4th of "Can't Catch my Breath" July

My chest feels like I got kicked and I can't seem to catch my breath today. So..just trying to get though the day. Wish me luck and have a happy 4th of July. Oh! And here is some good news about bad news for once.
for once.

Onion Boy

Here is a drawing from the midnight oil (well.. the 2 am oil). Presenting Onion Boy.

New Compy

New Compy Haiku:

New compy you rock
Hardcore, kicking so much ass
You rule completely

I love my new computer so much.. it looks like a sports car pin striped in electric blue. It's blazing fans make little cyclones around my feet and it responds with mongoose speed. It is the first computer that I've built and I'm hooked. There are just so many slots and bays that want to be filled in it.

It has become.. precious to me.

Abstract no?

Late night doodling in zbrush and photoshop. I love my new toy.. once I learn more it will be more than an abstract painting creation engine. I also make a little clay looking goose in it.. but..not so good.

creative title here

Blog!

It is a cleaning day.. hooray for cleanliness and a nice home. Work is work and I love my wife.

In other news, I'm obsessing about Spore. I haven't been this excited about a game since I saw the Mac World video for Halo.. when it was a mac game and the Xbox seemed like a lame idea. It is a game (that might be too limiting of a word.. Sandbox Toy God Simulator?) that blows my mind. You started at a microbe level, evolve creature though game play, go from the ocean and take those first important steps onto land, successfully mate and become evolutionary fit (or die), form tribes, technology, wage war, make cities, more tech (you get to design your buildings and vehicles), more war, get to space, engage in galactic conquest (there is a planet destroying weapon..hello Deathstar), terraform planets, seed new life on alien worlds (you can design plant life too), and make contact with alien races. Spore designs ecosystems - you can make 4 assed, 2 headed 1 tentacled critters (and hopefully they'll become the dominant life form.. hooray for tentacles!!) This game is so geek (and accessible to men and women, boys and girls alike).. I'm stoked.

So here I am..waiting.. impatiently... stupid September being 4 months away.

On the cg front - I'm trying to learn Zbrush. So.. I'll post pictures as that comes along.

I can't say enough about the game.. and I haven't played it yet.

Can't get enough of the World

I can not get enough of this commercial... it is less a commercial about the Discovery channel and more about how awesome our world is (which is kind of what the Discovery Channel is about..hmm). Anyways.. I sing it all day.

So.. I was thinking about movie time travel today (because.. you know.. I'm a geek). So.. terminator time travel doesn't work. The whole movie's idea is that we make our own fate, but things are predestined (the savior of the human race sends his buddy back to be his own dad. Its a self referencing loop..so..no go). Now Back to the Future time travel works okay (except for the fading Marty which is lame and doesn't make much sense).. everything Marty does in the past retroactively effects his future. The only problem is that Marty_A goes back.. affects his parents and future.. parents have Marty_B.. then Marty_A returns to the present. He thinks that he is seeing himself go off in the Delorean but Marty_A is really watching Marty_B go off into the past. So where the hell does Marty_B go (presumably back in time..affecting his parents future resulting in Marty_C and so on). The best thing for Marty_A would be if Marty_B never makes it back his past.. Marty_B goes to the Permian period and got crushed by a Dimetrodon. Apparently this doesn't happen because as soon as he gets back to the present, Doc takes him to the future with those nifty hoverboards. Who the hell is this future Marty? Is this Marty_C perhaps? Marty_B must have gone back.. got his parent together and instilled positive thinking in them.. and then took his trip to the Dimetrodon footwear store. And this Marty_C didn't hang out with Doc and go back in time (his 1985 was pretty good now). Sooo.. Marty_A and the Doc go to the future to help out Marty_C's kids? How weird is that.. and why do they care..if thing aren't predestined (as shown by new and improved McFlys of 1985) what can you possibly do in the future (accept buy cool new toys that affect your past)do for you? Marty_A couldn't have been seeing himself in the future, because he removed himself from the time stream. He was looking at some alternate Marty that really wouldn't be him (good thing he learned not to be such a hot head though..way to avoid that car crash that screwed up Marty_C's life). So.. the movie's time travel works with a minor paradox and some missing information.

Lets assume that the law of conservation holds true.. we can't create or destroy matter.. there is a finite amount of energy in the universe. So.. as Marty_A makes Marty_B with the time machine, some small star.. or guy in Cleveland.. or a school of mackerel.. dematerialize to make up for the new Marty_B (We've made a machine that not only displaces matter though time, it also redistributes energy in the universe (I'm thinking the flux capacitor..king of black box technology.. makes this work out ).

Wow.. while thinking about this, I did a Google and this guy's website hits these points and a lot of other movies more thoroughly than I do (but less humorously I'm sure).

There is a movie that did time travel really well and I can't remember the time.. its like.. hmm.. machine.. mechanical term.. torpid.. Primer!!! Wow.. witness my brain in action!! Not sure where torpid came from but it brought forth Primer. If you want to watch a very nerdy movie that is only enjoyable if you're a nerd (and awesome in that right) watch Primer.

Sickly

I am sick.. fever and body aches.. I've spent the last two days on my couch drifting between pain and sleep. It sucks. I thought I would try to get up and play on the computer or work on some art. But my head hurts.. I think I will just go lay down again.

Mama day

So I had a nice time visiting my parents - I got my mom some jammies to sleep in. We had a nice ham dinner and played poker with family (typical when we get together - I love it). My dad put together some fishing gear for me too. When I got home, I caught a fish 'this big' (from my elbow to my finger tips). It was the biggest fish that I've caught in memory.. a largemouth bass. Our little pond is catch and release, so maybe I will get him again.. I hope so. Man o man, there are a lot of turtles out there.. snapping and box turtles galore. I like how this post really doesn't have much of a tangent.. just thinking in text.

Sarah and I want to buy a condo here - we'll save on rent that way. And we want a baby..so we're going to go to the doctors to get all checked out. If they give us bad news, I hear we can order one from China. So.. no worries :).

Ah-nee-mahls!!

Little Dade has inspired me..

I was going to put these guys in a hot air balloon, but I swear I've seen that somewhere before. So what should they be in or on?

Time to get back on the horse

I've been getting so caught up in a cycle of work and crash that I haven't been focusing on the things that really make me satisfied. It is the whole rut of 'I've worked all day and I'm tired.. so I'm not going to do anything once I get home'. This is probably a luxury actually but it is proving to be unhealthy for me. Take writing this blog for example.. I haven't been doing it. And I get a lot of satisfaction from it. Sloth sucks. And daily sketching - I was climbing a ladder and fell down quite a few rungs. Here is one for today - photoshop was being a bit sketchy (pun intended) tonight. My brush kept deciding to not work and then affect layers I wasn't working on. Weirdness really. Animation & CG - more things that I want to get back into the swing of. I'm going to start slow and hopefully build momentum as I go.



On other notes,a family crisis is occurring with my sister and I can't get a hold of her on the phone. Sarah and I (hell - everyone I'm sure) did a lot of stupid rebellious things growing up and I'm sure that is what is going on, but it is scaring my folks. We love her and miss her - its tough to get perspective on things you can only see from one vantage. On the flip side, Talking to my brother now is like trying to draw blood from a rock. He is a genius and someone I really admire and love, but at the same time dealing with all the _joy_ of the family and being a teenager. Not fun so I understand.

Tonight I am going to exercise some. I need to get in better shape (which shouldn't be hard when I'm in poor shape right now.. any exercise should lead to better shape). Hmm.. hungry.. going to go make some food and do push-ups and squats.. while watching Transformers. The new formula shall be fun + geek + improvement = awesomeness.

Love ya people!

Bad Blogger

I haven't written a post in a week.. Bad blogger! Bad!

So here is an update.

So whats up.. I've had some crazy weeks. Lots of groups to take care of at work..I've just been really busy.

Sarah got a bad virus but she is getting better now. Its no fun when your sweetie is ill.

I got me some new clothes! I look like a preppy stud now... hello Banana Republic! It is so nice to be wearing new clothing.. I buy clothes about twice a year.. I really needed some. The best part is new socks!! Hooray for good feeling feet.

Art.. nill. CG.. nada. More like Better Living though exhausting days and well rested nights.

Golfin

I played my first game of golf yesterday and man do I suck :). Golf is great though for the following reasons:

1. You get to drive around in go-carts. In a sport. How cool is that?
2. You get to swing clubs. Apart from baby seal hunting, how many sports have clubs? (Not straight sticks.. little f'ed up sticks!)

3. Although I haven't gotten to the advanced stage of the game, apparently drinking heavily is required as you advance in skill. The go-carts have coolers that fit 6-packs. Again...wow.
4. Like most sports, you wear funny outfits and use specialized equipment. In golf the specialized equipment sometimes looks like this:

5. You can play the game (and still suck at it) until your ancient. This is also very accepted.. so.. bonus.

Downsides:
1. Kinda pricey.. unless you happen to work and live at a golf course (hooray for me!)
2. Juggling ferrets is easier than this sport.
3. If I took the game more seriously (and I'm an extremist..I like stuff a lot when I like it), it is probably the most frustrating thing in existence.
4. I really suck at it.. the ball just doesn't want to go where you want it to and seems to be just as hard to find when it does fly in the right direction.

In the cg front:

I've started a walk.. go me.

In the cg hindering yet fun front:
I've started playing Dwarf Fortress. You must play.. it is.. hmm.. rad.

Peace out.

Ready to Rock!

You ready to rock?! I'm ready to rock out with my manly extremity out. Schlump-time over - I'm fired up about being fired up. I am a beautiful animal, I am a destroyer of worlds, I am Scott, F'ing McElfresh!!

Clint - get that list of pictures sent to me.

Self - get off your ass and start some animating!

WOOOOOO...

(Runs off with axe, torch, and furry hat!)

Rockin Dream

Wow.. what a killer dream last night. I can't make out all the details - its a dream after all, but I was hunting in the woods with my family. We had short bows and a deer came up to nuzzle us (apparently we weren't hunting deer). Then a brown fox came up and licked my face (not hunting them either I guess). During this family outing, I looked into the sky and saw strange flying machines and airships coursing though the clouds. We immediately hopped into our van (A-Team style.. my family has never owned a van), and were racing away from large bald-headed humanoids. We fled into a warehouse where I ran into one of the Aghartanians; I shot him square in the face with the bow. The arrow pitifully bounced off and he smiled at me. I can't recall the conversation, but human lives were akin to games they played. As if, our lives as we lived them where characters they roleplayed in games. How weird is that? He then went on to tell me that I need to keep creating art.

This has been going though my head throughout the day - tommarow is my day off and I'm going to see if I can work out a portrait of the Aghartan or maybe the airship. Or anything.. you don't want to piss of a large bald alien who speaks to you in dreams.

Not a post

This isn't really a post. I'm not posting because I haven't posted in awhile. And nothing has really happened since then so there really isn't a point to a new post. I really should be doing things that would let me make a great post. How annoying is that. Mostly I've been destroying digital soldiers in the evenings and in the days, making coffee, making contracts, and making arrangements. But I really should be making other things in my time away from work.

I have an idea: give me an assignment to work on. You're my friends and interesting people - surely you have an idea that would be fun to make and animate. I want to build a set and props.. make characters and animate scenes. I'm in creative deadlock. I think of ideas.. like..hmm.. two guys..and.. one of them chops the other down with an ax. Creative? Not so much.. fun to animate? Possibly. Am I excited about it enough to take the laborious amount of time to animate it? Nope. Animation takes a great deal of time. And passion. I seem to have less passion after a long day of work... because.. you know.. I've worked all day and then the animation seems like more work. Instead of creation, fun, and art. I'm in a bit of a rut - I don't want to vent and bum anyone out. Good thing I'm not posting anything.

Me and my buddies.

I just have to post these pictures. Just look at how amazing little Dade is. And his Dad is my best friend in world - he must have passed some amazing along.

Beatlemania and 4 Irish Tenors

Yesterday was a day of Bransontastic fun. Sarah and I took the day off together and saw some shows. One rocked my socks off; I had an amazing time. Sarah and I sang and yelled - the Liverpool Legends are about the closest experience you can get to actually seeing the Beatles in concert. In several ways it might actually be a better experience than seeing a Beatles concert.. you know.. less hysteria and deafening screams.. more music. I'll never really know until there is a zombie reunion tour. The Liverpool Legends sing the songs and play the instruments - no lip syncing here. Killer concert. On that note though.. Sarah said something disturbing before the show. Imaging seeing a Nirvana tribute band at a theater when we're 64... that is about the equivalent experience most of the audience had. Anyways - see the Liverpool Legends if you love the Beatles.


The 4 Irish Tenors were another thing completely. We saw the 10AM show (go free tickets..woo). Technically they are called the 12 Irish Tenors but only 4 are actually from Ireland. Basically, if I joined the 16 French Saxophonists, it would be about the equivalent. Sarah's biggest complaint (and it has merit) is that maybe 2 of the singers were the same as the ones on the billboard. This would be a better sign (and possibly a better show). I must admit - they sang very well. Not much Irish.. mostly opera and show tunes..very choirboy.. but very well. They were entertaining.

To top off they day, we had dinner with Sarah's folks at a great upscale southwestern restaurant. That reminds me.. I have a doggy box in the fridge. SCORE! Really good food..then we went and got rental movies and crashed in bed. Not a bad day at all.

On today's fun with work activities: I toured the Sight and Sound Theater. I don't think I'll be interested much in the content of there performances, but I have to admit, I want to see the shows. The stage is huge. The theater is beautiful. And how could I pass up a show that has animatronic hippos? My critique of a show I haven't seen: apparently the Noah gives the Ark over to Christ. WTH?? I'm no theologian but that seems to miss the mark Biblically. If Yahweh shut the door to the Ark, that would have some scriptural precedence but Christ? Like a omnipresent, pre-physical manifestation spirit Christ? No angel? Weird huh? On the nifty front: apparently there is a Temple of Nod in the production. Eat your heart out Command and Conquer.

Daily -

Used my free time a bit.

Beautiful Boy

This is my new buddy Dade. He is just about the best thing since the interweb. Not only does he delight at being burritoed up in swaddling, but he makes cooing noises when you play rocket-ship pilot with him on your lap (knee bouncing + finger hand holds + rocket noises). Just look at him. He is a beautiful animal.. a destroyer of worlds.. a paradox of power and babyness. I really want to bring a potential playmate or arranged marriage partner into the world for him.

So I visited my wonderful friends Clint and Cassie this weekend. They are frickin amazing (I also saw Amy - she is great too!). When I watch them, I see things that I want to bring to my relationship.. or just more of it. It is so nice to be around a couple like that. My parents are like that. They still kiss loudly before going to sleep (almost to ad nauseam); it is things like that that make me love them all the more. I'm being sappy, but by golly, baby Dade makes me feel sappy.

On a side note - Cassie's family really knows how to stab people in their souls. It is a neat talent.

Enough on all that.

Strange news from the work front: today I had lunch (which was great.. people brought chili and other good foodstuffs to eat) and we had a belly dancer perform. Never in my life have I been privileged to free chili and belly dancing at my job before. How 'bout that.

Wow.. I have time..to do things..that I enjoy. How to spend the time? Lets start with web-comics and go from there.. Life is good today.

BOOOYAHH!!

Done!

WOOOOT. What a great game. Good job Armor games .. the bad news - I think the leaderboard is messed up.. it only shows 5 names on the board all with 0 deaths. I got to lvl 11 with 0 deaths but I can't imagine getting though the whole game that way.. and it only show 5 names.. NO MATTER. I finished it.. with a modest two thousand something attempts :O






I am free! Free at last. Beat the game.. sanity has returned. It is a strange accomplishment. I feel like I deserve a cookie. Or I want aliens to come claim me as their champion to have a killer early cg battle in space. Aren't those moments, when you succeed alone, just really strange? No just video game triumphs, but those moments when a glass falls off a ledge and you snatch it with your offhand like a deft cat-burglar. You hit a difficult riff that you're never ever able to repeat just the same. You cook the perfect steak or bake the most amazing loaf of bread. I love those moments in life.

I'm going to get back to doing what I love.. you know.. art and animation. On the same note, my wife gets home from a business trip tonight. Hooray.