PROJECT PYE THOUGHTS

From the PROJECT PYE blog:

Watched the borrowed from Mel (my comic and anime source) Spirited Away + Mulan (on Disney Channel, although I do own the DVD); reviews later…interesting contrast but BOTH reinforced the notion planted by my Howl’s Moving Castle/The Fabulous Stains experience, that a heroine is essential — a hero might also work, but PROJECT PYE was initially centered around a witch (refer original storyboard) and then I keep finding excuses to minimize her part/cut her our because I have no confidence in my ability to draw people…and yet, I can’t see how to do this project without a main character. Yes, there could be a string of broadly comic happenings, but so much BAD comedy is grounding me even further in the conclusion that the best laughs come out of interaction between characters. Blink Kitty Love is easier to do than Hat Hair because there are more characters and situations just come up. Bad hair is funny, yes, but various combinations of crushes and difficulties multiplied by four people and maybe a kitten can be infinitely funny. And so I am forced to reconsider and remember that when I was being forced to take tests for school, if I went back and changed an answer it was usually wrong. Time to take original storyboard and really seriously consider things — if it’s a story worth doing, isn’t it worth as much time as it takes. And maybe I can find a way to make witches work in drawings. Or go back to puppets, but it’s hard to build that world as Rebecca makes four puppets a year — they’re amazing, but I think there’s an aspect of the story that would be impossible to puppet without at least a couple full time puppet makers and this is still a no budget extravaganza…and that’s the update.

2:03 AM

Burning a promised DVD of my movie stuff ( Gullible and Twitchy, Hat Hair, Lonely Pond Productions trailer), including the top secret Jabberwocky near final edit for the NJ nephew and nieces (and my buddy Laurie in Georgia).  This way I can get it off my to-do list and not turn on my computer on the morrow.  Pause for checking that iDVD actually put some content on the shiny disk (And the fun grindy noises begin.) 

Enjoyed the weather today; colors are starting to change and air is that particular crisp clear that comes with October, a visual bite into a Macintosh apple.  Tomorrow, hair cut, I’m thinking of going buzz cut levels of short on the sides, but chilly weather might make my ears reconsider.  

Speaking of apples, have been having half of one each night — we really need to trek down to the apple farm.  I keep buying half gallons of cider I only drink half of (half is our word here for the night at lonelypond — I am currently half asleep).  When I was a kid, a trek to the apple farm meant apple cider donuts.  Now I read the ingredients on the grocery store version and am cured of any cravings. What I like is a nice simple apple crisp with some streuselly stuff on top. Cinnamon season is upon us.  And pumpkins.  And pumpkin seeds on the wind, but that’s another story.

I’ll add TV reviews here, just to score one for insomniac stream of consciousness versus organized for you WordPress wordtag searchers out there.  Oh, and a note, I checked for a Tarrell Alvin McCraney play at the alternate office but none was available, so maybe it’s time to talk to the nice interlibrary loan librarian again.

The Middleman — watched the Clotharian Contamination Protocol again; still funny.  Love all the Dr. Who/Star Trek references, Ida rocks, Fantastic Voyage references good — although if only they’d managed to fit in a Tick/Dinosaur Neil one (note to self, acquire Tick vs. Season One; must see “The Evil Midnight Bomber What Bombs At Midnight”  plus second most glorious villain El Seed)– love the initial conversation between Wendy and Tyler by the hot dog stand — The Middleman always does an excellent job when many things are happening at once.  MiddleMatt does a great job of restraint and emotion when listening to Wendy’s Code 47, it really is a darn shame that great writing, great fun and great acting doesn’t equal great second season. Still think Tyler’s too smarmy and thought it odd when Gayle agreed with me, she’s usually a sucker for sentiment.  Next week, I figure out which episode I have yet to review — I’m pretty sure there is one, #3 maybe??????? Or the other one with Roxy???

Still not really missing Eureka much, although I get occasional twitter updates from S.A.R.A.H.  Yes, you too can either follow an artificially intelligent superhouse or lonelypond on twitter — the choices you get with the new generation of social media.

The Big Bang Theory opened well with a great fall by Johnny Galecki into the sofa — true tests of comedians: the fall and the spit take. Fairly solid episode, maybe a little too much Sheldon, although the bit at the DMV was great. Good reactions all round — nice that frequently the actors, especially Cuoco, just get to have these looks, these great great funny looks.

Also, I must confess to straying off the Disney channel to catch the occasional iCarly. Flash does not approve, but at long as it doesn’t interfere with her post medication Disney time, she refrains from actually expressing disapproval — don’t ask, cats are particular about so many things. iCarly is a crazy loud fast moving hoot of a show with small children as crazy as I remember them being. Funny, funny — looking forward to iGo Japan on Nov. 8th.

And it’s 2:44 a.m. and I think that’s enough meandering for now. Good night all. Pick random Shakespeare quote (Google, etc.): “What’s in name? that which we call a rose…”
May rose petals waft in your dreams amid apples halves and October air.

I MISS JAMES ALTUCHER

well, I open my Tuesday Financial Times of a Wednesday when it arrives and now there is no guarantee that 1. there will be a Wealth page and 2. when there is a Wealth Page, there will be a James Altucher comment on it. He ranges a little and borders on the too personal, but it’s very human and when he finally turns to finance, it’s practical, mathematically sound, sensible advice that doesn’t appeal to people seeking out get rich quick schemes but would appeal to me if I hadn’t signed that piece of paper that said “I will not gamble…and that includes the stock market”(lack of uncommitted funds also helps with that). It’s a long story and does not involve bookies or bankruptcies or anything like that, just…well, like I said, long story. Ask Gayle (brilliant use of pass the buck there; she says can I have that in writing, I say yes, so she also gets all future questions.) Where was I? James Altucher.

Soon after I discovered ( a little surprised) that he was my favorite columnist, he wrote this brilliantly inspirational bit about insomnia and bad ideas. Of course, I was immediately struck by the superb use of the time added to one’s night by lack of sleep — probably the best time ever to come up with stupid ideas — and started to generate my own. The first one was introduce Financial Times columnist to Lonely Pond Productions, Inc. so I sent off an e-mail. Then they took on quite a range (and yes, that means I don’t remember where I put the list) but a memorable one toward the end of the ten requested suggested sort of a strip poker for people who stay to late at work…for every fifteen minute span after 5 p.m., you have to lose an article of clothing. I figured it would at least encourage the non exhibitionists/non voyeurs to go home on the next train. Time to start the new insomnia induced bad idea list: 1. Write rock opera about finance. I’ll list ‘em as they come to me.

JABBERWOCKY MONSTER TEST

And the Jabberwocky monster no longer seems impossible: here’s a flaming foundation for effects.

SKATE PUPPET

How can you not love them?

IN NEED OF LUNCH

Internet still a time sucking engine of chaos — sometimes chaos good; sometimes chaos bad. For a great read about the chaotic effects of butterflies, bellwethers and Barbies, read Connie Willis’s Bellwether. I myself am having a read P.G. Wodhouse urge thanks to the blurb on the cover of the FT Weekend Home and Garden section about Dahlia’s — I keep getting a mangled quote in my head about Bertie’s Aunt Dahlia vs. Aunt Agatha, the one who eats broken glass, small children and howls at the moon — I did say mangled, right.

I think I’ll give up attempts to be obsessively productive this week; finish (actually start) the Roller Derby story due next Tuesday and try again next week. I did get pastelling done and bought cool props for the new Gullible and Twitchy I’m going to shoot as soon as I have another movie night scheduled. I need to do something active like have fun with puppets. Try it yourself. It’s fun. Or at least check out Gullible and Twitchy.

Smallville season premiere tonight — Justice League, Antartica and can we hope Lois. Well, I always do. Cheers.

I HATE STATS

I’ve never really liked numbers(geometry rocks) and don’t you hate it when your blog stat flatlines — another advantage to the Withoutabox site — no need to look at the numbers. For those of you worried, not this blog, but the movie blog where I should be writing this post but I’m in the wrong dashboard and if I were in the right one, nobody would read it.

Insomnia rant, take one — or take two and try to get some sleep before morning.

NEW MOVIE BLOG

Frustrated by Withoutabox unable to access issues; started a new movie thinking blog

INSOMNIA + FLIPBOOM = DOODLE

FlipBoom, the ToonBoom entry level animation program, is my favorite way to unwind when not sleeping. Unfortunately, there is too much not sleeping. It’s 3:47 a.m. and Flash isn’t the only one whose schedule is confused. At some point, I need to learn how to use the Studio Express program but for now, I plug in my Wacom tablet, doodle for awhile, learn to do something more effectively, unplug the tablet, open the 20 to 30 second movie in Garageband, turn on my keyboard/midi controller and doodle musically. Then I upload to myToons.

I would usually be writing this sort of thing at my Withoutabox blog, but something’s messed up there so I guess I’ll start talking about the movie business here. Enjoy.

all right my fellow insomniacs, first glance at the new Gullible and Twitchy; see what daylight’s like: http://ping.fm/Iui0q