How I Spent My Summer

Like a sticky, 90+ degree whirlwind, summer has already come and gone.  Looking back, I'd have to say it was a pretty odd summer for me.  It began with a burst of awesomeness and spun into a blur of inactivity.
So, let's start with the (mostly) high note that kicked off my summer.


For the past couple years, I've been friends with the fantastic Teal Sherer (whom you might recognize from The Guild).  Earlier this year, an idea became a discussion, a discussion became plans, and Teal and I agreed to finally meet and hang out for a few days in Niagara Falls.
Everything was arranged quickly and before too long, the end of June had arrived and I was ready.  Well, almost.


On the morning of Thursday, June 23rd, I was up at 7 AM. The original plan was to hit the road at 10 AM, but it was becoming increasingly apparent that things weren't going according to plan. Despite everything being booked and ready so far in advance, my dad didn't take our van in to get checked until the day before I was supposed to leave. Our van is a few years old and has a bit of rust on the bottom. As a result, every time this guy fixed something, something else would break. He kept the van overnight on Wednesday and kept working through Thursday.  So, I sat in my living room as the hours passed by, tracked Teal's flight all the way across the country (LA to Buffalo), and it started to look like we weren't getting the van back. Dad finally brought the van back at 8 PM.  Mom and I debated what to do and decided to leave that night, so we didn't lose half of Friday traveling. We packed up and left at 9:45 PM, picked up my aunt, and arrived in Niagara Falls around 2:30 AM. By the time we got unpacked, settled in, and in bed, it was 4 AM.

I woke up to my phone ringing around noon on Friday, it was Teal checking in to make sure we arrived safely. I quickly got into my chair and a little while later, Teal made her way up to my room.  After two years of friendship, we finally got to meet face to face.

We went to a late breakfast at Friday's, then basically just wandered around the area for a while.

We made our way down to the Maid of the Mist, and hopped aboard.  Sure, we got a bit waterlogged, definitely moreso than Teal expected, but I couldn't, in all good conscience, let her miss out on the Maid of the Mist experience, could I?

After the boat, we wandered back to the hotel and had dinner at The Keg.

All of us ended the night just hanging out in the room and watching the fireworks over the Falls.
Despite the craziness of Thursday, Friday was great.

Saturday started with another late breakfast, this time at Tony Roma's, and then it was time for the big event.  A lot of my Niagara trips are planned around Chantal Kreviazuk concerts, as was the case this time, but this one was raising the bar of awesomeness. Not only was it another show at the excellent Jackson-Triggs Winery, but this time, Chantal was being accompanied by the Niagara Symphony Orchestra.  As if that wasn't cool enough, the concert was also being filmed for a DVD/Bluray, etc.
So, Mom, Aunt Karen, Teal, and I packed into the van and headed to the winery early to meet up with some friends before the show.  It was fun, as always, to visit with Terence, Deb, Shelly, Chris, Russell, Mitch, Sandy, and a very pregnant Kathy.  People came and went, we hung out and chatted for a bit, then made our way down to the amphitheater for the show.

In reviewing the concert, I would end up mostly echoing my own comments about past shows, so I'll just say the show was incredible, Chantal sounded and looked wonderful, the orchestra really enhanced the sound into a whole new experience, the venue was beautiful, the wine was outstanding, and we had perfect seats (Thanks, Del!).

After the show, we said our see-you-laters, snapped some pictures, and headed back to the hotel.

The awesome Karen Graves

The gang

Del!

Unfortunately, this is where the whole thing went downhill for me.

Around 4 AM on Sunday morning, I woke up feeling awful.  The best I can guess is the mixture of wine and what I'm assuming was a kidney stone episode hit me at the same time and threw me for a loop, leaving me stuck in the hotel bed for the next couple days. I stayed in bed from Saturday night until we left on Monday morning, slept the whole way home, then got in my own bed for a couple more days.
For the last bit of vacation, my aunt and Teal bonded as they hung out and wandered around Niagara while Mom stayed in the room with me. I consider the "end" of the trip to be Sunday night. They had fireworks again and I could see them from my bed, so everyone gathered and watched. Teal had an early flight back to LA on Monday, so after the fireworks, she hugged me and was off.

After we got back, it took me about a week before I started to feel back to normal. Plus, I was laid up for so long, I got a bit weak and it took me about a month to fully feel like myself again.
So, the trip started and ended badly, but the concert and spending time with Teal were worth it.


That was the start of summer, and honestly, the rest of the summer whooshed by.  It was an exceptionally hot summer, so I really didn't go out much.  Everyone was busy, so I didn't see many people, though I did spend some good time with Bridget and Sarah.  I even got to catch up a bit with Cathy and Nikki, neither of whom I'd seen in ages.
And, of course, I'm always hanging out with my ever-growing and scarily smart nephew, Matthew.

Before I knew it, my birthday was upon me and summer was nearing it's end.  I had a pre-birthday visit from Corey, Eric, and Brendan, and then had a blast celebrating at Corks with Bridget the following weekend.

Me & Bridget

The weekend was topped off by a great hang out session with Marisa.


So, here we are.  Fall has arrived and it looks like it'll be a busy one.  I'm just about to embark on another Canadian adventure, I'm working on a big screenplay, I'm prepping a short film I love, and I'm working on a comic strip.
Yowza.
Let's go, fall!

Jacob's Semi-Yearly Year's End Review of the Year- 2010

Well, kiddos...it's been a crazy year. Who's up for a little recap?

Way back in January, after a hiatus that was much longer than intended, I resumed work on The Girl and the Ghost.

As I animated that, Larry and the gang finished and premiered Dolly Oxem's Traveling Video Circus.

I worked right through February and in March, realized that at some point, the music video for Sex Love and Honey had snuck past 100,000 views without me noticing.

Mom and I took off to Toronto for a few days and attended a pair of amazing back-to-back Our Lady Peace concerts. (A blog entry for this trip is still coming. Really.)

A few days after getting back from the trip, we had The Meeting. The 4Reelz crew came together for a meeting which I consider to be the official start of the journey known as Four Tanks and a Healer.

As work on Ghost continued into April, the schedule for Four Tanks and a Healer began to sink in. I knew I couldn't handle them simultaneously, so I reluctantly put The Girl and the Ghost on hold once again and started animation on Four Tanks.

Toward the end of the month, I took in a fantastic concert by The Swell Season.

The summer was comprised of endless long hours of animation. By the time August rolled around, I was in massive need of a break. Mom and I swung up to Niagara Falls for a few days and saw Chantal & Raine play two shows at the Jackson-Triggs winery.

It was a great break and an unforgettable experience.

August also saw the release of my personal favorite movie of the year- Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. 112 minutes of pure movie fun.

Before the month was over, Superman paid us a visit.

Christopher Dennis, the Hollywood Boulevard Superman, was in town to film a scene for The Long, Slow Death of a Twenty-Something with Larry. After filming, they stopped by my house. Not many people get surprises like that.

September got off to a bumpy start. A fun night out at the wine bar with Corey, Eric, and Beth ended with heavy rain basically frying my wheelchair's controls.

This left me stranded with a dead chair for my birthday and a couple weeks beyond. It sucked, but I got a lot of animation done.

Once my chair was semi-functional, Mom and I spent a day at the zoo. A weekday in late September is definitely the time to go. Everyone's at school and work and you pretty much have free reign of the place. It's pretty nice.

The work continued through October. When Halloween arrived, Matthew was ready. His love for Toy Story was apparent by his costume choice.

In early November, I allowed myself another little break and headed up to Niagara again with Mom. This was a very laid back trip consisting mostly of eating, drinking, and a Chantal concert. It was a short, but sweet getaway.

Upon returning, I buckled down for the home stretch and finally finished animating Four Tanks and a Healer after seven months.

In the following days, I re-learned how to relax just in time to enjoy Thanksgiving and Matthew's 3rd birthday. Still can't believe the little bugger's already three.

In December, I sat down and just wrote for the first time in months and it felt great. I now have a script for a brand new animated short film.

On the 18th, we all gathered at Pufferbelly in Kent for the wrap party for Four Tanks and a Healer and The Long, Slow Death of a Twenty-Something.

A few days later, it was time for Christmas and all the fun that comes with it.

Now, I'm sitting here in the early hours of 2011, just reflecting to myself on 2010 after spending New Year's Eve with Mom and Matthew. If I had to pick a word for the year, I guess it would be "strange." I spent most of the year with my nose in my laptop, racing toward the animation deadline. The working hours seemed to drag on forever and stressed me out to my wit's end. Oddly, that made the rest of the year fly by. I honestly barely even remember the summer. So, it was a productive year, but a strange one.

The highlight? Watching this butthead...

...grow into this butthead.

So, what's up for 2011? First and foremost, I'm jumping in and FINALLY finishing The Girl and the Ghost.

After that, I'll be tackling the new short, which I really think will be amazing. I'm extremely excited about this one.

And what of Four Tanks? Well, Larry has meetings scheduled with some big TV networks out in LA at the end of January, so we'll see.

Here's hoping 2011 is a great one. Happy New Year, guys!

Late November Catch Up

Well, it's been a while since I've blogged. Why? Because my days have been pretty boring. My change-of-season-sickness turned into a sore throat/cough/ear infection/sinus infection...thing. It ended up hanging around in some form for about two months. Thankfully, it has FINALLY passed as of recently. I am still fighting with my ear as it continues to randomly plug and unplug. Fun, fun, fun.
Oh, and I also got my swine flu shot two weeks ago today, so hopefully I won't have to worry about sprouting a twirly tail and feeling the urge to roll around in the mud.

So, the major frustration of the long sickness (besides being sick), is that my work on The Girl and the Ghost was delayed. Bigtime. I had hoped to have it finished by the end of the year, at least the actual animation phase, but that's pretty unlikely now. It WILL get done though. This one has been far too long of a journey to turn back now.

Some recent highlights have included Halloween and Thanksgiving. Halloween was great because little Matthew made me proud and dressed up as Superman.
Check this awesome little nugget out.


I also carved a Jeff-Goldblum-O-Lantern.

Thanksgiving was nice, I had fun just chilling out with all the family. On top of that, it was also Matthew's second birthday. It was a blast to watch him open his presents and dive into his cake. Can't believe the little bugger's only been around for two years, it kind of feels like he's always been here.

As one of my gifts to him, I made another video to follow The First Four and The Following Fifteen. Here's Eighteen Through Twenty Four.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ly7y7vqqSAQ

Thanksgiving weekend was rounded out with lots of hanging with the gang. It was the first I've gotten to hang with Corey, Eric, Brendan, Jeff, Mikey, and Mo all together in ages.
Twas a good time.

There's also a bit of big news I'm excited to share. A couple weeks ago, Larry, Aaron, and the guys headed out to LA for a week of meetings. On November 19th, I got a text from Larry that read

"Lotr producer just took us to breakfast to tell us he's investing in our new toon"

Mark Ordesky, producer of Lord of the Rings, is investing in our next animated project, Four Tanks and a Healer.

You can read Larry's account of the trip here.
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/notes/larry-longstreth/onward-to-awesomeness/207207984601

This is so mind-boggling to me that my brain has yet to fully process it. It'll definitely be interesting to see where our projects go in 2010.

But before that? Christmas. I'm really looking forward to it this year. I'm ready for some Christmas spirit.

A Picture, Some Video, and a Ghost Update

Haven't been blogging much lately, since I finally jumped back into animating The Girl and the Ghost again. Animation resumed on August 5th and I've been going full force ever since. Until last Thursday, that is.

I sent the MacBook in to get checked out before the warranty ran out. So, I've been on my old iBook ever since. It's been killing me to not be able to animate (or watch YouTube videos, or play games, or do anything entertaining) for the past week. It should be back soon though, then it's back to work.

Animation-wise, I recently passed the 500 hour mark and have just over six minutes of completed footage. I'm usually extremely critical of my own work, but I honestly love how this is looking. It's finally coming together and actually feels like a movie. Can't wait to finish it and get it out there. For now, here's a still shot.

While we're in sneak peek mode, here's the trailer for Dolly Oxem's Traveling Video Circus!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PpftKra7PUk

The computer downtime, though annoying, was timed well, as this past weekend was my birthday weekend. I was busy hanging with Corey, Eric, Mikey, Brendan, and Jake. Even got to see Aaron for the first time in ages on Sunday.
Much Rock Band was played and much fun was had. Thanks, guys.

I saw Our Lady Peace in concert on August 20th and had an amazing time. There's a detailed blog entry about that on its way as soon as I'm back on a computer better suited to handle pictures and video. For now, though, here's their latest music video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nK4MwL5p_o

Now, I better go get some rest. I'm in the middle of my usual change-of-season sickness.

Bleh.

More soon.

One of Those Weekends

It's been one of those weekends where things just don't go smoothly. And they don't just not go smoothly, they tend to go badly or plain old weirdly.

Earlier in the week, I happily popped online and booked a hotel room for this Monday in Niagara Falls. All was well, I was excited.

As the week progressed, we were taking care of all those little pre-trip things that need to be handled, like making sure the van is all ready to go. We've had the van for eight years now and I've been noticing for a little while that the wheelchair lift sags a bit when I'm on it, so we thought it wise to take it in and have it looked at.

Dad took it in on Friday. He sat and waited for a couple hours before they came out and told him everything looked good. Making sure, Dad asked if they had checked the hinge pins, which hold the lift level and steady. They went and took a look, stating that they should be good for another one to ten years. Having seen how it sags, Dad wasn't convinced, so they offered to remove a pin so he could get a better look.

Upon removal, the pin broke, rendering the lift useless.

Of course, they had none of those pins in stock, but they could order them and have them shipped on Tuesday. Installation would be $700. Dad raised a bit of a fuss and they came down to $400, at which point he got in the van and left.
(Further research revealed the pins to cost only $30 a piece.)

Having worked in a steel mill for thirty years, Dad resolved to fix it himself.

So, I've been nervous about whether or not that'd be fixed or if the trip would be canceled. To add to it, Friday was the last day I could have canceled the reservation without having to pay any fees.

Later that day, we ended up stumping the phone repairman. We just upgraded our phone, internet and TV services with a package deal a few weeks back. Earlier this week, our phone service stopped working right. While still able to make calls, we haven't been able to receive any. They were finally able to get someone here, but after much troubleshooting, he concluded he had never seen an issue like this before. He said the source of the problem wasn't on our end though, and it should hopefully be fixed by Tuesday.
Seeing a pattern here?

Things got relaxed as the evening came and brought game night with it. Corey and Eric came into town for some early birthday fun and Mikey joined us. That's when the surprise came. Everyone secretly chipped in and got me an XBox 360 for my birthday. I'm still surprised and it's Sunday now. Thanks again, guys!
For the rest of the night, we played Rock Band. And we ruled.

Eventually, game night came to an end. Mikey was the last to leave, taking off a little after 1:30 AM. A few minutes later, Mom and I heard the whooshing sound of a car speeding down our street. From the sound of it, he was easily doing 60 or over. Then came the series of thuds.
Mom immediately dialed 911 and ran outside.
At some point during the swerving of the vehicle, one of the tires blew out. Out of control, the car jumped the curb, roared across three lawn, and crashed into the side of an empty house, maybe 7 or 8 houses down from our own. A few minutes later, a police officer handcuffed the driver as he was loaded into the ambulance and taken away.
Word is that there were no skid marks, so the guy didn't even attempt to hit the brakes.

Definitely one of those weekends.

Now, to end on a lighter note, Dad and his buddy Jimmy were able to fix the lift earlier today. Trip's on.

Updatery

I know I'm ridiculously overdue for an update, so let's fix that, shall we?

I'm still working my butt off on The Greatest Fan Film of All Time. I still love how it's looking, though it's still taking forever. I tallied it up a couple weeks ago and found I have well over twenty minutes of it animated. I'd expect that would make the finish line feel closer, but so far no dice. I'm currently working on the major action scene of the film. Once that's finished, I think I'll start to feel good.

I'm still frequenting the movie theater when I need a break. As I anticipated, I'm a big fan of Wall-E. Cool story, amazing visuals, very touching, Pixar didn't let me down.

Hellboy II: The Golden Army was a blast and a great followup to the first.

Hancock was just okay for me. It was fun and had it's cool moments, but I wasn't blown away. I liked it though.

The Dark Knight, as I'm sure most of you know, is a beast. It's been a long time since I've enjoyed seeing a movie as much as I enjoyed that midnight screening. Eric, Jeff, Mikey, Mo and I were there in the sold out theater for the first showing. Everyone there was pumped and we even had a Robin and a Nightwing in attendance. Turns out I actually knew Nightwing.
The movie itself was great. Intense, dark, and managed to surprise me several times. I'm looking forward to a few more viewings.

DailyMotion has been awesome and very supportive of our films. After they gave Nintendo: OldSchool Revolution a couple months back (giving it an additional 89,000+ views so far), they ended up showing it at a screening at their offices last week. It's pretty wild to think that the project I animated nearly three years ago was just shown on a rooftop in New York City. Craziness. A million thanks to Aimee.

Even crazier, I got an email requesting I submit Sex Love and Honey to the Anim'est International Animation Film Festival in Bucharest, Romania. I still can't process that people on the other side of the world have seen my work and are even requesting it.
Now as part of the submission, I need to create a press kit for myself. That ought to be bizarre.

Who wants more baby Matthew pictures?

Also, some long overdue pictures of my autographed prize from Stan Lee, which turned out to be a poster for The Incredible Hulk.

I'll have to find a prime spot on my wall for this beauty.

"Cause This Is What You've Waited For..."

The weeks of anticipation and waiting came to a head on Sunday night as Mom and I headed downtown. It surprised me when I realized I hadn't been downtown since seeing Superman Returns at the Omnimax back in September.
I wish I had the camera handy while we drove. The sun punched through the cloudy sky and created a perfect shimmering reflection on Lake Erie just before we got into the city.

We were sitting in traffic behind the Allen Theatre , waiting to pull into the parking garage, when my filmmaker-sense started to tingle. I caught sight of a boom mic in the distance, then I saw the camera, in front of the equipment were the stars of the night, Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova. I still don't know what they were filming behind the theatre, but the little glimpse was cool.

Mom was nervous as we approached the 7-foot height limit sign at the entrance of the garage in our behemoth of a van. The woman in the booth assured us we'd be fine and told us to head up to the 5th floor. So we did. Noisily. The van was just low enough to clear the ceiling, but our non-retractable radio antenna wasn't. It scraped on almost every lowered area of the ceiling on our way up to the roof. It was a bit stressful, but the tension was cut when I caught Mom ducking to clear the ceiling. While in the van.

We found our way from the garage to the theatre and met up with Eric and Bridget in a stroke of perfect timing. The usher lady (Usheress?) led us on a twisted path toward our seats. Halfway there, I started having a bit of trouble driving my chair on the somewhat steep incline and actually got stuck against some chairs. Meanwhile, the usheress didn't notice and kept walking all the way down to our seats.
As I battled gravity, the slant, and the chairs, who bumps into us? Adrienne. I couldn't believe it, I haven't actually seen her in about three years. She chatted with Bridget and Eric as I tried to free myself, but once I finally succeeded, the usheress returned and we followed. I really wish I could've talked with her and caught up a little bit.

Now at our seats, we looked around at the impressive interior of the Allen Theatre for a few brief minutes before a burly Irishman walked onto the stage. It was the opening act, Damien Dempsey. I had heard his name before, but that was all I knew of him before Sunday night. Despite his suffering from hay fever, he really impressed me. He had a great sound that occasionally consisted of a unique blend of Irish music with a dash of Bob Marley. It was his last night accompanying Glen & Marketa on the tour, so the band snuck out and surprised him by joining him on his final song.

After a brief intermission, Glen Hansard took the stage by himself at 9:15. He stood at the very front of the stage with his eternal sidekick, the holey guitar. Minus microphone and guitar unplugged, he gestured for the audience to quiet down. Seconds later, the theatre was complete silence and Glen played Say It To Me Now. No matter how hard I try, it would be impossible to put that performance into words. The closest I could come up with, and I know it probably sounds a bit over-the-top, would be to say it was a transcendental experience, he removed us from our daily worlds and brought us into theirs with that song and would keep us there for the rest of the night. The song was met with an uproar of applause.

Marketa Irglova joined Glen and took center stage, singing All the Way Down and sounding amazing.
They were then joined by the rest of the band, who I realized were Colm Mac Con Iomaire, Rob Bochnik, and Joe Doyle of The Frames. This made what would have already been an incredible concert even better.

They went on to play a fantastic mix of songs from Once (Lies, Falling Slowly, If You Want Me), some Frames songs (True, What Happens When the Heart Just Stops), and even a handful of new songs. Marketa sang one I particularly liked, called I Have Loved You Wrong.
She blew me away when she sang Lullaby from The Wicker Man (the original of course, as she referred to the remake as "kind of shit").
Glen went crazy on guitar for his awesome rendition of Van Morrison's Astral Weeks.
Colm even got his moment in the spotlight, performing a beautiful solo piece on the violin.

As usual, a highlight of the night was Glen's talking between songs and introducing them. He's a hilarious storyteller, he even got so into it at one point that he reenacted the classic near/far bit from Sesame Street, repeatedly running from the front to the back of the stage.
He briefly reminisced about how crazy these last couple years have been with the huge success and Oscar win of Once. His thoughts reflected my own when he expressed amazement at how the venues they're playing have changed from the venues they played before the film, giving the example of going from the Beachland Ballroom last time they were in Cleveland to the Allen Theatre this time.

After more thunderous applause, they all returned for a nice long encore which included Star Star, Fitzcarraldo, and a traditional Irish song, The Auld Triangle, for which Damien Dempsey returned to the stage. That rounded out the night of great music. I can't speak for anyone else, but I was left in awe after the show and still feel it when I think about it.

Bridget and Eric made their way to us, battling against the current of audience members leaving the theatre. We all talked about how much we loved the show before heading out to the merch booth in the lobby, where I grabbed Damien Dempsey, Rob Bochnik, and Colm Mac Con Iomaire's CDs along with a Swell Season tee-shirt.

We said our goodnights and parted ways, making our way back to the van, then scraping and ducking all the way down to the street.

That was a night I'd love to revisit, and thanks to technology I'll be able to once PlayedLastNight.com puts the show up.

Pure greatness.

"...I Can't Believe How Much I Love the Rain"

Easter weekend was a fun, but exhausting one. Thursday through Saturday were dominated by Rock Band, especially Friday, when we went from 9 PM until 3 AM and played 58 songs in a row to reach legendary status. My voice, surprisingly felt completely fine afterwards. We had our biggest band lineup yet, rotating between Corey, Eric, Brendan, Mikey, Jeff, Jake, and myself throughout the course of the night. While we played, the skies opened up and the guys had to dig their cars out from under several inches of snow by the time we finished.

After our Saturday night session, I was up until about 9 AM, putting another family video together for everyone for Easter. The video turned out nicely, but having gotten only 4 hours of sleep, I was pretty much shot for the rest of the day. It was nice visiting at Granny's though.

When we got home, I had an email from Larry with a link to a recent article about Bullcrank and our movies. Check it out here:

http://www.fallsnewspress.com/news/article/3503402

So, the crazy weekend is over and I return to cartoonland once again. People seem to be responding positively to the trailer, which is a nice bit of fuel during the long nights of animating.

For now, I'll leave you with another family video I cut together earlier this week. This one features baby Matthew and I'm calling it The First Four.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Qo3g8tKnFk

Meanwhile, Deep in Space...

It's tough to believe I was in Windsor a year ago today, seeing Chantal and Raine play. I remember checking my email in the hotel and getting a note from Larry about a bunch of ideas he and the guys were coming up with for a new animated short. It's hard to explain, but when Larry's in his creative groove, you can somehow see his excitement in how he types his emails and IMs. He was in his groove that day as he asked me if I'd be up for taking on the project.

Fast forward a year. Those ideas evolved into The Greatest Fan Film of All Time and I'm animating like a kid in a candy shop (that is if kids could animate and chose to do so in a candy shop, which, as far as I know, they can't and don't, but I'm doing it anyway, so nyah).
I'm currently working on a recent addition to the script, which is a scene that takes place on a certain alien world. It's been interesting creating my own version of a world from scratch.
I'm having fun playing with lighting to set the mood. It can be tricky, but I'm really happy with the results so far.

A little peek

I'm really excited about this. The look and feel from Batman's Gonna Get Shot in the Face is still there, but the actual animation itself is vastly improved. I can't wait for this puppy to be ready for unveiling.

Last week's Rock Band weekend was awesome. We played for three nights and I loved it, even with the songs I'm not into. Except Suffragette City. And Brainpower. Friday was the big night of the weekend, we played through until 4:30 AM. Corey's our guitar guru, Brendan rocks out on the drums, and Mikey and Eric usually alternate on bass while I sing. Maria even hung out for a bit on Saturday and classed things up with some boxed wine.


Now I must return to space. Goodnight, Reykjavic!

Really, Who DOESN'T Like Turtles?

The wayward blogger returns. I really do need to stop disappearing like that.

I suppose I'll start by wrapping up the loose threads I left in my last entry. A month ago.
Cloverfield was a fun time. I ended up going on opening night with Mikey, Corey, and Brendan and we ended up sitting in nearly the front row. The movie itself was a ride. Cool idea, nice visuals, and I'm glad I went. I wouldn't mind catching it again before it leaves theaters.

Eric joined us the following days as we had a Rock Band weekend. I really didn't expect to be into it, but I had a blast playing that game. We played for hours on end for two days, which resulted in my voice taking a couple days off to recoop.
Round 2 is this coming weekend and I can't wait.

The weather's been crazy, varying from freezing temperatures to oddly warm to ridiculously rainy to producing Hoth intensity snow storms, the latter being what we've had for the last couple days. We even had some unusually bright lightning during Saturday night's snow.

There haven't been many openings to get out to anywhere lately, but that's actually been helpful to my animation. I've been getting quite a bit done, especially this last week. I'm not one to toot my own horn, but the last shot I finished is quite possibly the best four seconds of animation I've ever created.
Tonight was a mini-milestone. As of 2:00 AM, I finished work on one of the more important scenes in The Greatest Fan Film of All Time. I won't spoil what happens in the scene, but I'll say this...someone does something to someone. Excited yet?

It'a after 6 AM, so I guess I'll do the logical thing and go get some sleep. I'll leave you with a video that has made me crack up every time I've watched it. I still don't know what's funnier, the kid or the reporter's awkward reaction.

"Normality" Restored

Things are back to normal, as the final stragglers from winter break have departed to rejoin the real world. I am sad to see things shift back, as the constant company was nice.

Friday was the last game night of the break and a smaller one than we've been having, now that Corey, Eric, and Jeff are all back at work and school. Though there was a nice change of pace, when Nikki joined Mikey, Brendan, and me for her first game night. It was a nice follow up to hanging out with her last Tuesday, during which she felt her first earthquake. Always new experiences for friends, here at the Drake house. Schedule your appointment today!*

Saturday was a relaxed night of wine and venting with Maria. It was enjoyable and much needed.

Last night, it was back to work at full force. I animated for nine hours and churned out a whopping six seconds of footage for The Greatest Fan Film of All Time. It doesn't sound like much, but it counts. It's the start of a major push from me to finish this thing.
I also managed to watch the first episode of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. I'm a sucker for the whole Terminator universe, so I enjoyed it and can't wait to check out the new episode tonight.

Back to work for this chap. No scheduled notable breaks until Cloverfield on Friday. Wish a fella luck.

*No weirdos, please. Earthquakes cannot be guaranteed. Game night seating is limited, act fast. No refunds.

And Many a Hall Was Decked

This Christmas was a goody.

Our morning tradition had a bigger attendance this year, being our first one with Jessi and Hanna joining us, not to mention it was Matthew's very first Christmas.


They arrived around 2:00 (our equivalent of morning) and Hanna took on the duty of passing out the presents.

I love a good hat.

Santa did great this year, I got some new speakers I had been hoping for, an excellent Superman statue, a whole bunch of DVDs including Once and the collector's edition of the soundtrack. I also got a really nice hat, just like my old Superman hat (minus the S emblem) which I lost that fateful night at the wine bar so long ago. I even got a lightsaber.

Add that to the DVDs Mikey got me, the awesome books Corey gave me, and the Festivus greeting from Eric, and I'd say I received quite the haul.

Giving gifts just gets more and more enjoyable each year. It was my pleasure to perform my unclely duty and give Matthew his first CD. I decided to meet our worlds halfway and give him For the Kids, a CD full of modern artists signing kids songs. It even has Raine and Chantal doing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.


Keeping to tradition, we loaded up and headed over to Grandma's, where Matthew met all of his crazy (in a good way) relatives.

Kayla holds Matthew
Erin takes a turn
Maude's in her element
My grandma and her great grandson

It was a nice and laid back time just eating, drinking, and visiting with everyone. At one point, I busted out one of the DVDs I got that morning. It wasn't just any DVD, it was a magical flashback DVD of epic proportions. Never did I think I'd find myself at the age of 25, sitting with Brendan, Jacqui, Jeff, and Ronnie as we watched Fraggle Rock.

Classic.


Later on, we all opened a couple more books. Mine were a beautiful hardcover edition of Justice, Volume 1 and a great looking 12" figure of the Cyborg Superman.

Photo by Brendan

As the night went on, everyone slowly filed out. We were the last to leave and got home at 10:30 after a long day.

Despite the total lack of snow, this Christmas really felt like Christmas, which I remember wasn't quite the case last year. It was really nice. And I'm glad.

Now I'll spend the days leading up to New Year's playing with my new toys. Ralphie better grab his Red Ryder BB gun and scram. This is how the big boys play.


Oh, and I got a pony too. His name is Bill.