Lil Bits

Since the projects I'm currently working on will most likely have me busy for quite some time and any updates on them will probably be few and far between for a while, I was thinking from time to time maybe I'll post some small art projects I did during the time I was absent from the blog.

To start off, here's some digital art I made a few months ago to commemorate Superman's 80th anniversary.  I whipped this one up pretty quickly, over the span of a couple hours from start to finish, but I'm pretty happy with how it turned out.

Blogging As I Watch Sesame Street with My Nephew

Well, I've finished my antibiotics and I'm finally feeling mostly better. Still need to shake some of the cobwebs out, I think. But, I'm happy to say I am finally feeling good enough to get things rolling again.

There was a little trouble with getting The Greatest Fan Film of All Time to Stan Lee's people via the internet, so I put a DVD together last night and mailed it today. It's on its way!

I've been in writing mode this week and have the groundwork laid out for what could turn into new animated short. It's still early, but I'm really excited about this idea. I'll update more as it evolves.

I was feeling artsy recently and figured I'd try to illustrate one of my Mucinex/dehydration hallucinations from my hospital stay. I chose one where my hospital room wall appeared to be a hellish cavern with an old lady holding a cat standing in the middle of it.
(We've all seen that one before, haven't we?)

click to see bigger

Mom and I went and saw the new Star Trek movie yesterday. I've never been a Star Trek fan, but I thought it was pretty good. A decent start to my summer movie-going season. Personally, I can't wait for Terminator Salvation.

Not much else going on at the moment... I'm boring.

Artwork for Anna

Some fellow fans have been asking to see the picture I made for Anna Nalick, so here it is!

(click for full size)

"And You Let Me Lay My Burdens Down..."

A few weeks ago, I was happy to find out Anna Nalick was headed back to do another show at the House of Blues in Cleveland on July 31st. As usual with concerts I must go to, I got my tickets right away.

Last week, I decided to start work on a little project I had been pondering for a while. It was an idea inspired by the firefly story Anna shared with the crowd last time I saw her. After a few days work, my piece of cyber art was finished and I was surprisingly pleased with it. I was amazed at how quickly I finished it and how good it turned out.

The unexpected flooding events of the last few days threw a wrench into things, as I wasn't sure what state things would be in on concert day. Mom and I decided a little break from the chaos was necessary and we had to go.

We got a really late start and headed for Kinko's to print out my artwork to give Anna. It was 8:15 when we left for Kinko's and venue doors opened at 7:30. The print job was done and we aimed downtown.

We reached the House of Blues just before 9:30. Even though we were running late, the timing was pretty uncanny, as soon as I got into the lobby, I heard Luis on guitar playing the first notes of Citadel, the first song of the set.

Sadly, I completely missed the opening act, Eliot Morris.

Despite sitting in the very back, I had a surprisingly good view. Anna and the boys sounded great. I'm happy to say my only disappointment from the last show was resolved when they played Forever Love (Digame). She introduced it by telling how it was written after she was in a car accident and had the thought that she wasn't gonna go until someone told her they'd love her forever.

Anna also told stories of marathon viewings of Entourage on the bus, getting the cold shoulder from actor Jared Leto earlier in the day, and an embarrassing mess up while playing on a local news broadcast that morning.

They went on to play the rest of the tracks from Wreck of the Day as she pranced around the stage with her bare feet, including Drink Me and More Than Melody from the recent reissue of her debut album. She also sang the absolutely beautiful song, Home.

Towards the end of the song, Bleed, Anna introduces the band and they all slip in their solos as their names are called. I cracked up during drummer Ronny Crawford's solo as his movements were strikingly similar to everyone's favorite drumming muppet, Animal.

My personal highlight of the show was the Guitar vs Voice showdown between Luis and Anna. Imagine Dueling Banjos, minus the banjos and hillbillies. Luis would play a riff and Anna would sing the notes back at him. It was pretty funny, Luis kept playing ridiculously high notes knowing there was no possible way Anna could hit them.

To my delight Anna announced she'd be signing autographs in the lobby after the show. They ended the night with Satellite and left the stage.

Fantastic show.

While waiting in line to meet Anna again, Mom and I ended up befriending a really cool security guy, Andre. We all chatted for a nice little while until the line started to move.

Before I knew it, I was face to face with Anna yet again. "Hello again!" she said, to my surprise. I can't imagine how she remembers people with the massive amounts of people she must see on a daily basis in her line of work.
We talked for a little bit and I gave her the picture I made. I had a copy of my own I asked her to sign and she asked me to sign her copy. I must say, it felt strange signing something for a pop star as she autographed something for me. A good kind of strange. I also gave her a copy of the photograph of us from the last time she was in town and she signed mine.
Before I left, I asked if I could get a picture with her, but she said it was up to the club and they said no. I'm guessing it was because the line was so long and they wanted to keep things moving. We agreed "maybe next time" and said our see-you-laters.

Mom and I went to a chair a few feet away to sort everything before heading outside. As Mom was going through her purse, I noticed Anna leaning out from behind the table, trying to get my attention. I guess she saw the end of the autograph line was near and told me if I waited a couple minutes, we could get a picture together. Folks, the lady's a total sweetheart.
While waiting, I bought myself a copy of Eliot Morris' CD (which is great!) and he kindly signed for me.
A few minutes later, as promised, she came over and posed for a picture with me.

We chatted briefly, saying our thank-yous and more see-you-laters. Mom commented how beautiful Anna's voice is, to which she quickly and cutely replied "The better to sing for you with, my dears."


While at the autograph table, I also gave Anna the address to this site. So, Anna, if you find your way here, thank you for your kindness, the music, and a wonderful night.

Batman News and Other Updates

Hey gang, got some cool news! Last Thursday, I saw the finished version of Batman's Gonna Get Shot in the Face. I'm gonna be honest and I hope I don't sound too cocky, but this is going to blow Revolution out of the water. I'm extremely proud of how it turned out and I'm hoping everyone else enjoys it too.
Larry's talking about doing a premier for Batman and his new short film, The Losers Have a Junkyard. There aren't any details on the premier yet, but for now, you can view new trailers for both films over at Bullcrank.com

I also have to mention that late Friday night, Nintendo: OldSchool Revolution passed 400,000 views at iFilm and it's still going strong! It's like the little cartoon that could.

So, I've now been done animating Batman for almost two weeks. I'm definitely enjoying the break, but I'll admit, it's pretty weird not having a project waiting for me every day. After the initial aimlessness of the first couple days post-Batman, I haven't had much trouble finding ways to keep myself busy. I've actually been working on quite a few projects and hobbies. So far I've...

• Started rewriting a script of mine.

• Resumed reading Neil Gaiman's Smoke and Mirrors.

• Gotten roped into Monopoly madness with Mikey, Brendan, and Corey.

• Created some new artwork.

So, yeah, I'm keeping my hands full, but looking forward to the next big project.
Closing thoughts for now: Go see Clerks II, it's great. And while you're at it, see Superman Returns. That movie's amazing and beautiful and deserves more love from the moviegoing public.

Jacob's 2004 Adventure: Part III- On the Road

August 30th arrived. I had gone to bed early the night before, but because of my excitement level I wasn’t able to sleep. Mom and I got up at 6:00 AM and got ourselves ready. I calculated that if we hit the road at 9:00 AM we would easily be able to make it to Toronto by 4:00 PM. A little after 8:30 we left to pick up Grandma. When we got to her house we got some frustrating news. My aunt, who lives about 45 minutes away, hadn’t even left her house yet!
I was fuming, this could throw a wrench into the gears of my whole plan. At 10:00 AM she showed up and we were on our way. We were an hour late and Mom knew what to do: drive fast (while of course obeying all speed limits and traffic laws...mostly.)

Though the weather was rainy and at times foggy, the ride was beautiful. I sat in the passenger’s seat wearing my lucky Superman shirt I had been wearing when I met Chantal Kreviazuk (that's another story in itself). I hoped it would bring me luck again that day.

Armed with my iPod and lots of good music, I helped Mom navigate and enjoyed the scenery. One of the things that sticks out the most in my memory was a sight somewhere in Pennsylvania. As we cruised along on the freeway, we crossed high above some valleys and rivers, when we did, we were almost level with the treetops of the forests running along the road. At that height, it struck me how beautiful it was to see the mist lingering above the roof of the trees. It reminded me of something out of prehistoric times in a way.
The fog got pretty dense as we passed into New York, but that was short-lived. The closer we got to the Canadian border the better the weather got. Shortly after we crossed the border, the sun finally came out and shone down upon our road.

Just after we passed Niagara Falls, our stomachs were empty and our bladders were ready to burst, so we stopped to remedy those issues. After a quick slice of pizza, we loaded back into the van and headed for the QEW. It was roughly 3:30 I think, still behind schedule, but I hadn’t lost hope yet.

Around 5:00 I finally saw Toronto emerging over the horizon. I was so excited, the city looked beautiful. Gleaming skyscrapers everywhere you turned, everything looked so clean, and the sight of the people quickly walking down the sidewalks after getting out of work was something straight out of a movie. To my Superman-loving eyes, it looked like Metropolis had been ripped right out of the comic books and I was smack dab in the middle of it.

It took a little while to find our way to the Air Canada Centre, but we persisted and made it there. We hurried inside and went straight to the box office to pick up the tickets that were waiting for us.

I had some time to kill before doors opened and I had traveled nearly three hundred miles, so I decided to check the place out and see what I could see. Mom and I went back outside and walked around the building. I was shocked to actually find a door marked “Stage Door.”
Outside of the door were a bunch of security guards taking their breaks, having cigarettes, etc. I decided to play it cool and hang around for a bit. In my mind, me playing it cool greatly resembles Richie Cunningham trying his best to act like The Fonz. After a little while, I made my way over to the guards and asked if this was where the band comes in, but he told me they had already been inside for a couple hours. I was obviously disappointed, but had nothing better to do than continue to wait around, so I did.

When I’m determined to do something, I like to think that I’m nearly unstoppable, you can’t kill my hope and motivation. At the same time, I’m not too naive to know when I’m defeated. It was 7:00, I was tired, discouraged, and I admitted defeat, so Mom and I headed inside. Having not slept the night before, I was feeling a bit grumpy and to be completely honest, if it wasn’t The Corrs, I really wouldn’t have been in the mood for a concert.

A short time later I got to my seat in the chilly arena, home of the Maple Leafs. I met up with a friend from the message board, Richard, who I had met at the Cleveland show. We swapped our travel stories and as he left, I told him to send my friend, Steph, up to see me if he bumped into her. It was then that something completely unexpected happened, as a result, Steph wouldn’t find me until after the concert.

Meanwhile a few rows back (When buying tickets, we were only allowed to buy two seats in the disabled section, so my aunt and grandma were sitting a few rows behind us) my aunt was amused by the fact that we traveled to Toronto and people here knew me. What can I say? I’m a schmoozer.

As I sat there wearing my Superman shirt in this Metropolis-lookalike city, I could barely believe my eyes when I saw a tall, muscular, completely bald Lex Luthor clone coming up the stairs. Instinct from years of comic books had me ready for a battle or at least some intense witty banter. Thankfully it didn’t come to that, being tired and all it certainly wouldn’t have been one of my better performances.
I watched him and was surprised to see he was indeed coming to me. Who was this? Someone from the message board I hadn’t met yet?
He came right in front of me and spoke.
My aunt couldn’t take the mystery anymore and came down by us to find out what was going on.
The following is what was said to the best of my recollection. For storytelling purposes, I’ll affectionately refer to him as “Lex.”

LEX
What’s your name?

ME
...Jacob.

LEX
Jacob Drake?

ME
...Yeah?

LEX
Who are you with?

ME
My mom, aunt, and grandma.

At this point you could see him stop and think about it.

LEX
We thought you’d be here with your parents. We have passes for you and two guests to meet the band.

After they resuscitated me, he told me to follow him.
I raced against the general flow of traffic in the main corridor of the Air Canada Centre as fast as I could, trying to keep up with him. It was like time slowed down as I bobbed and weaved through the crowd. This news had completely eliminated any feeling of tiredness I had just moments ago. I felt as though I was in a dream, after so many years of hoping for a chance like this, I was just minutes away from meeting The Corrs.

Eventually we got to a little waiting area, he told me to wait there and eventually “a big black guy in a red t-shirt” would come to take me downstairs.

As I sat there waiting, my mind and heart raced. I don’t remember the last time I had felt even close to this nervous. It was so bad that I had to keep wiping my hands because they were sweating so much. I could hear the opening act go on, but up to the point that I’m writing this I still have no idea who it was.

Fifteen minutes later a gentleman came up and started talking to us, it turns out he was one of the band’s tour managers. He was very cool and told us it was alright to take pictures, give gifts, or have them autograph anything I might have with me. He told us that as soon as they finished with another group of people, someone would come and get me. When he left I got my picture and book ready while Mom got the camera ready.

A few minutes later, the big black guy in a red t-shirt appeared. This was it, it was time.

We piled into the elevator and went downstairs. We were joined by four or five other people, they were contest winners I believe. I was led around a corner and down a hallway, I felt like such a bigshot. At the end of the hall was a door that was just slightly cracked open, I knew this was our destination. My excitement and nerve levels skyrocketed. All I could think was “Are they actually in there?” As we got there and entered, I found the room was empty. Disappointing, but a relief at the same time, now I had a few more minutes to try calming myself.

The room was quite nice and luxurious. Leather couches all around, a refrigerator, and a big plasma TV hanging on the wall. The contest winners sat off to the right of me as I got comfortably seated directly across the from where we had come in. They chit chatted about their jobs, sports, and the like. I wondered to myself how they could be calm enough for casual conversation while my main focus was trying my best not to hyperventilate and/or wet my pants.

Twenty minutes or so passed, it was nearly 9:00, they were to go on stage shortly, where were they?
At this point I was surprisingly calm. I remember I looked down at the ground for a second and when I looked back up I saw a tiny figure silhouetted in the doorway I had just come in. Time slowed down and as it hit me, I thought to myself “Holy shit...it’s Andrea Corr...”

She glided across the room, coming directly towards me. She was followed by Sharon and Jim. She waved to the other people, but kept coming in my direction. As she got closer, she spoke.

ANDREA
Hello, Jacob...

JACOB’S BRAIN
Holy shit! She knows my name!

ANDREA
We got your letter, it was beautiful. We loved it, thank you.

JACOB’S BRAIN
Holy shit! They read my letter!

With that she leaned in, hugged me, and kissed me on my cheek. I’m amazed I had the ability to speak after that.
There I was, talking to three of the four Corr siblings. To say it was surreal would be an enormous understatement.
It was such a rush to me, but sadly, a lot of it is blurry in my memory. Even so, what I do remember, I remember clearly.

We briefly talked about the Cleveland concert, I said how great it was and then Andrea said something unexpected. She not only mentioned the signs I had (she remembered!), but she also said that my last one made her laugh and it was what made her forget the lyrics to “Breathless”! Even though I probably should feel bad about making her mess up, I can’t help but smile when I think about it.

I gave them the picture I had made and they were kind enough to sign my personal copy and my copy of the Corner to Corner book. Then they gathered around me and we took a couple pictures together.
Looking back at the pictures I’m still awestruck that I’m in the same picture as them, that their hands were touching my wheelchair, that Andrea is holding a picture that I made. Little things like that just blow me away.

One by one they wandered over to mingle with the other guests, but Sharon seemed to hang around and talk with us the longest. Mom congratulated her on her soon to be born niece or nephew and we talked a little bit about how far we had driven to get there that night. This next bit I remember so clearly simply because I found her choice of words so damn adorable. After Mom commented on how tiring the drive was, Sharon replied by saying “Oh, I know. It’s a puffer.” Not being a word used in everyday conversations where I’m from, I absolutely loved it. Puffer.
As Sharon was about to join Jim and Andrea in mingling with the others, I made a decision. I decided to fight my shyness and speak up, so I did. I blurted out “I’ve got to ask...can I get a hug?” I’m so glad I spoke up, it got me a hug from the lovely Sharon Corr.

Still in shock after meeting them and unable to believe that they were still just feet away from me, I sat there with the biggest smile across my face you would ever see. At some point my aunt noticed Jim had forgotten to sign my book. When it comes to shyness, Aunt Karen is the exact opposite of me, the word “shy” doesn’t exist for her. That said, let me give an example of her in action.
Without hesitation, she walked across the room, grabbed Jim by the arm, and told him he forgot to sign the book. When she came back I couldn’t say anything due to the fact that my jaw was dropped after seeing her do that.
Being the great guy that he is, Jim graciously came back to sign my book before heading for the stage.

As the three left the room, they waved and said it was lovely to meet me. All I could think was “Who the hell am I? It was lovely meeting you!”
Jim was last in line as they made their exit. I called out and said “Come back to Cleveland soon!” He turned as he walked, waved and said “We’ll be back!” With that, they were gone.

I sat stunned. Did that really just happen? So much happened so fast it was like those few moments when you first awake from an incredible dream. You feel the joy from experiencing such a great dream, yet you also feel sadness in knowing it was nothing more then a dream. For me there was none of that sadness. Dreams do not write their names on your artwork. Dreams do not take pictures with you. Those facts and the memories make me smile because they remind me: on August 30th, 2004...my dream came true.

Before we even left the room, I could hear that they were already on stage and starting to play “Humdrum”. By the time we got back to our seats they had already finished it and were beginning “Only When I Sleep”.

Again, the concert was phenomenal, though my mind remained backstage replaying the night’s events over and over again. As a result, the two hour long concert seemed to speed by in about fifteen minutes.

After the show, Steph finally found me. When I told her what had happened earlier, her jaw dropped and her eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. The look on her face was priceless.

I gave her a copy of the picture I made and she and her father walked with us for a bit as we left.

Shortly after 11:00 PM we were on the road again and headed back to Niagara Falls. As I gazed out my window and watched the streetlights silently whiz past in the night, I reflected on my long, but amazing day.

After the long post-concert drive, we arrived at our hotel at 1:30 AM. We wearily unloaded our suitcases and went inside. Before leaving home, Mom had called and let them know we'd be a very late arrival and to hold our room...so of course we get inside and find out they gave our room away. We protested a little to the concierge, but we were exhausted. He gave us free valet parking for the night, put us in a cityview room, and said we could get into our original room the next day. We were too tired to argue, so we went up to the room. I knew I would have sweet dreams that night.

Jacob's 2004 Adventure: Part II- A Chance Taken

All summer I had been saving money and planning a trip to Niagara Falls, Canada. I spent the days after the concert finalizing the plans and looking up other tourist attractions in the area. All this research was done with a silly grin that I had on my face since the day of the concert. My energy was high and my mood was great, but one thing still nagged at me: the letter.

One night when it was on my mind, I did a little research and found something quite interesting. On the day our Niagara Falls trip was to begin, The Corrs would be playing the final show of their North American tour...at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto. Just an hour and a half away from our hotel at the Falls.

That night I used every bit of internet knowledge I had and I sent a few e-mails to some people in the Toronto area I hoped might be able to help me. I told them my story and told them about my letter. I made it clear that all I was asking was that someone help me get this letter delivered to the band. I didn't expect a reply, but figured I'd regret it if I didn't even try.

As the plans were, I would be going to Niagara Falls with my mom, aunt, and grandma. I checked the money I had saved for the trip, did some calculations, and came up with something that really excited me, but it wasn't for sure yet, so I called a meeting with my fellow travelers. I told them about my concert experience on the 21st, I showed them pictures from that night, and I told them about the letter. Next, I made my announcement: if they were up for a slight detour, I had just enough extra cash to buy four tickets to the concert in Toronto. Surprisingly, they didn't even think about it before agreeing. Success! To top it off, at the age of 73, this would be my grandma's first concert.

Two days after writing those e-mails, I woke up and saw I actually got a reply from CHUM FM, a Canadian radio station. As I opened it, I was convinced I was about to read a "Sorry, we canÂ't help you" e-mail. I was never happier about being so wrong. A wonderfully generous woman told me she had forwarded my e-mail to a friend at Warner Canada, the record label that handles The Corrs when they're in Canada. This kind man said to have me courier the letter to him as he'd be doing press with them the day of the concert. He said he'd try his best to give it to them and maybe even get me an autographed CD! Again, success!

I sent my letter the very next day and began another little project. I'm one who always likes to be prepared for whatever situation may arise and I had planned to get to the arena early enough to hopefully catch the band as they arrived. So, just in case I somehow got to meet them, I wanted to have something to give them. I decided to start working on a picture. Five days later, I finished it.

I was ready.

Feelin' the Flow

After a bit of an inspirational dry spell, I feel like I'm back in the creative flow finally. I've been working on the storyboards for The Robin's Song and I'm feeling good. They look and flow so much better than I expected, it's resulting in a rush of confidence like I haven't had in months. It's like a barrier has been kicked down and ideas are just stampeding out.
In the past week or so, I've gotten an idea for what I hope will be a beautiful picture for a friend and I've been writing a lot. I'm feeling good about this.

To top it off, tonight I saw my friend, Amanda, for the first time in five years. We just sat as we reminisced and caught each other up on our lives. It was great!

I think I'll start to tell the tale of my adventure from last year now. Stay tuned, kiddies...

Playing Catch Up

Long time no blog. Sorry about that, folks. The host site was down for a while (gotta love free) and I just got distracted with various things, but you know me, I always find my way back. I'm like the annoying puppy you just can't shake.

Since it's been a while, let's just go over some of the notable things that've been happening in my little corner of the world.

-I gave in to social pressure.
Yes, I finally joined the cellular phone wielding community. It's nothing fancy, but it does the trick. Plus it was cheap, which is always nice.

-I got culture.
A few weeks ago I went to the Cleveland Museum of Art for the first time. I roamed the endless galleries with my main man Corey and the lovely Sara.

-I got owned.
Corey first taunted, then completely destroyed me at Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds. Not pretty.

-I got style.
I bought one of these babies. They look cool and they're for a good cause, check em out at the following link:
Christopher Reeve Foundation Dogtags

-Happy trails.
After a little farewell party at my house with Sara, Eric, and Monica, Corey packed all his things and made his way to New York City for his new job. Good luck, man!

-Episode III
I was one of the millions of sleep deprived nerds (some of whome were costumed) worldwide to show up for the midnight screening of Star Wars- Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. The review's coming soon, but for now I'll just say this...me likey.

-Change of plans.
Due to a few different circumstances, the feature film we've been working on is temporarily on hold. It looks like we'll now be filming it at some point next year, so there's more time to get the appropriate funding and so we can make sure the script is perfect. Or something like that, ask Zoe. ;) Instead this summer, we'll be shooting a short film. I've just finished the rough draft and sent it off to Zoe to see what she thinks. I'll give you more details next time...if you're good.

Until next time, stay beautiful, baby.

-Jacob

Baby Steps

Well the site's getting there, eh?
The art section's up, Ask Me will post it's first entry soon, my first review will be up any time now, and thanks to Maria and her PayPal the guestbook is active! Thanks to everyone who's signed so far! I'll do my best to keep you all wanting to come back.
Aside from working on the site contents, there's not a whole lot going on in JacobLand. I've got a few projects on the back burner that need to be tended to and hopefully when they come out of the metaphorical oven they'll be just right and you guys'll be seeing my name on the big screen. Man, the whole cooking metaphor has me hungry. Stupid metaphors.
Well, I best get back to work so I have fun stories to tell you guys. Until next time, keep your noses clean.

-Jacob