Geo-Graphics

Good Night, and Good Luck.

2006-03-08T09:27:00.000-08:00

I have been feeling a bit less inclined to write to my blog of late. My artwork, graphic design and illustration is fluroushing. I am not feeling much anymore that blogger is the vehicle of my ideas and creative modulations. It is interesting that re-evaluating the use of blogs in the current form is a similar conversation my friend Ahniwa is having with his blog. Entirely not related but understood.
I had been using my blog in trying to create meaning for my artwork and expressing the more interesting experiences in life. When I start up an official website with my artwork and other business interests than I will post that here so those of you who are interested can continue to follow what artwork I have shown here. It is but a sliver that I have shown and I regret not posting more but whatcha goin' to do. If you live in vermont contact me and I will let you know where my shows will be. Of course if you are planning on visiting this fine state let me know and I can point you in the right direction and maybe show you something interesting about vermont you might not have know before.

I just want to leave you with this thought:

Life is good - smile every chance you get. :) Every failure leads to a success if you let it. Find that thing that makes you happy. And please don't forget about the monkeys. :)

Peace out...

remember to visit:
La Casa Comic (a good comic)
all of my posted webcomics
imdb.com (all about the movies)
Boltcity.com (an awesome webcomic illustrator resource)

Merge carefully into traffic...

2006-02-27T09:58:00.000-08:00

Still frigid... was hit with a bit o' the food poisoning so I was out for a section of the week. So guess what, I am a bit behind. Consequently not much to talk about. I have been researching some artists online and looking into some drawing processes and drawing projects to continue maintain my drawing chops... I hate to say this but like working out... you have to keep it up to stay 'warm'. The more you do it even minutes a day the more consistent and fluid you will be drawing... they should make a infommercial about it.

It's official

2006-02-16T20:00:00.000-08:00

Well today was a momentous day for me. I am now officially a Vermonter once again. I finally traded in my washington license. Yawl know how much of a procrastinator I am... well there it is.

I had the day off today and spent most of it having my car tuned up other preventative maintenance required. We have been enjoying a fantastic 50 degree spring-like weather. THe weird thing is that it will soon be replaced by minus degree weather by saturday. You figure that one out.

Well, I have had to lament the death of all my scripts for Shenanigan's which were housed on my Dell laptop. So I have rewritten the first three storylines... the great thing is they are so much better and with the use of Sketchbook Pro I have created a beautiful beast in comparison. We shall see and you shall tell me all about it. Promise. Constructive criticism is required. Be kind, I am sensitive. :)

So there are now zombies, monkeys and mooches, oh my... stay tuned!

And on that note the debate comes to a close...

2006-02-07T09:02:00.000-08:00

well, Things have been very busy around here... sorry for not posting for those who actually read this. I have been handed an assignment for the lacasa comics strip that I am going to work on asap and then get back to my strip... I have enough material, just need some time to do it. I worked out in the pool yesterday for about 2 hours and feel a bit wiped today.. need to get past the conditioning hump.
Anyway, keep reading and I'll have more later.

There is another...

2006-01-26T18:22:00.000-08:00

Well I finally put the Dell laptop to rest... it crashed for the last time... I have been finding out there are a lot of common things that happen to this paticular model... anyway i lost most of my music.. :( I picked up a new laptop that has been a huge improvement. Still updating my software and setting up so that will bring me back up to speed to set up Shenanigans... Peace out.

walking out again

2006-01-26T17:57:00.000-08:00

Well I now can say I have walked out of two movies now in the theater... I went to watch 'New World' and couldn't take the barrage of irrelevant natural cinematic that does nothing to further the story... the tool of using silence as a character was a huge failure... it isn't intense silence punctuating a impressive moment... I was excited because of the cast list but I was pensive because the first previews were shown a long time ago... never released and now it was finally advertised and released. It just didn't seem to make the cut originally but they finally decided to release it anyway.

On an more interesting note... Underworld; Evolution was fantastic... I was very impressed. You have to see it and I encourage you to watch the first one since it kicks right back into the story.

Here we are back to Shenanigans... I am going to be finishing another one tonight and will hopefully have it posted tomorrow. I have two days off but not that much time for drawing... now that the training for work is complete I'll have a lot more time to draw.

stuff happens

2006-01-17T17:14:00.000-08:00

So I realized too late that the text on the last strip was all messed up when I was editing one of the layers in photoshop... I am too lazy to go back and fix it at the moment. sue me. Well now I am reduced to dial up... I caved. I talked with our local DSL provider and the neighborhood is overloaded with users and until the network adds more lines, whatever that means... but at least I can do better at uploading the webcomics... the training is almost over at work so I will be able to get back to drawing on a more regular basis... wait, I need a regular basis first. Well I am working on that too...

A note on the weather... my flippin' goodness... it has been absolutely cold the last few days... In fact my poor car is being ravaged by the cold. I have a hyundai that has been with me through thick and thin but this cold is doing a number on it. I get into the car in the morning there isn't just frost and ice on the outside of the windshield... it's inside the car freezing everything. My kingdom for a garage. I have to scrape the inside of the windshield... how annoying. I got out of work today and my car had developed a overabundance of icicles and ice fractures across the surface of my car. It actually is pretty cool overall. It has still been a fairly mild winter in comparison to past winters. We still have 6 weeks of winter if the groundhog has anything to say about it. For some reason I remember winter being longer.

I have very little to ramble about at the moment. Keep your eyes peeled for a new installation of Shenanigans.

new webcomic.. yippie meeee...

2006-01-13T15:45:00.000-08:00

Grindstones are for wusses

2006-01-11T08:55:00.000-08:00

Well here I am back in the swing of things... Today is my first weekend off since I got back. Tomorrow I will devote my day to doing.... nothing. Sleeping in, watching movies and relaxing. I deserve it. I will post the "Shenanigan's" tomorrow too... I have to make one small errand but that is it.

With everything going on with work and everything I am still struggling with trying to find time to do the prep work for the graphic design stuff but the good new is that it is still large on my mind. The webcomic is struggling of course but that will hopefully improve. You all should know better than to listen to me though. :) I still have to finish up the finishing touches on the last two but I am planning on doing a boat load today.

well the new year has started off with a bang. It is weird that many old things have ended and many new things are starting. It is nice to see a literal translation of an annual metaphor. I keyword this year is organization. I haven't been this multitaskingly busy in a long long time.

Look for continuing activity on the blog and the webcomic... I will hopefully have my DSL hooked up sometime soon. Peace out.

Into the new year we go...

2006-01-02T22:12:00.000-08:00

Happy 2006!

It has been a good new years so far... I was able to ski for a few days and enjoy some good oregon snow. It is time to head home though.. unfortunately the flight plan has been truncated due to weather so for now I must stay the night over in chicago... I am actually at the airport for the moment before I head off to the hotel. Free wifi is cool anywhere you go. It is unfortunate but Chicago is a pretty cool place so I can't complain. I have tomorrow off anyway.

During the break I was able to complete some more Shenanigans so I will touch them up in the next couple of days and post the whole lot. It is finally starting to look consistent. Other than that not much to report. Hope everyone had a good new years and I appreciate the patience on Shenanigans. It will start looking better and better. Just you wait and see. :) seriously... don't go away... come back. Yeah, I'm talking to you... turn around... come back. Damn, well the rest of you can stick around and wait and see. :)

Merry Xmas to y'all!

2005-12-23T10:25:00.000-08:00

it is too bad I am not weilding crutches spreading joy and thankfullness during the holiday season... I am touting the name Tim but I am just not that tiny at 6'1... I could grab some crutches and start chasing people down the street yelling feel good xmas slogans. See how they like it now...

On that note, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays one and all. Good will and peace on earth and all that. Hope you all have a merry one.

I have completed a few more strips and will be releasing them after the holidays... these last few weeks have just been a bit too busy. I apologize but just take it up with santa or jesus or whoever you want to complain too.. I heard the tooth fairy wants a piece too. Good thing the easter bunny doesn't exist or there would be a mighty brawl.

Holiday Schmoliday...

2005-12-13T20:01:00.000-08:00

I have been crazy busy at work. Just became an assistant swim coach to boot so that takes up a bit more time... but it will not get in the way of the webcomic and other graphic related endeavors... It has been wicked cold here the last few days too. I knew it would be so paint me expecting but to actually sit in my apartment when the heater temporarily goes out with three blankets on and still shivering... damn. Brings back the painfully cold memories. It actually isn't that bad. It is that cold, but not that bad. Half the fun is finding a warm cup of coffee or hot chocolate and possibly the great invention of fire. Anyway, enough of that. I have the day off tomorrow so that means, another installment of Shenanigan's and hopefully it will look better.

the more things change the more they stay the same...

2005-12-09T19:59:00.000-08:00

Well as you can tell this is a work in progress but it is getting better. These are the preliminary works that will end in the final result. Sit tight and wathch the metamorphisis

Here is another... drumroll please!!!

2005-12-09T19:51:00.000-08:00

here is the next episode...

do ninja's drink coffee...

2005-12-06T09:45:00.000-08:00

Holidays are approaching and the gifting pressure is building. The valves are shaking and the vibrations are increasing. It sucks being broke because you can't gift very well. As usual during this time of year I look for more creative options. Still mulling them over but I am running out of time to start drawing them. At least I have a few pounds of coffee beans to distribute to the familial masses.

No images today. I am going to try and get the next three storyboarded tonight after work and finish them up tomorrow. That will allow for a wednesday release of the next one and slowly I will be able to set up a consistent release schedule. Things have been too hectic at work because of the holidays but overall things are moving forward. For all of you enjoying this blog and the drawings feel free to sound off. It would be great to get some feedback and such.

No other news today.

once more, into the breach...

2005-12-04T07:37:00.000-08:00

Here is another episode released... I have not had the time I have wanted but I am going to change that soon. I have a few really good ideas from some friends here which are being added to the storyline so it will be exciting to see them materialize. Anyway, here they are... have to go to work.

Monkey doodle do...

2005-11-26T08:57:00.000-08:00

Here is a doodle I did of a monkey robot. I am unsure what he is holding in his hand but let your imagination go wild. I have improved drastically from my cold or whatever I had so I should officially have the next installment of Shenanigans up by monday and then a back log of installments to finish out the week. Yippie. Unfortunately I don't have access to a scanner so you get the digital camera shot. Sorry.

Thanksgiving Day in Burlington

2005-11-26T08:55:00.000-08:00

Here was Church St. on Thanksgiving day. I went for a walk in the morning and the street was setting up for the lighting of the christmas tree the next night. The snow was on the ground and as you walk down in the snow there is classical music playing from the street lamps... very festive.

Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy...

2005-11-26T08:52:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone's Thanksgiving was fantastic.
Here is a picture of the church on top of Church street, the walking street in Burlington. For those who are unaware.

Blah

2005-11-22T05:57:00.000-08:00

Well the title says it all. Still feeling blah... in fact I think I hit the apex yesterday. So hopefully it is all downhill from here. But that also means that the choice between doing stuff and sleeping goes one way. My vote has gone to sleeping when I am not working. You would think I would call in sick. Nope, not that smart. So when I am feeling well enough to draw I will have the strip up and running. Yippie.

Monkeys of Fire

2005-11-19T14:32:00.000-08:00

I have had an interesting experience in the realm of communication. Or lack there-of. I have been feeling somewhat under the weather lately and at the peak of the sickliness I lost my voice last night. I was unable to communicate with the people around me, and I found that to be extremely frustrating. It is amazing how much I take talking for granted. I had to say exactly what I needed to convey, not a word more. I had to be very economical about what I said because it was too painful to speak. I had to throw out the idea of hand signals or other physical forms of communicating since they didn't seem to work and I just ended up making a fool of myself. So over all I think it really helped me take into account how I convey ideas and communicate.

So in regards to the webcomic.. I am doing a push today after work to complete a few strips and hopefully put me back on track. After that I should have a release schedule that incorporates a consistent release of the comic for ease of access and need for routine.

The holidays are certainly approaching. On top of that 'Goblet of Fire' was released on Friday and the weirdos have come out of the woodwork. That makes it fun though. Families dress up just as much for this as most star wars fan dress up for any of the star wars movies or Trekkies for the new installments of the movie series. The draw is huge and lots of people went. I am very interested in going to see the movie. I have to rent the third one though and then I will go but not until. Hopefully I will not procrastinate too long and miss my chance to see 'Goblet' in theaters. On top of that the holiday shopping seems to have started early. Traffic at the shopping centers was completely ridiculous. I was completely expecting this activity the day after thanksgiving and all the way up to christmas but not a week prior to turkey day.

Turkey day, turkey do...

2005-11-16T10:12:00.000-08:00

It is 64 degrees today after getting some form of winter storm warning yesterday. Crazy weather man, Crazy weather. I haven't had time to create a release schedule for the webcomic and am still looking for a host idea but I will have it soon. Other than that the update today is going to be a bit short. Still feeling a bit under the weather. So I must cut this short.

Somebody's got the case of the Mondays...

2005-11-14T10:18:00.000-08:00

Well, it is a nice day out on my day off. I have been trying to kick this cold thing and I think with a healthy dose of coffee and drawing will go a long way. I feel the need to get out and get some sun and then some work done.

Quick note: If you think it is too small to read the text, feel free to click on the image and it will provide you with the larger readable comic. This will have to do for now...

I watched "Chronicles of Riddick" this morning. I was in the need of seeing something I haven't seen in a while and watching it again was very interesting. I thoroughly enjoyed "Pitchblack" and the bridging animation that was released but the actual sequel fell short on the quality of the first one. I will give it the kudos for being visually stunning and original in a dark rome meets matrix kind of way. I always enjoy in a society that has the technology to go to the stars they still run around in armour and brandish swords, axes and knives. The lesser humans run around with ballistic weapons and seem to be inferior. The elements of the Necros mirror closely to the dogma of the 'borg with some generic when you die you pass to the cool happy place we named ourselves or made up because who wants to die and not be invited to the afterlife party. But they don't have the same manifestations or explanation of what makes a necro a necro... They just seem to get poked in the neck and they seem to be all serene and happy to be necro. But to end on a positive note... Riddick is still cool. The Mercs are cannon fodder which is good and I this line was given very well... "if you can't keep up, don't step up... or you will die." The second in command was in Lord of the Rings and also the recently released... "Doom", which I might feel the proclivity to mention at a later date.

Like the vagueness of this post. Well, either I want you to become interested and research further or I am just to lazy to look up the info I can't remember, you decide. :)

Shenanigan's... The beginning!

2005-11-13T20:47:00.000-08:00

Well here is the first episode of Shenanigan's... the new webcomic by me. It is still rough and I did the final draft in a couple of hours while feeling very under the weather but it is a good start... feel free to comment. The release schedule will be up sometime tomorrow as well as a link to the new home of Shenanigans. Enjoy.

I am still working with the resolution and all that stuff so bear with me.

ugh, ugh, and more ugh...

2005-11-12T09:29:00.000-08:00

After working early today... I still feel like crud. I have that nagging sorethroat that is just mocking me and saying... "guess what I am going to turn into..." the evil laugh echoes through my head. But hopefully with plenty of sleep and inactivity I will head it off at the pass.

One my way towards my monday release of the new webcomic. Still have a lot of work to do... but at least it is fun.

I am going to get back to drawing and go home and take a long nap.

Under the weather and it's getting colder

2005-11-11T08:59:00.000-08:00

Well, as the title says... I feel like crud. It started out with a sore-throat and is just leaving me feeling uggh. With that said, I am not going to post anything today... at least I tried. :) Time to find a hole and draw.

Crazy monkey time!!!

2005-11-09T10:14:00.000-08:00

Since I haven't posted in a while I would like to attempt a longer than normal post. I have been working crazy hours this week and only have one day off. It will be a good day to draw. Well today I am working pretty late so I am enjoying my coffee trying to catch up on some emailing and blogging finally. I am back here at Muddy Waters... It has an interesting article in the Vermont Business Journal that talks about coffee impact on the burlington area and more info on Muddy Waters. Check it out... here. It is from Feb 2002 so it is a bit dated but still relevant.

The update on the webcomic is this. I have secured a title and most of the main characters. Since I haven't had much time to work on it that is the extent of this update. I am going to have some more to add this afternoon and will have something to post by next week. I am going to shoot for completeing the intro and the first week completed by monday and start posting the link to the webcomic by then. Fingers crossed and no promises made.

I was sitting in a coffee shop a few days ago working on the monkey design and I was using my tablet. A mother and her child were sitting behind me and I was successfully ignoring them with my headphones and music but could still overhear what they were talking about. Amongst their family chatter the child notices my drawing on my laptop and started asking the mother what the monkey was for... then started asking if color was going to be added and then the what questions were released in a flood. The kid seemed really interested in the drawing and hovered behind me while it became clearer and clearer... if nothing else it is cool that the kid was entertained. They did seem to like the drawing. It was nice to get that kind of compliment since I haven't had much work done lately.

As my new responsibilities as Art Wrangler for my store I have done exactly.... not much. My predecessor is still here but the reigns have been handed over... I get to start going down the list and contact all the artists already signed up to show art and now I get to introduce myself and start looking for more work to put up after that. Although we are booked until sometime next summer so there is definitely an interest to show one's art. That is pretty exciting. Not to mention I will be shamelessly promoting my own art in March. Go me.

Well back to work.

Kazu Kibuishi Rocks!

2005-11-03T06:28:00.000-08:00

Well, I am enjoying a pleasant cup of coffee sitting catching up with my webcomics and dreaming of finally having something to post. I have a bunch of projects simmering on the burners and each one has it's own flavor. I have yet to have them ready for presentation. Part of that is the fear it isn't good enough but that hasn't been as much of an issue for a few months. I have just been working on too many different projects. I have completed a ton of treatments for the webcomic. The character design is next and deciding on the look can be very intimidating. The animated series is even further down the road, seeing as how I have to become more familiar with flash (most deliverable I think for the all encompassing website) and last but not least just the work that needs to be done on a daily basis. Outside of the whole barista job thing. With that summation in place I came across a post on Boltcity.com which really hit home with me and made me feel alot better about my process. If anyone hasn't visited Kazu Kibuishi's site http://www.boltcity.com/ you have been missing out. Here is the quote if you don't have time to fling yourself to that link.

The Aestheic of Hardship; November 02, 2005 - Wednesday
I was just thinking yesterday, wondering if I had a really easy life, with barely any hardship, with rich parents to support me, without having to grow up so quickly, would I be a more snooty, pretentious artist? Would I put more pressure on my work's "artistic" merit, rather than for it to provide me with the means to survive? Really, I never considered myself an "artist" per se, but rather an illustrator or storyteller, more of a craftsman, just trying to get by. It's funny for me to think that my work sells in art galleries and that people look at me as someone who has some semblance of artistic integrity, because really, I just think of myself as a pretty practical person who is trying to find a way to make a living while feeding my obsession to make these strange projects.

He is certainly an inspiration showing that this form of artwork and storytelling is a valid and happily recieved medium. I take my hat off to Kazu's humble vision of his own artwork. I have met and shaken the hand of Micheal Gagne which on the list of people to meet that have inspired me. Micheal Gagne has been included in Kazu's book series 'Flight"... so feel free to check that out. Don Hertzfeldt's animation was re-introduced to me by my friend Trina in washington and is also promoted on boltcity. So along with many other fantastic resources visit this site and immerse yourself in the process and the storytelling of this great artform.

Sketch Crawl in Burlington

2005-11-01T11:21:00.000-08:00

This is more a shout out for support in the Burlington, VT area to help set up an Sketch crawl... So hopefully when people think to themselves, "I wish I could do a sketch crawl..." they will search for it and come across this post. Email me at wyltbam@gmail.com and ask for more information... when I get more I will also post it, like dates, times, location and such. I will be trying to set it up so email if you are interested.

Burlington artists... lets get crawlin' !

feel free to check out this website about the unrelated annual sketch crawl.

Typos Galore

2005-11-01T11:20:00.000-08:00

Well instead of going back and fixing the multitudes of typos... I am just going to tell you about them and let you deal. See if you can point them out... you might get a pony.

November Nosmember...

2005-11-01T11:11:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the first of November. The beginning of the thanksgiving preparation and the pre-preparation for the Christmas season. I have been reminiscing about the day after thanksgiving last year and I cringe. What is the big deal with starting shopping the day after thanksgiving. I understand that the sales begin on that day but for us to manufacture a month long shopping frenzy in the name of holiday is ridiculous. Well with all the good cheer comes great prices and since you can buy happiness and love then everyone will love you and it will be the happiest time of year. For a limited time only. Go Santa. I think Santa should should start revamping his efficiency by using the time honored telemarketing market survey technique. I am sure figuring out who is naughty and nice leaves him with migraines at night. Get gather up an army of elves and set them loose on multiples of list bought from fraudulent sweepstakes and useless requests for information for stuff you will probably never need. Make sure they call around dinner time to maximize the chances that the people are home. Oh, don’t worry, they won’t mind. You’re Santa Clause. Go Santa.

Well, I am thoroughly reveling in the beginning of my two day weekend. It has been quite good so far. I went down to Muddy Waters at the south end of Church St. and grabbed some coffee and searched for interesting illustrators and such. I also started checking out a shareware font creator... can’t remember the name but it will help me create the perfect font for my webcomic and portfolio website.

The drawback to living downtown burlington is that if you don’t park on the free streets before 8am or so, you are outta luck in finding parking. So to the 2 hour free parking in the garage I go which is actually not too bad. It is right on church st. Once my two hours expired I resigned myself to checking out the barnes & nobles in South Burlington. Since I had never been there I was interested to see if it was any different. It definitely is the same as any B&N I have ever been in.. A bit bigger than I am used to and since I am broke, just as frustrating looking at all the stuff that I can’t afford. :)
For those interested in starting a webcomic a good resource, I found at B&N, is "Webcomics; tools & techniques for digital cartooning" the author is, Steven Withrow & John Barber. It seems pretty comprehensive and even helps you learn to transfer from drawing on paper to the computer for editing. It also shows the tips and tricks of drawing straight to computer with the use of tablets and whatnot. Overall, a good resource in my book. Now if anyone wants to donate it to the cause feel free. :) I was actually intrigued that someone would publish a book about it at this point but apparently the creation of webcomics is getting more and more popular to the point of profitability for publishing a book about it.

I was able to watch "Land of the Dead" last night for halloween. Yeah me, for continuing the tradition. Last year I watched "Dawn of the Dead" the remake. Zombie much. Anyway, it was not as good as DofD and I was a bit disappointed. I was hoping for a, yeah we have the technology and lets make this a better movie, movie. But alas... they made a smart zombie that leads a revolt and I found myself saying to myself... this isn't what a zombie does... it is like making a borg queen... I mean wtf. Anyway, I hope there is an improvement made my next year. Peace out mofos.

Happy Halloween

2005-10-31T09:06:00.000-08:00

I have to figure out a way to come up with interesting and irrelavent titles... since I can't think of anything remotely interesting... yeah for the holidays. It gives me at least one days reprieve.

With that said... Happy Halloween everyone! I hope your holiday is a safe and candifically decadent dive into cavities and tummy aches that even though you know you shouldn't have... you couldn't help it. Oh, and hopefully you have a cool costume.

Well, the weather has turned out well for this holiday. The leaves are bright colors and the nip in the air is not too sharp. I only had to work a few hours this morning so I am happily frolicking in my freedom to do whatever I want. Which means draw. As much as I can. Plus I have the next two days off. Can I get a what, what... What?

I finished the first strip going up in the art show. I just need to finish the lines and work on the paneling... and yes it is all about a monkey. I am then going to work on the web portfolio and framework for the flash animation. I am trying to decide if I want to try and tackle the writing myself or start setting forth flyers to wrangle in a creative mind to do it for me. We shall see.

The weather is making it easier to find a warm corner of vermont with a coffee or hot chocolate and wrestle with the creative side of my brain.

I will finish up with a question. I was finishing up some of my training module at work and this gaggle of elderly sat down and starting becoming a break of my focus... those crazy elderly. Shouldn't they be in school or something. Anyway, why is it that old people all have the same smell. The odor wafting over from the adjacent table brought me back to sitting talking with my grandparents... Maybe it is a bottled commodity but I haven't seen it advertised so it must be a natural phenomenon.

Happy Halloween! and have a safe evening everyone.

When a rose is a rose... watch out for the crazy monkey show.

2005-10-28T13:45:00.000-07:00

It is nice to finally actually have a friday. I am done with work for the day and hunkering down for a nice drawing session. I have tomorrow off and am planning on spending most of the day drawing. I have a ton of ideas and a direction to fly.

I am going to be developing a concept here in a bit... to be unveiled at some point. It is pretty exciting.. involving some flash animation series and shameless self promotion/merchandising all wrapped around some pretty pretty art.

Halloween is coming around the corner and I am trying to figure the best way avoid it... I am not the biggest fan... but I do always find the fun halloween movies to see that night. I think that is the best way to celebrate halloween. Thus avoiding the maurauding juvinile masses and the insatiable guest for the great sugar high.

I have to get going... it sucks not having a dedicated line. I need to sit and write down my thoughts as they come because as I sit down here to update my blog I end up forgetting everything. Whatcha' gonna do.

to work or not to work, that is the question...

2005-10-23T07:35:00.000-07:00

I am sitting here with very little idea what to report on... I haven't had much chance or time to research anything or look aimlessly around the internet for cool and interesting things. I have been pretty busy this week and worked this weekend. Luckily I have today off and unfortunately it feels like a recoup from yesterday. I had one of the worse migraines I have had in a long time that started from a dull headache to a flowing torrent of scrutiating pain washing over my frontal lobe and on top of that I had to close last night... at least I didn't have to open. But I was hoping for the ache of the head to subside by the time I had to be at work but no... the drive to work was interesting and it didn't break until about 4 hours into my shift. I am sure I looked like caca and my social skills were subpar but whatcha going to do. Anyway, all said and done the night finished out, I felt better but it felt like I had finished a fight with a 50 ton gorilla and he ended up tap dancing over my motionless remains. So suffice to say I slept in today and am thinking about venturing a viewing of 'Doom' in theaters. Brainless FPS to film goodness. We shall see. and with that random ramblings I say goodbye.

never wear a monkey suit to a dinner party

2005-10-18T10:10:00.000-07:00

So I was gone all weekend up in good ol' montreal. That is the reason I haven't updated in a few days... and I'm sticking to that excuse. Actually I was up in Riguad visiting a friend and his family Maple Farm. I haven't seen them in a long time and it is the second time I was up at the farm. To make a long story short... We went to a dinner party of a friend of theirs and then hung out in Rigaud for the remainder of the weekend. It was fun to get out of town for a bit. It is a pleasant 2 and 1/2 hour drive one way... interesting enough to not be too boring.

At the dinner party... here is a thought on language.
-I wish I knew french. I could avoid being the only anglo in the room. I had a few friends who spoke french back in washington but I was never in the position where I had to survive a social event with new people and with a language barrier firmly in place. They all spoke english very well but they would sometimes, amongst themselves, speak french... so sometimes I found that I wouldn't be able to be a participant of conversations without someone directing a question or comment directly at me. On top of that they would, while talking amongst themselves, speak french and english... either one person spoke in french and the other responded in english or they would speak french then every few words speak in english and bounce back and forth within the structure of the sentence. So if I wanted to be a more active participant it seems it would dictate that I would have to start learning to speak french and actually those situations would help learn more quickly due to the shotgunning of canadian french... from all sides. Overall the dinner party was a ton of fun and it was nice to meet some new people. They were very forgiving that I was only monolingual. :)

While I was up at the Maple Farm the art show work was started. The primary motif is... can you guess... monkeys. The evolution of the body of this show will maybe change to something else but at the moment monkeys are on the menu. I'll update as I start putting them in a more finished form. I'll start posting some of the images too...

Half-Life 2... Great Monkeys Ghost!

2005-10-13T13:16:00.000-07:00

Well, since I haven't the time or the money to invest in a new pc at the moment that will run my copy of Half-life2 and the wonders that that brings... counterstrike, day of defeat.. etc. I have been noticing this place on church street that had a weird logo and name, everytime i walked by... well, apparently it is an online gaming den. Here is the website of this place and you can check out what potential there is and if you are ever visiting the state of Vermont and walking down Church street, as most people do who visit this state, this could be a viable stop for those online gamers. Even though FPS are my tea of choice, whether it is a cup or a 40 oz. bohemoth, there are various other online games that they support and it seems like a pretty good deal. Game on, folks.

Monkeys eat Spam for breakfast...

2005-10-13T13:04:00.000-07:00

Ya'll should check out the webcomic La Casa. It is a reincarnation of a previous project that was hatched in the minds of Bava, Iffyatbest and myself. You all will be waiting in anticipation for each Monday - Wednesday - Friday to complete your week and laugh until you sides split and your innards spill out onto the new white carpet. The background story is well told here. I will spare you my exposition.

Monkeys should play basketball!

2005-10-10T12:31:00.000-07:00

Well, yup the leaves here are finally starting to turn color and ever so slowly fall to the ground. It has been incredibly busy at work which is why I haven't updated too much lately. The leaf peeping season brought a huge amount of customer through the store and I have been entirely exhausted the last few days. Due to that I don't have much to report. Haven't been able to see any new movies or even draw much but I will hopefully have something up and running here on the blog that you all can see. I have an art show at my store coming up in a few months and as of yet have nothing to show but the ideas that are coming are starting to get me a bit excited. I'll try to actually have something more entertaining to post soon but right now a nap sounds pretty good. :)

A business plan has been formulized for a logo design freelance thing. I already have pretty much in place but for doing stuff here in Vermont I want to make sure I am more organized.

Main goal at the moment is to develop a marketable portfolio specifically for this area, an animation curriculum for introduction into animation production and last but not least, a webcomic that I will actually maintain... unfortunately my last attempt died a quick death... I have been thinking of rewriting some of my old ones but it might be time for some new blood.
Plus the other blog comic (which is the more appropriate term) was artistically unsatisfactory.

Hopefully I'll have more to report on the graphics stuff soon.

Happy Columbus Day, Y'all!

Oh god, oh god... we're going to Die!

2005-10-03T11:34:00.000-07:00

With much anticipation I got through work and high-tailed it to the theater. The Majestic 10 is the closest and largest theater in the state and the theater has stadium seating and dts sound system. I was bouncing with excitement.

Ok, So Serenity was awesome! It was all I was expecting and more... the backstory that set up the past were flawlessly layered to save the uninitiated the pain of a long "oh and here is what happened" waste of narrative. It showed what it needed and moved into what was important. The shocks were very unexpected and stayed away from generic twists and turns... I was very surprised with what Joss Whedon did with two of the characters... in fact I am still in shock somewhat. But the story was fantastic... Joss did a great job of finishing up a lot of loose ends from the series but still keeping the future open for anything to happen. The fight scenes were great and the banter between the crew was classic "firefly". The Assasin was very impressive. You truly believe that he was doing what he thought was right and his calm and philosophy made his character rich and very interesting and made the final battle between the champions of good and evil that much more satisfying when concluded... I don't want to share too much so you will have to see it to understand what i am saying.
The interesting comparison between Mr. Noname and Mal was that Mr. Noname was a self-described "monster" who's purpose was to not question why but to ensure the safety of the world without "sin".. he is willing to do whatever it takes, including die to ensure the safety of that world. Noname was willing to kill women, children and elderly to achieve his purpose and felt that was right in the grand sceme... Mal is willing to cross the line of good into "misbehaving" to ensure the safety of his ship and crew which pretty much is his "family". Neither of them are good or bad in the classic sense of the word ... but they are definitely champions of their causes which to them is "right". Mr. Noname killed an entire town to show that Mal and his crew cannot hide and their action have reprecussions but Mal killed a survivor of a downed ship in cold blood that participated in the slaughter to show that what they did wasn't tolerated and they have to do whatever it takes to survive. Two shades of grey fighting over which gray is true and proving which reality is true.
The reavers were shown and explained which was cool and the graphics were very creative. The battle between the baddies and the reavers was quick but very effectively awesome. I want to know what people thought who didn't follow the series... because it was perfect for the devout followers and their converts. It seemed that they did a great job setting it up and unravelling a great story but I am a bit bias. So if you are reading this and you have seen the movie and weren't familiar with the series, feel free to comment.

SERENITY! must I say more...

2005-10-02T08:36:00.000-07:00

Well, apparently I will not be able to say much about it... yet! I am finally going to be able to see it... I have let my fan status and fellow firefly freaks down by not being able to see it opening night and then threatening bodily harm to those who might tell me the tasty treats that reside within those 2 hours of cinematic goodness. Well, I had a crappy schedule that was the exact antithesis of even seeing a matinee and then closing after the last show has played and everyone I asked to switch with said, and I am serious, "nope... can't, I'm going to see serenity". My response was NNOOOO!!!! as I curled up into a ball on the floor and started sucking my thumb. And then while I am working they all started coming in after the movie, since the theater is right behind our store with gargantuan smiles and giddy giggles while they beg to tell me about it. So suffice to say it looks like it is a good movie and I am looking forward to finally being able to see it tonight. I finally get off to see the last showing. Anyone reading this feel free to post a response or review!

Thanks to Bava for the nod in his blog and for his efforts in wrangling in more fans to share in the joy that is Serenity... sometimes it takes a friend to sit you down and tape your eyelids open for hours and hours of Joss Whedon goodness.

The passing of the elder generation...

2005-09-29T09:28:00.000-07:00

Well, I got back on tuesday from philadelphia after my grandmother's funeral. It was an experience... I drove down from Burlington and got to my Uncle's in about 7 hours... I am soo not going on a roadtrip anytime soon. I am so tired of driving it isn't even funny. But the service was very nice... even with an open casket which still creeps me out. I helped carry the casket with my dad, my uncle and my cousin which I was happy about. I was glad I could be a part of it and not just a spectator. It was sad too because my grandmother was the last of the grand generation. The service was nice and the actually cemetary visit was nice... the weather was beautiful and the grave is under this tree and a slight breeze was blowing... it just was serene. We had lunch with friends and family and my dad flew back west and I drove back to Burlington.

I am almost completely moved in... I even found that I have a weak wifi signal at my apartment... yeah me. But unfortunately it kicks in and out so I pretty much have nothing.. so here I am at a bagel shop on church st. updating my blog... I will try and continue to post more pictures and such but unfortunately not as regular... I'll try though.

More pictures of the rest of the drive should be up soon. Whether or not you are interested... muahahaha.

check out this blog... it is interesting enough to mention... a friend of mine from high schools experience in progress in Taiwan.

Hey, two picture posts in one day... what are the odds.

2005-09-18T11:34:00.000-07:00

This leg of the trip was near the end of the first day. The sun started to fall and I still had to make it to Spokane and through about half of Montana to make it to Bozeman. I was about 4 or 5 hours away from Bozeman at this point I think.

More trip pictures...

2005-09-18T11:24:00.000-07:00

Well, to most people who know washington and eastern washington, this probably isn't too interesting... well, it was a bit flat but it was interesting to me for not driving it before. I took quite a few of these and unfortunately the farther I got across the country the less pictures I took. That was pretty much because I was getting tired of driving and the novelty of driving new places wore off when I just wanted to get there... plus my battery to my camera pretty much died sometime after Illinois. The Weather really couldn't have been better. I was feeling the excitement of the beginning of a roadtrip across the country... that is a cool novel idea. Next time, I am going to try and actually enjoy it. :)

Ok, next stage of the trip...

2005-09-14T13:57:00.000-07:00

Well, I got a bit distracted by the U.S. Open and then was busy with work and apartment finding and all that... the weather has been truly unbelievable... it was 89 degrees today, a bit humid - which I am having to acclimate a bit too but not too bad - and very sunny. It was very uncharacteristic this time of year... everything is still well in bloom and they think it might be getting a bit colder soon. I was talking to my mother in central Oregon and it was already starting to seem like winter there which is pretty humorous... seeing as how this is usually a much harsher winter. Anyway, here are the next few pictures of the trip, hope you enjoy them.

Pretty much not much of note... just I-5 to I-90 and two pictures of western washington... I got over the pass and I think most of the pictures I have of washington are after that...

U.S. Open Update

2005-09-11T16:04:00.000-07:00

30 - 0 Federer...
40 - 0 Federer...
and game, point, match and championship...

Well played Federer... and my hat comes off to you Agassi! Go job on a great Final!

Federer, after winning both wimbledon and now U.S. Open is a pretty happy camper.

U.S. Open Update

2005-09-11T16:02:00.000-07:00

After deuce number 3 Agassi... holds at 1 - 5!

U.S. Open Update

2005-09-11T16:00:00.000-07:00

one more point for Federer! but no... Agassi brings it to deuce.

U.S. Open Update

2005-09-11T15:59:00.000-07:00

Well the commercials masked Federer gaining ground and now leads 5 - 0... damn broadcast tv... Go Agassi!

U.S. Open Update

2005-09-11T15:54:00.000-07:00

AAAAA!!! Federer is up 3 - 0 in the fourth and possible last set for this younger player. Agassi needs to slow down his game and try and come back... grrr.

Michael Gagne's Prelude to Eden released for web

2005-09-11T15:47:00.000-07:00

I would go every year to The Emerald City Comicon for one reason... and that was to shake the hand of Michael Gagne. He did this great animation Prelude to Eden and a bunch of beautifully drawn illustrated books... you must check them out here. The animation is now downloadable for your viewing pleasure... yippie!

U.S. Open Update

2005-09-11T15:43:00.000-07:00

Federer finishes up tie-break 7 - 1... hmmm. 3rd set Federer.

U.S. Open Update

2005-09-11T15:38:00.000-07:00

TIE-Break 6 - 6... Agassi starts it off!

U.S. Open Update

2005-09-11T15:35:00.000-07:00

Agassi pulls ahead with precision and excitement coming back from 4 deuce and sits in stricking position... 6 - 5 in the 3rd set... Go Agassi!

U.S. Open Update

2005-09-11T15:29:00.000-07:00

sorry for the lateness of this but I was distracted by eating... must feed the beast... so here we are at the height of excitement and the titans are tied at the 3rd set 5 - 5! at deuce, no less...

U.S. Open Update

2005-09-11T14:58:00.000-07:00

Agassi and Federer have tied the 3rd set 1 - 1... They are playing with intensity... it is great tennis...!

Brief word from our sponsors: Quick history of the Green Mountain State

2005-09-11T14:53:00.000-07:00

Vermont History The Green Mountain State

The State of Vermont, tucked in the Northeast corner of the U.S., is the second smallest state in the Country with a population of less than 1 million people. Vermont was originally populated by various indigenous peoples of the Algonquin, Iroquois, and Abenaki nations. Many of Vermont town, county, river, and lake names are derivatives of old Indian names. The original Vermonters traveled and lived off the abundance of the land. Vermont's hills were filled with wildlife, and fish were bountiful in the many rivers, ponds and lakes.

White man came to Vermont in the early 1600's, when in 1609, the French explorer Samuel de Champlain sailed into what is now known as Lake Champlain. It was then, in the summer of 1609, when Vermont was first dubbed "Verde Mont," French for "Green Mountains." Like a good explorer would, Champlain claimed this land in the name of France, who eventually swapped Vermont to the British. In 1763, England was granted the land now known as Vermont via the Treaty of Paris. That Treaty ended the French and Indian war. Meanwhile, back in the new World, the land was claimed by both New Hampshire and New York. Vermont patriot Ethan Allen and his Green Mountain Boys put an end to that and by 1777 Vermont achieved independence.

Vermont remained an independent republic until 1791 when it became the 14th member of the United States.

The Capitol of Vermont is Montpelier, with a population of under 10,000 people Montpelier is one of America's smallest Capitol Cities.

This information is thanks to the website: http://www.vtliving.com/history/

U.S. Open Update

2005-09-11T14:51:00.000-07:00

The crowd goes wild!!!! as Agassi pulls through the second set 6 - 2! with little trouble... The voice of the crowd seems to be that of each point is like a winning shot of the tournament... I wonder what it will sound if Agassi wins... fingers are crossed.

U.S. Open Update

2005-09-11T14:48:00.000-07:00

Agassi is pulling for a 2nd set win with 5 - 2 against Federer! and now time for commercials... grumble, grumble, grumble... Go Agassi!

U.S. Open Update

2005-09-11T14:43:00.000-07:00

Agassi up 4 - 1! in the second set...

U.S. Open Update

2005-09-11T14:33:00.000-07:00

Agassi opens up a can of whoop ass finishing up the 3rd set 3 - 0. Here comes Agassi!

U.S. Open Update

2005-09-11T14:27:00.000-07:00

Agassi comes ahead 2 - 0 in the second set... Hell Yeah!

Federer wins first set...

2005-09-11T14:19:00.000-07:00

Agassi has succumbed to the first set of play 3 - 6... noooooo. It has been very exciting though and hopefully he has what it takes to come back in the second set... as he has done before... :)

Two tennis titans play for the U.S. Open Title... go Agassi!

2005-09-11T13:38:00.000-07:00

Well, it is obvious who I am routing for... unfortunately I have been a while out of the game but agassi has been a staple player since Sampras and even before so for Agassi at age 35 winning would be a huge accomplishment. It is will be a fantastic match... just now starting on CBS. Go Agassi!

Pictures... oh so many pictures

2005-09-11T09:29:00.000-07:00

Ok, well their aren't as many pictures as I would have liked... I got tired... so pretty much just got to chicago and the pictures stopped.

So top to bottom left to right they go... where they stop no one knows... since it is only letting me upload 5 images per upload I think that will be a good place to stop per day... So the first one is actually where I was when I got to I-405 on the way to Bellevue which then would take me to I-90 and on the long road across the continent. Of course it is always good to start out with traffic...

The next one is the area just before you hit I-405 nothing too interesting... you can also go to Sea-Tac airport (for those not in the know). The next on is a picture of the last time I will be able to listen to my favorite radio station 89.5... but it actually stayed with me through snoqualmie pass, pretty much.

The next one is my first gas stop in Lacey, Washington which was pretty much the beginning. The last one is just another image of I-5... I only took pictures from the road so if you, for some reason, don't like pictures of the freeway... tough. ;) The next installment comes soon....

Time is a monkey... wish I had a tail...

2005-09-07T19:07:00.000-07:00

Well, I have had a very interesting experience since I have been here in Vermont. One of eye opening refamilarization and reconnection with things of old and seeing things in a new light... and appreciating where I came from but also appreciating what I have become...

I will have the pictures up by this weekend. I have put together a bunch of them but haven't gotten them the way I like it and with my work schedule, haven't had a chance to finish them up. But they are interesting I think and I appreciate you all waiting, if anyone is still reading this... I still have yet to put a counter up. I promise to do all this stuff this weekend when I have a normal weekend off for the first time in a while, while working for Starbuck's. And alas it is not going to continue. Next week, back to split weekends and all that. Good times.

Ok, it is my goal to use this blog for a couple of reasons... 1. update my move back to Vermont after 11 years and to have a forum with my friends in Washington and 2. to continue to promote and discuss graphics in many of its forms including design and comic illustration. So with that said... I won't meander too much on irrelevant things and if I do, you can smack me.

I'll leave this post with this thought: I miss my friends back in Oly... they are the greatest. So if any of you are reading this I raise a glass and tip my hat. Thank you guys.

Brand New World!

2005-09-02T14:35:00.000-07:00

hello all,

Well, I have arrived... i have the pictures to prove it. Unfortunately I haven't had time to collect them and get them in a presentable fashion.... not too mention I have yet to collect my thoughts... so being my first day here in Vermont I will bid you adieu... have a pleasant labor day weekend and blog ya later.

Monkeys in space, what a novel idea!

2005-08-28T11:08:00.000-07:00

Hello all. Well, here I am sitting in my coffee house probably for the last time before I head to my last day of work. It is a very interesting feeling... one of contemplation and having the notion of saying goodbye to the things I know I will miss. My friends here in Oly had a going away party for me last night. Good company, good beer, and good times... what else can you ask for. So here on the final stretch I am spending as much time looking up and around in Olympia, spending what time remains here memorizing everything for my move and logging the mental pictures into my biological database. It is going to be a fun and interesting roadtrip.

I will hopefully be able to get my digital camera from my friends house that I left there and take pictures on the trip and post them with witty commentary when I arrive in Vermont...

Peace!

What is in a title?

2005-08-24T09:44:00.000-07:00

I am one more day closer to my day of departure. It is a very interesting sensation. Many different emotions running through my mind. Mainly excitement, of a new adventure and reconnecting with old familiarity, coupled with a sadness of leaving friends and all things familiar. I have today off today too... I was going to do a massive movie fest again today but more important things started to come up. Things to do, people to see... places to go. That sort of thing.

In preparation of the day I came down to Cafe Vita, and for those uninitiaed, it is a coffee shop in Downtown Olympia. It has good drip and a wireless network... a marraige made in heaven. So as I update my email and blog I enjoy a good cup o' java. Sitting by the window, with the sun finally coming out... the warmth arriving and a guy dancing on the sidewalk... he is either high on life... or just high, it could really be either. But fun to watch nonetheless.... his jolting steps shuffle him around the pavement, sometimes putting him dangerously close to the street but then with a lumbering redirection he comes flying back towards the window... all with a happy content smile on his face as if listening to his own inner soundtrack. Music is pumped outside but it was way too slow for his beat.

Dance happy bald man... Dance.

Here we go, a bloggin' we shall go...

2005-08-23T21:09:00.000-07:00

Well, I have taken a long break from the world of the blog. And since I am going through a fairly large transition I have decided to hit the blog once again. First, it will be a great adventure and will let my friends here in Olympia, Washington a chance to check in from time to time. With that said, I'll be posting soon.

I have five days remaining in the great state of Washington. The it is on the road to Vermont the ol' stomping grounds.

One thing that was a lot of fun that I have been waiting a long time for is a large multiplex theater to open up in my area. And with less than a week there is a grand opening of the largest movie theater in the area. Regal cinemas is doing a charity showing of dollar movies through the next two days and then the grand opening is friday. On my day off today I watched from the available films... Robots, Shark's Tale and Hitchhikers guide to the Galaxy. All were pretty good. All were actually mediocre but still enjoyable. The theater is very nice. The stadium seating and the space in the seats were great. With 16 screens you pretty much have the pick of the litter when looking at what is being released... so I am happy that this area is getting a really nice place to watch movies. The concessions stand is huge even though I don't frequent it at all... and it looks like a nice customer service department which never existed before... Yeah! for Lacey (suburb of Olympia) and boo that they waited til I decided to leave.

That is pretty much it for now. I won't have too much access to post but I will do what I can... I plan on documenting the drive cross country and posting it when I get there... hopefully pictures too. 'Till then...