A marvelous discovery that was passed along to me today...
The song's seem a cornerstone but they do more than that!
Friday, August 15, 2008
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Hawt Dawg
Thank goodness for blogs that raid other blogs - thanks to getting linked to on Fleen, Handful has been linked to by comixtalk.com today! This also might be the beginning of my being known as a "DIY magazine show creator". Well, that's certainly not the worst title to have.
Neat
Neat
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Oh hey sweet
Handful just got linked to by Fleen - this is the benefit of covering something with a bit more general appeal than cannibalistic, late '90s African warlords or polygamist cults!
WOOOOOOOO *FLOP* WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO *FLOP* WOOOPWOPWOPWOPPO *FLOP*
So it occurred to me the other day that I need to get a part-time job again. Something about money? But there is also the forced structure, I think.
This is when you work.
This is when you do not work.
Do not fuck with this or we will be forced to make your limbs bend in ways they ain't supposed to and also, maybe, tell your momma convincing lies about what you do in the evening.
A useful moment of clarity hit me last night. I realized that I'd been working (on my behalf) basically 10+ hour days for eleven days straight. The show. Scripts. Job hunting all over towne. I had basically been waking up, usually after a fitful nights rest that was made so by waking up and having trouble getting back to sleep due to having Too Many Things racing around my head, and then alternating between running around at 100kph or collapsing in a heap until I was recharged enough to go back to the former.
At the start of this writing sabbatical the thing to do was make sure I didn't just laze around, write three sentences and consider it a full day. Now the pendulum has swung too far the other way. This is not apocalyptic, but I figured it's been a hundred years since I wrote a "Bloggy Bloggerton" style post and oh what a treat.
Meanwhile, both the show and that script I've been developing for a fellow have passed over their respective humps. I can now start looking at What To Do Next and it is pretty exciting! I just hope I can get a nice lil' job at a nice lil' bookstore so I can get out of the house more, interact with more strangers and basically get a little more balance going on.
ALSO
This is a pretty good read with a pretty good point.
1 2 3 4
This is when you work.
This is when you do not work.
Do not fuck with this or we will be forced to make your limbs bend in ways they ain't supposed to and also, maybe, tell your momma convincing lies about what you do in the evening.
A useful moment of clarity hit me last night. I realized that I'd been working (on my behalf) basically 10+ hour days for eleven days straight. The show. Scripts. Job hunting all over towne. I had basically been waking up, usually after a fitful nights rest that was made so by waking up and having trouble getting back to sleep due to having Too Many Things racing around my head, and then alternating between running around at 100kph or collapsing in a heap until I was recharged enough to go back to the former.
At the start of this writing sabbatical the thing to do was make sure I didn't just laze around, write three sentences and consider it a full day. Now the pendulum has swung too far the other way. This is not apocalyptic, but I figured it's been a hundred years since I wrote a "Bloggy Bloggerton" style post and oh what a treat.
Meanwhile, both the show and that script I've been developing for a fellow have passed over their respective humps. I can now start looking at What To Do Next and it is pretty exciting! I just hope I can get a nice lil' job at a nice lil' bookstore so I can get out of the house more, interact with more strangers and basically get a little more balance going on.
ALSO
This is a pretty good read with a pretty good point.
1 2 3 4
Friday, August 08, 2008
Orange
I recently dug up this little number I did during the last Christmas holidays and stuck it in a cheap photo frame. It shouldn't be hard to believe it was inspired by a Vogue photo shoot. In it, the model had the front of her hair dyed a different color in each picture - this generally matched the background and even her clothing. I never really considered coloring in any other parts of this, but it has a sister painting which I started to fill in and my put up here later.
It sucks a little, but I won't be able to do my usual weekend drawing/painting relaxation routine as I've got to be 100% ready and rehearsed to film the last episodes of Handful's first season on Sunday. Still, I'm steadily getting better at training myself to do enjoyable, productive things to relax. There is nothing fundamentally wrong with just crapping out in front of the television, video games or Internet distractions - it even sort of has to be to done once in a while - but awhile ago I set myself the goal of gradually shifting the balance of my relaxation activities from that category to the kind that leaves me with something for my efforts and I'm glad I did.It's tricky, though, as it's not enough to do something productive - you have to make sure you're not getting lost down the path of Yet Another Skill To Try and Perfect. Otherwise the relaxation portion, the having-something-you-can-forget-about-when-you're-not-working-on-it bit, goes right out the window and then what are you doing?
I can't believe that after this Friday's Handful update we'll already be halfway through (Sept 12 will be the last update). If nothing else, this experience is certainly helping me refine my definition of what I want to do for a living.
I also can't help noticing how this blog has been transforming from a record of what I'm seeing to a record of what I make for others to see.
Hrm.
Sunday, August 03, 2008
Movin' on up
So this Friday was the last of the episodes from our first batch of filming. I've just started looking at the footage for the next episode and the difference is like night and day - and not just because we got rid of the desk. Tonight I'm doing another interview and that too should be improved by the moderately hard-won lessons of experience.
It all makes me want to go back and call a Mulligan (or something). But oh well, it's the natural trajectory for this sort of thing. I can't think of one television series or webcomic I've enjoyed that didn't get a lot better after that initial period where the writers were still figuring out their voice and all that jazz. It would be just a tad presumptuous to think myself above this process!
Thursday, July 31, 2008
"What Writers Make"
One of the trickiest things in being self-employed, or so I've learned from my parents and their many self-employed friends that I've met over the years, is setting a price for your services. You want to entice someone into hiring you or purchasing your product, but you also don't want to cheat yourself or even drive people away with prices so low they assume what you're offering is crapola.
For this last script I've been paid for, I basically did a calculation based off what I knew the producers budget to be (approx.) and what my own personal monthly expenses are. But according to the GUVVERMINT I should be charging $23.82 an hour. Well, at least until I hit 55 and then I should charge a little less as my doddering old brain won't be able to churn out tales like she used to.
For this last script I've been paid for, I basically did a calculation based off what I knew the producers budget to be (approx.) and what my own personal monthly expenses are. But according to the GUVVERMINT I should be charging $23.82 an hour. Well, at least until I hit 55 and then I should charge a little less as my doddering old brain won't be able to churn out tales like she used to.
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Roadsworth
Getting talking with some folk at a party last night, I brought up my show and this Friday's interview with Posterchild as well as the Vespahead thing etc. One of the people I was talking about brought up a character I'd never heard about - Roadsworth. As his name suggests, all his work is done literally on the street. Apparently he was arrested a few years ago and presented with an impossible fine, which was later dropped when the city of Montreal ended up hiring him to do work for them.
Lo and behold, there is an NFB documentary on the guy - enjoy the trailer.
Lo and behold, there is an NFB documentary on the guy - enjoy the trailer.
WIPED
So for the first time in a while I did a little sketching, from this photo. It's as if I've been shoving all my time and energy into something, lately.But thankfully one other project is over it's biggest hump, a short script I've been putting together for a fellow who rather kindly paid me for the first draft. That certainly felt nice.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Background, Check
Here are the backgrounds for Friday's episodes, in case anyone would like a look at them without my ugly mug in the way. This is from episode one...
And this is from episode two..
In other news I CANNOT STOP LOOKING AT THESE PHOTOS. I want to paint every single one of them!
And this is from episode two..
In other news I CANNOT STOP LOOKING AT THESE PHOTOS. I want to paint every single one of them!
Monday, July 21, 2008
*Puff* *wheeze*
I just went jogging and, trust me, this comes back to scriptwriting.
When I was much younger and had made up my mind that I would spend my life writing, my Dad took notice. He came up to me and pointed at his then-rotund (and still hairy) midsection and said "Oliver, if that's what you want to do then take heed boy, take heed of what I hath wrought in my years at the bench".
I may be paraphrasing here.
But yes, like some corpulent ghost of Christmas future, dad's gut was giving me a message - those who sit down for a living are particularly susceptible to becoming grossly unfit. A few years later Dad would start going to a gym and minding his diet better, at this point in his late fifties. I'd like to think the new generation can learn from the previous one, so at twenty-six I am trying to take dad's gut's message in a little earlier. I've been able to slip by on my absurd metabolism for years but, about two years ago, I noticed a small yet perceptible slowdown - like a cheetah that notices it is still outrunning the lion but by just a little bit less each year.
Being around the home and writing or editing as much as I have these past few weeks, I began to notice another little slowdown. Add this to my meeting someone fit enough to make me do a spit-take when I saw her snare-drum of a stomach and this ends up with me pushing my little legs around the neighborhood this morning. It felt good and I stopped after the point at which it would have been embarrassing to do so. A man can't ask for much more on his first day at it (said the bishop to the actress).
Anyways, enough of that - I'd rather not be the type to exercise for one frigging morning and then spent hours waxing on about how the visceral ballet of the battle of the bulge made them feel more in tune with sister Nike. Keep an eye on this spot for some of the shit I learned while getting the show up in order.
When I was much younger and had made up my mind that I would spend my life writing, my Dad took notice. He came up to me and pointed at his then-rotund (and still hairy) midsection and said "Oliver, if that's what you want to do then take heed boy, take heed of what I hath wrought in my years at the bench".
I may be paraphrasing here.
But yes, like some corpulent ghost of Christmas future, dad's gut was giving me a message - those who sit down for a living are particularly susceptible to becoming grossly unfit. A few years later Dad would start going to a gym and minding his diet better, at this point in his late fifties. I'd like to think the new generation can learn from the previous one, so at twenty-six I am trying to take dad's gut's message in a little earlier. I've been able to slip by on my absurd metabolism for years but, about two years ago, I noticed a small yet perceptible slowdown - like a cheetah that notices it is still outrunning the lion but by just a little bit less each year.
Being around the home and writing or editing as much as I have these past few weeks, I began to notice another little slowdown. Add this to my meeting someone fit enough to make me do a spit-take when I saw her snare-drum of a stomach and this ends up with me pushing my little legs around the neighborhood this morning. It felt good and I stopped after the point at which it would have been embarrassing to do so. A man can't ask for much more on his first day at it (said the bishop to the actress).
Anyways, enough of that - I'd rather not be the type to exercise for one frigging morning and then spent hours waxing on about how the visceral ballet of the battle of the bulge made them feel more in tune with sister Nike. Keep an eye on this spot for some of the shit I learned while getting the show up in order.
Friday, July 18, 2008
Pretty suitable for my 500th post!
They clutter cities and countrysides. Make lots of different noises. Produce a variety of odors. The world would be very different without them. You love them, you hate them. Sometimes you make love to them while hating them
Human beings.
If you know any, please tell them all to come check out In a Handful of Minutes – the web show which reviews something other than the usual crap – and to pass it along to any human beings they might know. We have a Facebook group which may aide in this purpose! Plus you can download it as a podcast, if you'd like to see me leering at you while you're while riding the bus.
Episodes are hurriedly uploading now...
Human beings.
If you know any, please tell them all to come check out In a Handful of Minutes – the web show which reviews something other than the usual crap – and to pass it along to any human beings they might know. We have a Facebook group which may aide in this purpose! Plus you can download it as a podcast, if you'd like to see me leering at you while you're while riding the bus.
Episodes are hurriedly uploading now...
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Somehow I found time for this...
Like a lot of watercolors, it looks best at about two feet away - but that doesn't work so well with the point n' click camera!
Monday, July 14, 2008
On the cusp...
Yes, it's finally happening - go here for some exciting news and something you should bookmark/add to your RSS feed!
I would like to politely ask that any of you who were thinking about kindly linking friends and enemies to the page to wait until the debut on Friday. Folk'll be more inclined to remember to come back if they get some proper content on arrival. What I've linked to right now? That's just for little old you.
I would like to politely ask that any of you who were thinking about kindly linking friends and enemies to the page to wait until the debut on Friday. Folk'll be more inclined to remember to come back if they get some proper content on arrival. What I've linked to right now? That's just for little old you.
Sunday, July 13, 2008
At first I thought...
...this probably wouldn't work in a city. But maybe there's a way around the difficulties posed by a higher density population?
Tuesday, July 08, 2008
I don't like Russian Metal music...
Blatantly stolen from Tom.
GORBACHOV: THE MUSIC VIDEO - BIGGER AND RUSSIANER from Tom Stern on Vimeo.
....but I do like over the top tributes to Mikhail Gorbachev which re-imagine him as a zombie-fighting barbarian.
GORBACHOV: THE MUSIC VIDEO - BIGGER AND RUSSIANER from Tom Stern on Vimeo.
....but I do like over the top tributes to Mikhail Gorbachev which re-imagine him as a zombie-fighting barbarian.
Write what you may or may not have done
I could not agree with the sentiment of panels 3 & 4 more, even if I designed a machine whose sole purpose was to augment my ability to agree.
Friday, July 04, 2008
I should be so lucky...
...as to wind up being so totally indifferent to old age as my father, who has found himself on the cover of Fifty-Five Plus magazine expressly for his choice to live like A Human and not the kind of demi-human so many folk resign themselves to being after they've been around long enough.
Addendum: I think my favorite line from the article is where Karen Secord, the author, describes my father as being "propelled by intellect, a quick wit and a fierce sense of self" (emphasis mine). Though I wouldn't argue the first two, it's that third quality which I feel really hits the nail on the head - not only as part of the assessment of my father but in identifying a necessary trait for making the most out of this quick jaunt across the Earth we've lucked into.
Addendum: I think my favorite line from the article is where Karen Secord, the author, describes my father as being "propelled by intellect, a quick wit and a fierce sense of self" (emphasis mine). Though I wouldn't argue the first two, it's that third quality which I feel really hits the nail on the head - not only as part of the assessment of my father but in identifying a necessary trait for making the most out of this quick jaunt across the Earth we've lucked into.
Wednesday, July 02, 2008
Transcript: AHAAAAAAHhhh....oh phew......oh ho ho HO HO HO HO HA HA HEE HEE
Holy cow I just about shit a brick! Not one hour ago I finished writing the "Webcomics: What's up with that particular medium of entertainment?" episode of Handful and then I see that Yahtzee has done an episode on webcomics.
A good episode too, mind! I watched it, I enjoyed it. But mostly I was relieved that...
1) I put up that preview of the Ryan North Interview when I did, thus proving I had the idea to do a webcomics episode on my own and that I'm not aping Yahtzee.
2) That Yahtzee focuses directly on gaming webcomics, while I'm looking at the whole spectrum.
3) He's also doing a tongue-in-cheek "How to make your own" thing, while I am taking a different tack.
4) Despite some qualifying remarks in the closing credits, he's obviously taking a big dump on Tim Buckley - which is a perfectly fair thing to do with Tim Bucklebottom - and his webcomic that serves as a perfect measure of the worst in gaming comics...particularly the comedy/drama switch thing.
Oh and uh hey I got to be in Ryan's alt text today thanks to this shirt. I knew it would be good for something other than saving people's eyeballs from bursting due to a manliness overload at the sight of my pecs.
A good episode too, mind! I watched it, I enjoyed it. But mostly I was relieved that...
1) I put up that preview of the Ryan North Interview when I did, thus proving I had the idea to do a webcomics episode on my own and that I'm not aping Yahtzee.
2) That Yahtzee focuses directly on gaming webcomics, while I'm looking at the whole spectrum.
3) He's also doing a tongue-in-cheek "How to make your own" thing, while I am taking a different tack.
4) Despite some qualifying remarks in the closing credits, he's obviously taking a big dump on Tim Buckley - which is a perfectly fair thing to do with Tim Bucklebottom - and his webcomic that serves as a perfect measure of the worst in gaming comics...particularly the comedy/drama switch thing.
Oh and uh hey I got to be in Ryan's alt text today thanks to this shirt. I knew it would be good for something other than saving people's eyeballs from bursting due to a manliness overload at the sight of my pecs.
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