a twist. the game seems simple enough but you will discover that isn't the case. Can't reveal more yet but soon. Very soon!

I will have some video up shortly as well

Game Jam game on!

2010-01-30T08:12:00.000-05:00

I might be a little insane but I decided to get involved in the Global Game Jam this year. 35 countries are involved with folks trying to make a game in 48 hours. Less than that really. We had a late start due to some technical difficulties last night but we got the theme and constraints from the organizer around 7.

I had spent the previous 3 hours getting to know the other folks involved and getting involved in a small team. Our team is a programmer, 2 artists that work in 3D, 1 that works in flash as well as graphic design and myself. I have taken up the role of sound design for the weekend.

We stayed up quite late last night working on a concept that fell within the theme. We are quite pleased at the moment at least but things can change!

The theme? Deception.
The constraints? loot, boot or chute.
We stayed up late and hammered out an idea that we are going to prototype this morning and hope it works. prototype, prototype!

Finding the pressure points

2010-01-25T10:35:00.000-05:00

Or:

Critical chain management methodology for animation production.

I have mentioned before the data on the % of projects that are considered a failure or that go over budget for various reasons (32% success rate, 44% over budget and 24%failure, source) I feel that part of the issue is the way that we create schedules and budgets. That is not to say that these are inherently un-achievable. Nor are those that create these not doing a proper job. The true challenge is how to create a schedule and budget that can take into account the cost and time to do it versus all the things that can go wrong. Experience of course plays a big role in this but is not a guarantee of success. There is no real guarantee only an ability to quantify a higher or lower probability of success.

This should not be misconstrued in giving excuse for a projects failure nor of abdication of an individual’s responsibility to get something done. Sometimes sh*t happens. Sometimes there are too many cooks or not enough of this or that but I digress. That isn’t the point I am trying to make.

The big point? How does one anticipate all of the possible things that can go wrong in a project? You can’t and I have yet to see proof to the contrary. But there are ways to significantly increase your chance of success. Ignoring for the moment some of the other points I have made as far as the pitfalls to look out for let’s look at the theory of constraints or more specifically Critical Chain Project Management.

The theory proposes that there are a limited number of constraints that always exist within a given structure or process and that there is always at least one constraint. A constraint is anything that prevents the system from achieving more of its goal. This can be in the form of, but not limited to, equipment, people or policy. Examples could be not enough computers or not fast enough machines, lack of skilled staff or company/government policies that limit the structure from achieving its goal such as you must hire only residents from a certain province. It is likely that some constraints cannot be removed but recognizing that fact is important to furthering your process.

Any series of processes can only move as fast as its biggest constraint. Once identified you can build around it. Here are some steps to use in discovering constraints for a project:

1. Identify the constraint (the resource or policy the limits your ability to achieve your goal)

2. Decide how to exploit the constraint. Buy more machines, add more people, decrease expectations.

3. Subordinate all other processes to the above decision. In other words find ways to support or organize your system to deal with the decision made.

4. Elevate the constraint.

5. If as a result the constraint is removed or reduced, return to step one. Don’t become complacent. There will always be some constraint in the way!

Fairly heavy I know.

Another key aspect to this process is the creation of buffers during steps 2 and 3. Buffers can be in the form of time or budget and should not be confused with inventory or what is in the queue from one process to the next. Buffers allow for the variation in processing time within a given process. For instance you decide that you have enough staff to output 2 minutes of animation a week but one of your constraints is a high % of inexperienced animators. The 2 minutes is based on what? Your fastest animator or your slowest? Taking the time to assess the differences between these two extremes will help you come up with your 2-best/worse case timelines. Based on that plus the constraint of the number of inexperienced artists you then find the mean value or “good enough” value. Not the best but also not the worst. Maybe the number you come up with is 1.3 minutes per week. Is this an acceptable constraint? If not then the constraint becomes elevated and you need to get rid of it. Is the constraint now too much cost? Then the whole process starts again. In this way you are trying to find ways to pull material through the system not push it through. Pushing material through a system means that you are always going to be reacting to a problem instead of identifying the problem and finding ways to overcome it before you get there.

Essentially do not get caught in making a schedule that adheres to your optimum expectations but to your acceptable expectations. The acceptable being the least possible throughput that you can live with, keeping in mind the other aspects that will connect to this. Using the above methodology to constantly try to increase your throughput. In this way you stand a better chance of actually achieving or even surpassing your established goals.

In many cases the “good enough” approach will win over. This usually happens when it becomes apparent that there is no way of finding the “optimum” approach to a system or the uncertainty between your optimum and near optimum solutions becomes too great. Something will have to give be it quality, quantity, time or money.

What is imperative with this system is to never stop. If you stop doing this on a daily or weekly basis then Parkinson’s Law and Inertia will set in. Just because you have 2 weeks to do something doesn’t mean it should take the 2 weeks to do it if you think you can do it faster. This is where rewards come in and should be thought of when building your process. If you stop you will become stuck in reaction mode as opposed to proactive mode. Always be vigilant. Never assume, as you know what that can lead to!

TZ_2010_SC_22_fx_prt_02_walk_3_4_back_blue_V_23_good_Final_rev_latest._Friday_6

2010-01-19T07:17:00.000-05:00

Or: File structure and file naming.

This one is a bit tongue in cheek.

I love computers. Either Mac or PC. I’m not one of those folks who feel they have to hate one over the other. The biggest advantage- and also failure- of programs are their ability to allow the user to find many different ways to get the same thing done. This is a good thing but also can be very frustrating and not more so than when dealing with- in program- file structure or -out of program- naming conventions on a series. In the old days losing a scene meant you walked around looking under desks and digging through the blackened camera department room. It kept you healthy at least! Now losing a file is as easy as hitting the wrong key or adding an extra character to a file name.
Time is extremely important on a project. Every shot will pass through a multitude of team members in order to be completed. One must always keep in mind how easy it can be to lose something in the flurry that is production. Below are some ideas to stew on.

I have to start with COMUNICATION.
Although there may be days that it seems to be the case not everyone is inside your head. If you are running a project and have a specific setup that you want the team to use then make sure they all know what that is. Be it Flash or any other platform you are using.

Create a detailed breakdown as to how the shots should be set up and if needed create examples. Use whatever you need to make sure that the information is getting across. Puppets can be fun but time consuming.

Create a master naming convention that works for the team and the project. I don’t want to get into details here but something that was drilled into my head early on in my career was “ Keep it Simple, Stupid” or the KISS principle. If you have a file naming structure that is 20 characters long or more you might want to rethink things.

Create a folder structure that is easy for everyone to follow. Don’t make the team go 20 levels in to find what they are looking for.

Track who has what shot and when/where it is. Upping the version number on a shot while helpful can also create issues if, for some reason, there were two people working on the same shot.
It is way too easy to lose a file in the forest. There are many types of asset management programs out there, either built by a studio or purchased for a studio. Some programs even come with them. There may even be some that force the naming convention onto the user but that may not help with tracking versions. There are systems that will not allow more than one person to work on a shot at any given time. All these can be of a great help but not all studios can afford them. If you don’t know already, find out what asset tools your studio is using and plan around them.

And lastly be an absolute dictator when people don’t follow the above. There really can be no room for personal interpretations when it comes to file naming!

Entering the metrics

2010-01-11T20:53:00.003-05:00

Or: This data doesn’t look like a blonde?

Knowing the stage that every element of a production is at is extremely important for a production manager. The use of digital asset management tools has become essential. You need to be careful though, it can be very easy to rely on the digital data alone to judge the progress of any given department and this can result in surprising failures. The data is only as good as the user that inputs it and the interpretation of the user viewing it.

Some years ago I was involved in a production where studio “A” had spent much time and money developing a very robust asset management tool that allowed for each element in a production to be tracked from department to department. There was even the ability for a production manager to print out compiled information on where any given department was at and show against the schedule as to whether they were on time or not.

I was part of an outsourced team that was using studio “A’s” site in order to complete animation for one of studio “A’s” shows. The tracker had indicated that design had been completed on the episode we were slated to start on. The tracker had a “thumbnail” of the approved art asset along with notes from the director. All indicating things were on schedule. My team then went to download the assets only to discover that the only element that was there was the “thumbnail” and the note that it was completed. No useful elements for doing our part of the job was there. So the “data” showed that things were on track but in reality they were not. The system was flawed but how does one avoid this sort of thing from happening?

I think the first step is an understanding that any digital tracking system is only one aspect to tracking the data. Realizing that it is people that are inputting the data is paramount to your success as a production manager. Looking at numbers on a screen is only part of it. You need to take it one step further and meet with the individuals that are responsible for inputting the information. Weekly or even daily meetings with your production staff are necessary in order to get to the intimate details of any process. Get confirmation that what you are seeing is what is reality. If it isn’t find out why and adjust your reporting accordingly. This doesn’t mean not trusting your team. It means clarifying the trends that you see in the data.

Meet with other team members as often as you can. Find out what they think as well. Is there an issue that one person is having but has not relayed this issue to anyone else? Does someone have an idea as to how to streamline a process that hasn’t been thought of before? Information is power.

Use the tool for what it is meant to be. It is one of many tools in your arsenal for seeing a successful completion to a project, not the only tool.

Running the asylum

2009-12-29T09:25:00.001-05:00

Or, who gave you the keys?

Are leaders born or made has been a debate for many years and is something that better minds than mine have weighed in on. Below are some of my thoughts on how to be a better leader of people:

Last year, as part of my slow attempt to get my PMP (Project Management Professional) certificate, I took a full day workshop on just that. It turned out to be a bit more like one of those self-help things you see folks on TV doing but it was still useful.

The guy doing the workshop asked us a question at the start. “ What do you consider to be the most important component to a successful project”. I answered that I felt it was the team. ”Wrong”. He moved on to get wrong answers from a dozen or so others until he finally said, “ the answer is you”. I think I understand what he was getting at and this can be applied to any position on a project that carries some from of leadership. YOU need to be responsible for the decisions that YOU need to make. Taking ownership of your position can be rewarding and scary. You as a leader need to stand by the choices you make and lead those around you to further the success of any given process. To do this one must not only understand the job at hand but also understand how to motivate your team.

Kurt Lewin, a German psychologist, came up with three main styles of leadership that can apply to any management position:

Authoritarian (autocratic)

This style is used when leaders tell their employees what they want done and how they want it accomplished, without getting the advice of their followers. Some of the appropriate conditions to use it are when you have all the information to solve the problem, you are short on time, and your employees are well motivated.

Some people tend to think of this style as a vehicle for yelling, using demeaning language, and leading by threats and abusing their power. This is not the authoritarian style, rather it is an abusive, unprofessional style called bossing people around. It has no place in a leader's repertoire.

The authoritarian style should normally only be used on rare occasions. If you have the time and want to gain more commitment and motivation from your employees, then you should use the participative style.

Participative (democratic)

This style involves the leader including one or more employees in the decision making process (determining what to do and how to do it). However, the leader maintains the final decision making authority. Using this style is not a sign of weakness; rather it is a sign of strength that your employees will respect.

This is normally used when you have part of the information, and your employees have other parts. Note that a leader is not expected to know everything -- this is why you employ knowledgeable and skillful employees. Using this style is of mutual benefit -- it allows them to become part of the team and allows you to make better decisions.

Delegative (free reign)

In this style, the leader allows the employees to make the decisions. However, the leader is still responsible for the decisions that are made. This is used when employees are able to analyze the situation and determine what needs to be done and how to do it. You cannot do everything! You must set priorities and delegate certain tasks.

This is not a style to use so that you can blame others when things go wrong; rather this is a style to be used when you fully trust and have confidence in the people below you. Do not be afraid to use it, however, use it wisely!

Ideally it is best to find a balance between these three forms depending on the social dynamics of your team. Some things to keep in mind to help decide what approach is most appropriate:

How much time is available.

Are relationships based on respect and trust or on disrespect?

Who has the information - you, your employees, or both?

How well your employees are trained and how well you know the task.

Internal conflicts.

Stress levels.

The type of task. Is it structured, unstructured, complicated, or simple?

One thing I like to keep in mind when working with teams on a show is that the process of making a film is collaborative. The input that eager and motivated team member’s give is greater than what one can or should expect. When the ingredients are right you have made magic!

A great director once said to me, after I had asked if I could make notes on his script for budget concerns, “of course! Film making is a collaborative process”. Nicholas Meyer.

Source for leadership definitions:

http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/leader/leadstl.html

Little Video

2009-12-19T08:07:00.002-05:00

SALESMASON.com from Loogaroo on Vimeo.

A little piece I Produced and did the Post on this year. It was fun to work on.

Some pitfalls in productions

2009-12-17T11:35:00.002-05:00

Or "throw me the idol; I’ll throw you the whip".

More thoughts on project management:

Here are some very sobering statistics on project success rates worldwide and encompasses all types of projects:

34 percent of all projects succeed.

An average of 15 percent of all projects fail.

Projects that are considered “challenged”—usually due to cost or schedule overruns—account for 51 percent of all projects.

There are probably more reasons for this than there are craters on the moon but lets take a brief look at some of the more typical pitfalls one could encounter.

Student syndrome

This is essentially the phenomenon of waiting to the last moment to apply oneself to completing a given task. Usually done with good intentions. “If we get a bit more time to complete this portion of the project, think how much better it will be!” Leads to project scope change and an over complication of the task and usually results in delays and going over budget.

Scope creep

This phenomenon can occur when the scope of a project is not properly defined, documented, or controlled.

Parkinson's Law

Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion. This tends to creep into larger projects with many people involved in the studio. A schedule is created for a department and those in the department, consciously or subconsciously; make sure the work done fills the time allotted even if it could be done faster.

Peter Principle

Competent workers are rewarded through promotion until they reach a position in which they are no longer effective at which point those that have not reached this level continue to complete the work.

Hofstadter's law

It always takes longer than you expect, even when you take into account Hofstadter's Law.

Social inertia

Being resistant to change or being caught up in how it how it has always been done.

Murphy's law

My favorite:

Anything that can go wrong will go wrong.

Because we work in a very creative business I find that the most common pitfall is related to project scope creep. It can be a very difficult thing to quantify on any given project and relies on a common agreement and understanding of the scope from all parties involved. Whether it is a co-production or a small commercial project it can show up at the most inopportune times.

Having a defined list of artistic parameters can help but this can also lead to a misunderstanding or misinterpretation of the parameters by all parties. It can start as seemingly small events that build into huge unmanageable processes and can usually be seen as a direct result of lack of communication. I think one of my all time favorite design revisions that caused a huge cascade effect and created delays due to a misunderstanding of scope was, “This does more to destroy than to create”. The pebble was tossed and the production went off the rails. Much time was lost trying to understand the ultimate direction asked for by more and more designing always seemingly to be in the wrong direction. The team was very eager to please and was willing to go the extra mile but, as far as I know, the question was never really asked/answered as to what exactly did they mean. I was at the time an ink and painter at the studio and only saw the disaster from the sidelines.

We all want to be the absolute best at what we do. That’s why we work in this industry. To be better than the rest you should always keep in mind what the main constraints are. Style of art can be the most challenging constraint to understand or agree on and it requires a great deal more communication from all parties involved to overcome early on.

Thoughts on production management

2009-12-14T10:41:00.002-05:00

Most of my career as a Production Manager/Producer has been spent being thrown into a process. There have only been a couple of occasions where I have had the opportunity/pleasure of starting a production as opposed to being brought on to fix it. This has been hard to say the least but it has also given me the chance to learn not only from my mistakes but also from the mistakes of those before me. We all make mistakes. That’s how we learn.

With that in mind I thought it might be fun to try and write down some of my thoughts on show running. I do hope that there is disagreement on these, as I do love to debate!

First up:

No schedule survives contact with the production.

No matter how smart you think you are no one can predict meeting a deadline that is 2 years from now. You can of course – based on your experience- create a schedule that will show the production ending at a certain date. This of course becomes a date written in stone and you are committed to it. Money and reputations are built around it and it can become an all-consuming target that takes your eye off the day to day. The day to day is where you can shine and make the final deadline look easy.

What is more important initially is making sure you hit early milestones. If you create a schedule that has realistic milestones you then focus your energy on hitting them. Try not to get caught up in the end date starting out. You might say, “ yes we missed this deadline but we still have plenty of time to catch up”, this is a dangerous road to travel. What you should be thinking is, “ we need to focus our energy on hitting next weeks deadline and over the next month doing better than the last”. Keeping in mind these short sprints need to be realistic. You don’t want the team to be doing overtime week after week. If you can focus on the short term though and making sure the goals set out are met you may find that after several months you have been able to exceed expectations and come in ahead of schedule. I used this way of thinking on seasons two and three of Untalkative Bunny. The first series I was able to manage from start to finish. Despite the studio going bankrupt, (a story for another time), We came in ahead of schedule and under budget. I was very proud of the team.

If on the other hand the short-term deadlines are not being met you need to re-asses as to why. Are they unrealistic? Is there not enough staff to get the work done? Has the complexity of work exceeded the original intent? Do you have a communication breakdown between departments? Do you have enough experienced staff in the right areas? The questions are legion as are the solutions. Money is always seemingly the easiest solution. Just throw money at the problem and it will get fixed. This is a really bad idea in my opinion. Of course there are times when budgets need to be revisited and more money or less money allocated to a process but you should always view this solution as your last.

Look at each department and how they affect the departments they are connected to. Look at the teams you have in these areas and figure out if there is a better way to use each person in order to get the most out of the department. Remember that you are managing people not pipelines. Manage the people and make them a part of the process and they will help you find ways to meet and exceed expectations. Encourage everyone into doing their best and lead by example. You will be pleasantly surprised when you create an atmosphere of collaboration.

SteamPunk rules!

2009-12-04T11:44:00.005-05:00

This guys site is absolutely awesome!!! Some great work by very talented folks showcased here.

Check it out.

Designs by Jake von Slatt on this site are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution, Noncommercial, Share Alike 3.0 United States License.
Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available here.

Nostalgic

2009-12-02T07:54:00.003-05:00

I have been spending my nights lately reading through my entire comic collection. It spans quite a number of issues and years. I didn't collect, for the most part, your typical titles though.

Of course I have X-Men and a smattering of Captain America but for the most part I was always drawn towards the more experimental titles that were around in the late 70's and early 80's.

Some were on the DC label, some on the Marvel but mostly Epic was my preferred reading choice. Dreadstar being the first of the collection. Of course Dark Horse was a great one as well bringing in artists like John Bolton on the mini series the Black Dragon.

Below are some scans of my favorite adds from the Marvel comics I have. This may be why, to some extent, I was never too keen on the mainstream comics on my youth. Never have liked commercials.

These are all from 1978.

Page 2

2009-11-26T05:52:00.000-05:00

Still reading

Bed time reading

2009-11-24T20:37:00.003-05:00

The Nokia N900 - the journey starts here

2009-11-17T06:52:00.001-05:00

I'm not usually into the "viral" video thing but this one caught my attention.

the falcon

2009-11-17T06:36:00.002-05:00

the falcon

Very nice stop motion!

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Great scam email.

2009-11-08T10:33:00.002-05:00

I find it interesting that the only email address I get spam on ( I have 4 ) is the email that Aliant gave me. Is Aliant selling my info or are they just really bad at protecting their clients privacy?

GREETINGS!
My contentment is that I have just concluded what my heart desires most, the
internet has made the world a Global Village where anybody can reached even if
we have never met before, so do not be surprise with the content in my mail
because I have been directed by the good lord to do this am directly written
this message to you. I come in peace and something positive will affect your
life and the lives of others for good.
I am Judith Mendo , 87 Years old dying widow and the wife of Late Sir Carlos
Mendo who died in a Plane crash on Monday the 7th of September 1998 GMT 14:22 UK
while flying from New York to Geneva. You may confirm this from this link
http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/9809/swissair.victims.list/index.html

After the death of my husband, I headed our joint business and now that I am
old, weak and sick, I have decided to spend the rest of my life with my family
and relatives whom I never had time for during my active business life, for over
two years I have been hospitalized because I am suffering from a terminal
ailment (cancer), according to medical expert I am not going to survive it and I
might die within 2 weeks from today.
I have decided to use the last days of my life to disburse part of my resources
as selfless service to humanity and you happen to be the lucky beneficiary of my
last WILL because I have already given almost all of my resources to my
relatives and other people that I do not even know. Irrespective of your
previous financial status; I need you to do me a favor by accepting this offer.
I am sorry that you might not be able to communicate with me again because of my
health situation, and very soon I will be going for an operation and I pray to
survive it.

I have mandated and given full authority to the financial director of the
financial institution (bank) to register my entire 5,800,000.00 British Pounds
in your name and release to you as my sole beneficiary.
You are to contact the financial director through his contact details below for
immediate registration and release of the funds to you:
Contact Person: Mark Anderson
Email Address: carterallen.pb@advir.com
The financial institution will only register the funds in your name and give
full attention to you if the below is correctly submitted.
Your Full Names:
Your direct telephone number:
Your complete postal address:
Account Holder: Judith Mendo
Account Number: 47 82 93 56
Account PIN: 186F
Account Balance: 5,800,000.00 British Pounds

If I do not write to you again do note that I did not survive the operation, all
further correspondences should be between you and the financial institution.
Sincerely,
Mrs. Judith Mendo

The Prisoner

2009-10-30T16:45:00.001-04:00

A remake of the classic original from 1967. I am a little worried as I found the original profound on so many levels. I have hopes that they will not make this a typical "thriller" although that word is used in this clip.
I will keep an open mind

Klingon Propaganda

2009-10-27T07:32:00.001-04:00

KAPLA!

Teletoon Pilots

2009-10-25T08:10:00.003-04:00

Check out the detour ca. Each week they will air one of ten pilots and then have a vote as to the audience favorite.

http://thedetour.ca/

Cartoon Brew: Leading the Animation Conversation

2009-10-08T08:40:00.001-04:00

Cartoon Brew: Leading the Animation Conversation

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Free fall Colonel Joe, the highest skydive record from space

2009-08-24T07:54:00.001-04:00

This guy is tough.

The Hubble Ultra Deep Field in 3D

2009-08-15T08:06:00.001-04:00

very good explanation of the size of our universe

From the NASA Archive: Early Apollo Lander Model

2009-08-14T18:35:00.002-04:00

From the NASA Archive: Early Apollo Lander Model

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From the NASA Archive: Astronaut-Butt Molds

2009-08-04T11:54:00.001-04:00

From the NASA Archive: Astronaut-Butt Molds

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Apollo 11

2009-07-16T06:31:00.002-04:00

The BBC has a nice little interactive map and video of the major moments in all of the Apollo landings. Today was the launch of the first guys to land on the moon.I suspect there may be some folks out there that believe that these were faked. We are all entitled to opinions. Even when they are wrong.

Tesla

2009-07-10T07:59:00.003-04:00

Happy birthday Mr. Tesla. Thanks for all the inventions that you did. I don't think we would have radio, TV, lights, computers or satellites without you.

Here is a link to a list of his patents:

Some of the more important ones:

The AC motor, transmission system for wireless communication, robotics,

superconductors and VTOL aircraft systems

Twitter stats

2009-06-22T21:26:00.005-04:00

Just started on twitter. yes I know, yet another way to waste time. But you can come across some interesting data. Like almost as many people follow the Onion as NY times! I wonder if they are the same people as well?

PUNKS NOT DAD - IN ME SHED - FEATURING LISA ROGERS - NEW SINGLE - RELEASE DATE 6th JULY 2009

2009-06-16T07:49:00.001-04:00

great video with some classic punkers and stop motion. really good show!

Message From Space (1978)

2009-06-13T17:42:00.003-04:00

It was the winter of 1978. Many new movies were being promoted and we were all excited to see them. It seemed like a golden age for science fiction. The year before brought us Star Wars

( I refuse to call it episode 4, a new hope as it was simply Star Wars when I saw it), and coming soon to the theater would be Battlestar Galactica, The boys from Brazil, Dawn of the dead, Invasion of the body snatchers, Superman, Attack of the killer tomatoes and this wonderful gem, Message from Space. And yes I was 12 and saw all of these in the theater. I don't think people cared as much back then or were just ambivalent to the ratings system.

I can't remember the exact date that I convinced my older brother to take me to see this but I am pretty sure it was very early in the year. I suspect the distributers wanted to be ahead of the pack in the hopes of getting a few dollars.

It was a wet night, our car ran out of gas and My brother had to walk to a gas station to get a bucket of gas. We didn't have a funnel so we used a newspaper... We get to the theater 10 minutes late and missed the best part of the experience, the trailers. It is probably the worst film I have ever had the pleasure of seeing on the big screen but I still want a copy of it. If you look closely at the images below you will get an idea of the experience. It is considered to be the most blatant rip off of Star Wars ever but has some unique elements as well like rocket propelled sailing ships.

It has a white clad princess, a super fortress flyby at the start, rogue pilots that act, well, roguish, plucky little robots and a climatic battle where we fly through a tunnel and blow up a planet, all the while having the proto-visual style of later productions from japan like Power Rangers. It also starred Sonny Chiba of all people.

I have a feeling I might have a little more appreciation for it this time around.

Image of the week

2009-06-04T20:32:00.003-04:00

When did this get ignored. Was it when the first word program came out with spell check or was it the internet. I like the hat.

Fun with Fallout 3

2009-05-30T11:10:00.004-04:00

Testing the awesome might of the FATBOY weapon.

Oh how I love a post apocalyptic world where water is more precious than life! I hope that when we get there we have wepons like this. It will make the doldrums go away and cook your meat for you at the same time

Edit lesson

2009-05-22T19:23:00.002-04:00

A quick lesson in what a match cut is and its use in animation.

In a 'matched cut' a familiar relationship between the shots may make the change seem smooth. What does this mean? Well a few simple rules should be known that allows for a proper match cut:

1. Continuity of direction. As always a cut should happen during an action or movement to help it feel natural. This allows the edit to become invisible if done correctly. As a person turns towards the car we cut to a long shot of them completing the turn. The viewer does not see the edit unless the cut is placed in an awkward point in time. For instance if the position of the person in the second shot does not correspond in space to the position they were in for the previous shot.

2. A similar center of attention within the frame. In its simplest meaning you can't have a match cut from one person to another as they are not similar in context to the frame.

3. A singe step change in shot size. From a long shot to a medium shot. You can have a match cut happen between a long and an extreme close-up but only if the previous two points are taken into consideration.

4.A change of angle, typically 30 degrees or more. You have to be careful here as well as having too extreme of an angle change will most likely mean crossing the axis. That would create a jump cut.

The term match cut gets overused in animation to mean a simple hookup of action. Not truly a match cut.

In search of

2009-05-21T06:52:00.002-04:00

I have been working away on a new editing exercise. I am calling this one "food for America". At least it is a working title.

I go to archive.org for all my footage but am always on the lookout for new sources of open source footage. Does anyone have any links they may have found?

For this latest project I am trying to hunt down footage of farm animals and the process of turning said animals into edible products. As well as shots of chemical companies doing their thing.

Yes it has a bit of a political bent to it but it will be fun to watch too!

Old images

2009-05-11T06:47:00.003-04:00

I have a box of old negatives that were found in the house that I grew up in. We think the pictures were taken sometime around the 1870's. The two below are of the house and the three sisters that lived in it.

My scanner doesn't want to take decent images of negative glass plates so my kids and I did up a quick light table. The first image didn't work so well but looks creepy. I will keep trying.

word a day#20

2009-04-30T06:59:00.003-04:00

I think this will be the last one for a bit. Tomorrow is Beltane and I don't want to screw with Pagan Gods

Here goes:

end |end|noun1 a final part of something, esp. a period of time, an activity, or a story : the end of the year |Mario led the race from beginning to end.• a termination of a state or situation : the party called for an end to violence | one notice will be effective to bring the tenancy to an end.• used to emphasize that something, typically a subject of discussion, is considered finished : you will go to church and that's the end of it.• death or ruin : if she’s caught stealing again, it will be the end of her career.• archaic (in biblical use) an ultimate state or condition : the end of that man is peace.2 the furthest or most extreme part or point of something : a length of wire with a hook at the end | [as adj. ] the end house.• a small piece that is left after something has been used : a box of candle ends.• a specified extreme point on a scale : homebuyers at the lower end of the market.• the part or share of an activity with which someone is concerned : you're going to honor your end of the deal.• a place that is linked to another by a telephone call, letter, or journey : “Hello,” said avoice at the other end.• the part of an athletic field or court defended by one team or player.3 a goal or result that one seeks to achieve : each would use the other to further his own ends |to this end, schools were set up for peasant women.4 Lawn Bowling & Curling a session of play in one particular direction across the playing area.5 Football an offensive or defensive lineman positioned nearest to the sideline.verbcome or bring to a final point; finish : [ intrans. ] when the war ended, policy changed | the chapterends with a case study | [ trans. ] she wanted to end the relationship.• [ intrans. ] reach a point and go no further : the boundary where agnosticism ends and atheism begins.• [ intrans. ] perform a final act : the man ended by attacking a police officer.• [ intrans. ] ( end in) have as its final part, point, or result : one in three marriages is now likely to end in divorce.• [ intrans. ] ( end up) eventually reach or come to a specified place, state, or course of action : I ended up in Connecticut | you could end up with a higher income.

word a day#19

2009-04-29T06:41:00.000-04:00

word a day#18

2009-04-28T07:20:00.002-04:00

word a day#17

2009-04-27T06:14:00.001-04:00

inevitable |inˈevitəbəl|adjectivecertain to happen; unavoidable : war was inevitable.• informal so frequently experienced or seen that it is completely predictable : the inevitable letter from the bank.noun ( the inevitable)a situation that is unavoidable.DERIVATIVESinevitability |-ˌevitəˈbilitē| |1ˈnɛvədəˈbɪlədi| |1ˈnɛvtəˈbɪlədi| |-ˈbɪlɪti| nouninevitably |-blē| |1ˈnɛvədəbli| |1ˈnɛvtəbli| adverb [ sentence adverb ] : inevitably, she turned her experiences into a book.ORIGIN late Middle English : from Latin inevitabilis, from in- ‘not’ + evitabilis‘avoidable’ (from evitare ‘avoid’ ).

word a day#16

2009-04-26T08:30:00.000-04:00

fallacy |ˈfaləsē|noun ( pl. -cies)a mistaken belief, esp. one based on unsound argument : the notion that the camera never lies is a fallacy.• Logic a failure in reasoning that renders an argument invalid.• faulty reasoning; misleading or unsound argument : the potential for fallacy which lies behind the notion of self-esteem.DERIVATIVESfallacious |fəˈlā sh əs| |fəˈleɪʃəs| |fəˈleɪʃəs| adjectivefallaciously |fəˈlā sh əslē| |fəˈleɪʃəsli| |fəˈleɪʃəsli| adverbfallaciousness |fəˈlā sh əsnəs| |fəˈleɪʃəsnəs| |fəˈleɪʃəsnɪs| nounORIGIN late 15th cent. (in the sense [deception, guile] ; gradually superseding Middle English fallace): from Latin fallacia, from fallax, fallac- ‘deceiving,’ from fallere‘deceive.’

word a day#15

2009-04-25T06:22:00.001-04:00

Yet again another word related to my week. This is fun. I get to be cryptic and we all get to learn a word!

facile |ˈfasəl|adjective1 (esp. of a theory or argument) appearing neat and comprehensive only by ignoring the true complexities of an issue; superficial.• (of a person) having a superficial or simplistic knowledge or approach : a man of facile and shallow intellect.2 (of success, esp. in sports) easily achieved; effortless : a facile victory.• acting or done in a quick, fluent, and easy manner : he was revealed to be a facile liar.DERIVATIVESfacilely |ˈfasəl(l)ē| |ˈføsəl(l)i| adverbfacileness |ˈføsəlnəs| nounORIGIN late 15th cent. (in the sense [easily accomplished] ): from French, or from Latinfacilis ‘easy,’ from facere ‘do, make.’

word a day#14

2009-04-24T07:18:00.002-04:00

asinine |ˈasəˌnīn|adjectiveextremely stupid or foolish : Lydia ignored his asinine remark. See note at stupid .DERIVATIVESasininity |ˌasəˈninitē| |ˈøsəˈnɪnədi| |-ˈnɪnɪti| nounORIGIN late 15th cent.: from Latin asininus, from asinus ‘ass.’
Bonus word:stupid |ˈst(y)oōpid|adjective ( -pider, -pidest)lacking intelligence or common sense : I was stupid enough to think she was perfect.• dazed and unable to think clearly : apprehension was numbing her brain and making her stupid.• informal used to express exasperation or boredom : she told him to stop messing with his stupid painting.noun informala stupid person (often used as a term of address) : you're not a coward, stupid!DERIVATIVESstupidity |st(y)oōˈpiditē| |st(j)uˈpɪdədi| |-ˈpɪdɪti| nounstupidly |ˈst(j)upədli| adverbORIGIN mid 16th cent.: from French stupide or Latin stupidus, from stupere ‘be amazed or stunned.’THE RIGHT WORDIf you want to impugn someone's intelligence, the options are almost limitless.You can call the person stupid, a term that implies a sluggish, slow-witted lack of intelligence.Asinine is a harsher word, implying asslike or foolish behavior rather than slow-wittedness (: a woman her age looked asinine in a miniskirt).Calling someone dumb is risky, because it is not only an informal word (: you dumbbunny!), but because it also means mute and is associated with the offensive expression “deaf and dumb,” used to describe people who cannot hear or speak.Dense implies an inability to understand even simple facts or instructions (: too dense to get the joke), while dull suggests a sluggishness of mind unrelieved by any hint of quickness, brightness, or liveliness (: a dull stare).Slow also implies a lack of quickness in comprehension or reaction and is often used as a euphemistic substitute for stupid (: he was a little slow intellectually).Obtuse is a more formal word for slow-wittedness, but with a strong undercurrent of scorn (: it almost seemed as though he were being deliberately obtuse).You can't go wrong with a word like unintelligent, which is probably the most objective term for low mental ability and the least likely to provoke an angry response (: unintelligent answers to the teacher's questions).
All great words to describe my day yesterday.

word a day#13

2009-04-23T06:35:00.001-04:00

litigious |ləˈtijəs|adjectiveconcerned with lawsuits or litigation.• unreasonably prone to go to law to settle disputes.• suitable to become the subject of a lawsuit.DERIVATIVESlitigiously |ləˈtɪdʒəsli| adverblitigiousness |ləˈtɪdʒəsnəs| nounORIGIN late Middle English : from Old French litigieux or Latin litigiosus, fromlitigium ‘litigation,’ from lis, lit- ‘lawsuit.’

word a day#12

2009-04-22T05:22:00.000-04:00

humanism |ˈ(h)yoōməˌnizəm|nounan outlook or system of thought attaching prime importance to human rather than divine or supernatural matters. Humanist beliefs stress the potential value and goodness of human beings, emphasize common human needs, and seek solely rational ways of solving human problems.• (often Humanism) a Renaissance cultural movement that turned away from medieval scholasticism and revived interest in ancient Greek and Roman thought.• (among some contemporary writers) a system of thought criticized as being centered on the notion of the rational, autonomous self and ignoring the unintegrated and conditioned nature of the individual.DERIVATIVEShumanist |ˈ(h)jumənəst| noun & adjectivehumanistic |ˌ(h)yoōməˈnistik| |ˈˈ(h)juməˈnɪstɪk| adjectivehumanistically |ˌ(h)yoōməˈnistik(ə)lē| |ˈˈ(h)juməˈnɪstək(ə)li| adverb

word a day#11

2009-04-21T07:03:00.000-04:00

word a day#10

2009-04-20T06:57:00.001-04:00

perspicuous |pərˈspikyoōwəs|adjective formal(of an account or representation) clearly expressed and easily understood; lucid : it provides simpler and more perspicuous explanations than its rivals.• (of a person) able to give an account or express an idea clearly.DERIVATIVESperspicuity |ˌpərspiˈkyoōitē| |ˈpərspəˈkjuədi| |-ˈkjuːɪti| nounperspicuously |pərˈspɪkjəwəsli| adverbORIGIN late 15th cent. (in the sense [transparent] ): from Latin perspicuus ‘transparent, clear’ (from the verb perspicere ‘look at closely’ ) + -ous .

word a day#9

2009-04-19T07:34:00.001-04:00

ambivalent |amˈbivələnt|adjectivehaving mixed feelings or contradictory ideas about something or someone : some loved her, some hated her, few were ambivalent about her | an ambivalent attitude to terrorism.DERIVATIVESambivalence |ømˈbɪvələns| nounambivalently |ømˈbɪvələntli| adverbORIGIN early 20th cent.: from ambivalence (from German Ambivalenz), on the pattern ofequivalent.

word a day#8

2009-04-18T06:35:00.001-04:00

This one is a little offbeat and more of an urban word if you will.

This is from Boing Boing

Teabagging

XENI: Dear Mister John Waters: We at Boing Boing are devoted fans of your work, and we consider you one of the greatest heroes of the "happy mutant" culture we celebrate. Where does the term "teabagging" come from? Is it true that the term was first popularized, or originated, in one of your films? Also, what is the deal with right wing nutbags (if you'll pardon that term, too) appropriating a perfectly good term for a sex act in such an offensive manner? Your humble devotée, -- Xeni.
JOHN WATERS: "Teabagging" is by my definition the act of dragging your testicles across your partner's forehead. In the UK it is dipping your testicles in your partner's mouth. I didn't invent the term or the act but DID introduce it to film in my movie "Pecker." "Teabagging" was a popular dance step that male go-go boys did to their customers for tips at The Atlantis, a now defunct bar in Baltimore. Hope this helps. -- John Waters

* Yes, this is an actual transcription of an email exchange between Boing Boing and John Waters.

word a day#7

2009-04-17T05:46:00.001-04:00

tautology |tôˈtäləjē|noun ( pl. -gies)the saying of the same thing twice in different words, generally considered to be a fault of style (e.g., they arrived one after the other in succession).• a phrase or expression in which the same thing is said twice in different words.• Logic a statement that is true by necessity or by virtue of its logical form.
ORIGIN mid 16th cent.: via late Latin from Greek, from tautologos ‘repeating what has been said,’ from tauto- ‘same’ + -logos (see -logy ).

word a day#6

2009-04-16T05:08:00.002-04:00

libertine |ˈlibərˌtēn|noun1 a person, esp. a man, who behaves without moral principles or a sense of responsibility, esp. in sexual matters.2 a person who rejects accepted opinions in matters of religion; a freethinker.adjective1 characterized by a disregard of morality, esp. in sexual matters : his more libertine impulses.2 freethinking in matters of religion.DERIVATIVESlibertinage |-ˌtēnij| |ˈlɪbərˈtinɪdʒ| nounlibertinism |-ˌnizəm| |ˈlɪbərˈtiˈnɪzəm| nounORIGIN late Middle English (denoting a freed slave or the son of one): from Latinlibertinus ‘freedman,’ from liber ‘free.’ In the mid 16th cent., imitating French libertin, the term denoted a member of any of various antinomian sects in France; hence sense 2.
I find it interesting that this word has two very different implications...... You can be either a sexual deviant or a heretic. And why is it a freed slave would be considered without morals? Shouldn't that have been the owner? Oh I suppose it was the slave owners that made up the word to begin with.

Word a day#5

2009-04-15T06:47:00.002-04:00

degenerate

adjective |diˈjenərit|

1 having lost the physical, mental, or moral qualities considered normal and desirable; showing evidence of decline : a degenerate form of a higher civilization. See note at depraved .
2 technical lacking some property, order, or distinctness of structure previously or usually present, in particular
• Mathematics relating to or denoting an example of a particular type of equation, curve, or other entity that is equivalent to a simpler type, often occurring when a variable or parameter is set to zero.
• Physics relating to or denoting an energy level that corresponds to more than one quantum state.
• Physics relating to or denoting matter at densities so high that gravitational contraction is counteracted either by the Pauli exclusion principle or by an analogous quantum effect between closely packed neutrons.
• Biology having reverted to a simpler form as a result of losing a complex or adaptive structure present in the ancestral form.
noun |diˈjenərit| |dɪˈdʒɛn(ə)rət|
an immoral or corrupt person.
verb |diˈjenəˌrāt| |dəˈdʒɛn(ə)ˈreɪt| |diˈdʒɛn(ə)ˈreɪt| |dɪˈdʒɛnəreɪt| [ intrans. ]
decline or deteriorate physically, mentally, or morally : the quality of life had degenerated | the debate degenerated into a brawl.

DERIVATIVES
degeneracy |-rəsē| |dəˈdʒɛn(ə)rəsi| |diˈdʒɛn(ə)rəsi| noun
degenerately |-ritlē| |dəˈdʒɛn(ə)rətli| |diˈdʒɛn(ə)rətli| adverb
ORIGIN late 15th cent.: from Latin degeneratus ‘no longer of its kind,’ from the verb degenerare, from degener ‘debased,’ from de- ‘away from’ + genus, gener- ‘race, kind.’

Bonus word!!!!!

deprave |diˈprāv|verb [ trans. ]make (someone) immoral or wicked : this book would deprave and corrupt young children.DERIVATIVESdepravation |ˌdeprəˈvā sh ən| |ˈdɛprəˈveɪʃən| |dɛprəˈveɪʃ(ə)n| nounORIGIN late Middle English (in the sense [pervert the meaning or intention of something]): from Old French depraver or Latin depravare, from de- ‘down, thoroughly’ + pravus‘crooked, perverse.’

Disney Re-use

2009-04-14T07:07:00.001-04:00

From http://www.todaysbigthing.com

Interesting collection of re-use dance moves from some classic Disney films.

See more funny videos and TBT Videos at Today's Big Thing.

Word a day#4

2009-04-14T06:37:00.002-04:00

contrive |kənˈtrīv|
verb [ trans. ]
create or bring about (an object or a situation) by deliberate use of skill and artifice : his opponents contrived a crisis | you contrived to be alone with me despite the supervision.
• manage to do something foolish or create an undesirable situation : the poor guy in some way contrived to hang himself.
DERIVATIVES
contrivable |kənˈtraɪvəbəl| adjective
contriver |kənˈtraɪvər| noun
ORIGIN Middle English : from Old French contreuve-, stressed stem of controver ‘imagine, invent,’ from medieval Latin contropare ‘compare.’
contrived |kənˈtrīvd| |kənˈtraɪvd| |kənˈtrʌɪvd|
adjective
deliberately created rather than arising naturally or spontaneously : the carefully contrived image of party unity.
• giving a sense of artificiality : the ending of the novel is too pat and contrived.

word a day#3

2009-04-13T06:31:00.002-04:00

This is a good one for today I think:

moral |ˈmôrəl; ˈmär-|
adjective
concerned with the principles of right and wrong behavior and the goodness or badness of human character : the moral dimensions of medical intervention | a moral judgment.
• concerned with or adhering to the code of interpersonal behavior that is considered right or acceptable in a particular society : an individual's ambitions may get out of step with the general moral code.
• holding or manifesting high principles for proper conduct : he is a caring, efficient, moral man.
• derived from or based on ethical principles or a sense of these : the moral obligation of society to do something about the inner city's problems.
• [ attrib. ] examining the nature of ethics and the foundations of good and bad character and conduct : moral philosophers.
noun
1 a lesson, esp. one concerning what is right or prudent, that can be derived from a story, a piece of information, or an experience : the moral of this story was that one must see the beauty in what one has.
2 ( morals) a person's standards of behavior or beliefs concerning what is and is not acceptable for them to do : the corruption of public morals.
• standards of behavior that are considered good or acceptable : they believe addicts have no morals and cannot be trusted.

ORIGIN late Middle English : from Latin moralis, from mos, mor- ‘custom,’ (plural) mores ‘morals.’ As a noun the word was first used to translate Latin Moralia, the title of St. Gregory the Great's moral exposition of the Book of Job, and was subsequently applied to the works of various classical writers.

THE RIGHT WORD
You can be an ethical person without necessarily being a moral one, since ethical implies conformity with a code of fair and honest behavior, particularly in business or in a profession (: an ethical legislator who didn't believe in cutting deals), while moral refers to generally accepted standards of goodness and rightness in character and conduct—especially sexual conduct (: the moral values she'd learned from her mother).
In the same way, you can be honorable without necessarily being virtuous, since honorable suggests dealing with others in a decent and ethical manner, while virtuous implies the possession of moral excellence in character (: many honorable businesspeople fail to live a virtuous private life).
Righteous is similar in meaning to virtuous but also implies freedom from guilt or blame (: righteous anger); when the righteous person is also somewhat intolerant and narrow-minded, self-righteous might be a better adjective.
Someone who makes a hypocritical show of being righteous is often described as sanctimonious —in other words, acting like a saint without having a saintly character.

word a day#2

2009-04-12T07:53:00.002-04:00

platitude |ˈplatiˌt(y)oōd|
noun
a remark or statement, esp. one with a moral content, that has been used too often to be interesting or thoughtful : she began uttering liberal platitudes.
• the quality of being dull, ordinary, or trite : educators willing to violate the bounds of platitude.

Bonus word:

trite |trīt|
adjective
(of a remark, opinion, or idea) overused and consequently of little import; lacking originality or freshness : this point may now seem obvious and trite.
DERIVATIVES
tritely |ˈtraɪtli| adverb
triteness |ˈtraɪtnəs| noun
ORIGIN mid 16th cent.: from Latin tritus, past participle of terere ‘to rub.’

silly

2009-04-11T07:40:00.003-04:00

I like words. Words have meaning. They can mean different things when used in a different sentence structure. I am feeling very obtuse these days so my posts shall reflect this I think.

sil⋅ly [sil-ee] Show IPA adjective, -li⋅er, -li⋅est, noun, plural -lies.
–adjective
1. weak-minded or lacking good sense; stupid or foolish: a silly writer.
2. absurd; ridiculous; irrational: a silly idea.
3. stunned; dazed: He knocked me silly.
4. Cricket. (of a fielder or the fielder's playing position) extremely close to the batsman's wicket: silly mid off.
5. Archaic. rustic; plain; homely.
6. Archaic. weak; helpless.
7. Obsolete. lowly in rank or state; humble.
–noun
8. Informal. a silly or foolish person: Don't be such a silly.

Ship of souls?

2009-03-15T08:23:00.002-04:00

From The Times
May 22, 2006
Warship built out of Twin Towers wreckage
In a shipyard in New Orleans, survivors of one disaster are building a monument to another.

This really messed me up. My Wife mentioned she got an email about this a while ago and it disturbed her as well. I thought it was another one of those hoaxes like Mars is going to be bigger that the Moon this month.

But this is real. I understand the desire to name a warship after a tragic moment in a countries history. There are loads of examples of this.

What really gets my goat is the use of the metal from a mass grave to build just another weapon of war.

I have stated before that I am not by any means a religious person. If one has to label one's self then I would be a Humanist.
But this just smacks me as wrong. I understand also that there was a lot of scrap metal that was removed from the site and something had to be done with it but come on, do you think the Government could have come up with a more poignant use of the metal? Like building a hospital or something? Or a hospital ship?

Coming to New York this November. http://www.ussny.org/

Clutch Cargo

2009-02-19T08:21:00.002-05:00

From one of my favorite sites. Archive.org. They have several of these gems up there now.

1951, How to survive the bomb!

2009-02-11T07:01:00.003-05:00

From a wonderful site called Modern Mechanix, Yesterdays tomorrow Today

I like the Salvador Dali style of melting clock with a touch of dripping blood at the bottom.

RMR: Canada explained

2009-02-08T08:39:00.001-05:00

A very good explanation. Canada, We love it here.

PRAVDA!

2009-01-19T07:01:00.002-05:00

I just discovered that the long er, um.... Respected, that's it, PRAVDA is online and translated into English!
If you want to read hard hitting FOX NEWS like journalism with a Russian slant then this is the paper for you!

Here is a sample: This is an exert.

Political epitaph of George W. Bush: A President nobody will miss

At the time, eight years ago, I stated that the international media should forget the rumours and give the new President a white paper on which to write. And write on it he and his regime did. And how...

It started with the precision bombings of Afghan wedding parties, which became a wacky “Whoops! Ha!Ha! Sorry!” foreign policy launched soon after Colin Powell was neutered by Rumsfeld. It continued with the illegal invasion of Iraq (let it be said that months before this breach of international law, this column stated that a monumental mistake was about to be made) and it culminated in the insolence and sheer arrogance displayed to Moscow while Washington’s ally, Georgia, was perpetrating acts of slaughter and butchery in Ossetia that mirrored the shocking policy of mass murder carried out by the troops of the Bush regime in Iraq. So why should one show restraint and try to paint a pretty picture of a monster, a murderer and a nasty person?

George W. Bush is a president (small p) nobody will miss. The fact that the latter days of his Presidency were spent making fun of his own stupidity and desperately trying to spin the notion that he tried to do the right thing on his watch is as puerile an attempt at self-justification as Condoleeza Rice’s “good little girl” ploy performing a more than reasonable rendition of Bach before a yawning Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace.

Jackie (scott walker) ANIMATION BY MICK

2009-01-09T16:37:00.001-05:00

Mick has done it again. Watch and laugh. laugh all of you!!!!

mother goose

2009-01-03T17:49:00.003-05:00

Ray Harryhausen

Arrival Day

2008-12-11T06:54:00.001-05:00

These guys make it look easy.
Two objects traveling at 17 thousand MPH and they link up with a kiss.

The new space race!

2008-11-15T08:10:00.002-05:00

We do live in interesting times as a wise and I think sarcastic Buddhist once said BUT!!

The first ever privately launched space vehicle to orbit the earth was successful on September 28 of this year.

This plus a few other seemingly quiet happenings does give me a bit of hope for the future.
NASA will mothball the shuttle fleet in 2010 but starts trials on the replacement craft next year. CHECK IT OUT.

I know I know, there are many of you who will say, "why are we spending money on things like this when we can't fix what we have down here?"

Well we are like a virus as someone once said. We eat things. We burn things, we are not very good at cleaning up our backyard for sure but technology is really the only hope we have left and turning our gaze to space will help us find new energy sources as well as a chance to get the dirt off planet and wreck someone else' backyard. HAR!

http://spacex.com/multimedia/videos.php?id=31

What religion are you?

2008-11-07T15:27:00.004-05:00

Take the test and see!
http://www.beliefnet.com/Entertainment/Quizzes/BeliefOMatic.aspx
Mine is:

1. Secular Humanism (100%)
2. Unitarian Universalism (91%)
3. Liberal Quakers (81%)
4. Neo-Pagan (72%)
5. Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants (68%)
6. Theravada Buddhism (68%)
7. Nontheist (64%)
8. New Age (60%)
9. Taoism (53%)
10. Reform Judaism (51%)
11. Mahayana Buddhism (50%)
12. Orthodox Quaker (44%)
13. Baha'i Faith (38%)
14. Sikhism (38%)
15. Scientology (37%)
16. Jainism (36%)
17. New Thought (35%)
18. Christian Science (Church of Christ, Scientist) (28%)
19. Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) (25%)
20. Hinduism (25%)
21. Seventh Day Adventist (20%)
22. Mainline to Conservative Christian/Protestant (19%)
23. Eastern Orthodox (16%)
24. Islam (16%)
25. Orthodox Judaism (16%)
26. Roman Catholic (16%)
27. Jehovah's Witness (12%)