Remi's Bloglet - Tuesday 3 June 2003

A pretty simple tutorial on creating Matrix-style efffects in Photoshop. _
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01:32:38 AM, Tuesday 3 June 2003

Also saw Finding Nemo, which was awesome from both a technical and movie-making standpoint. I could go on about its beauty and its humor, but you can read the glowing reviews all around the web. No, instead I will recommend, if you see it (and you should see it), stay all the way through the credits. _
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10:23:28 PM, Sunday 1 June 2003

Bought Gunstar Heroes, a Arcade Stick, and a power supply for my Sega Genesis at the Flea Market last weekend. I'm happy to say that everything except the power supply worked and Gunstar Heroes rocks about 50 times harder than a 16-bit game has any right to in the era of 3-D graphics. Tight controls, great gameplay, and a weapon system that is just beautiful. You're all invited to my house to enjoy the 2-player-simultaneous wonder. _
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10:20:05 PM, Sunday 1 June 2003

Anybody want a Sputnik? _
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11:08:43 AM, Saturday 31 May 2003

Well, I didn't get the job, which is frustrating. On the other hand, they didn't hire anyone, which makes not getting hired simultaneously less frustrating, and utterly infuriating. Employers really don't respect the time of the people who want to work for them. _
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06:10:11 PM, Friday 30 May 2003

Good news for Mac gamers (we most blighted of all gamers), Ambrosia has released Uplink, a cyberpunk computer hacking game. Seems pretty neat, but I wonder why it needs a 3d card. Anyway, download it here. _
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07:18:34 PM, Thursday 29 May 2003

Everyone needs a bad Einstein pun in their day. _
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07:04:37 PM, Thursday 29 May 2003

Fantagraphics, among the loudest voices and largest publishers for independant and literary comics in the US, is in imminent threat of going under (there's a message on their front page explaining exactly how this came about). If you have a couple bucks, and want some great comics product, please throw them an order. It would be catastrophic if they went under or had to change their editorial policy due to a new partner.
They've published some excellent books in the last few years, including:
Everything Dan Clowes has done, including and beyond Ghost World.
Joe Sacco's amazing journalistic comics, Palestine and Safe Area Gorazde.
The works of Chris Ware, including the incredibly beautiful Jimmy Corrigan.
Classic Comic reprints such as Krazy Kat, and the excellent B. Kreigstein, a retrospective of one of the lost, great talents of comics.
There's literally something for any taste (well, except superheroes). _
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01:31:42 PM, Thursday 29 May 2003

Happy Birthday to Julia! _
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02:56:58 AM, Wednesday 28 May 2003

Giant Microbes! Cute plushies that look like the critters that cause the Flu, the Common Cold, and a Stomach Ache! _
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12:33:51 AM, Tuesday 27 May 2003

My parents came to visit for the weekend. It was very nice, and relaxing. We went out to eat at a few different places, and I got to chat with both my mom and dad for good long whiles. On Sunday we went out to a flea market (which was an interesting collision of cultures and accents) and a really nice fine arts and crafts show, which had a really great juried section. It was wonderful all around. _
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12:32:18 AM, Tuesday 27 May 2003

If I hadn't been totally self-absorbed yesterday, I would have said it then, but now: HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY, MIKE! _
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08:17:45 AM, Tuesday 20 May 2003

I finally finished my sample assignment for the T-Shirt place. The directions were for a rock concert sponsored by two frats/sororitys. The concert is called 'Spring Jam' and it features the Beech Tree Trio. The design is supposed to be fun and signify spring (the season) and be appealing to men and women (which means no big boobies or pictures of Fabio, I guess). Anyway, here's two versions of the design. One is sort of faux-sepia toned and the other uses white instead of off-white. _
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02:20:35 PM, Monday 19 May 2003

I usually hate Salon film reviews (especially the execrable style of Stephanie Zacharek), but this line from the review of Matrix:Reloaded made me laugh:
What's that you say? Of course Neo is the One, right? (I mean, easiest anagram ever, dude!) _
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06:28:07 PM, Thursday 15 May 2003

I got the callback from Southland today (that was the Cartooning/Graphic Design job I interviewed for last week)! I'll pick up the trial assignment tomorrow, and then, if luck will have it, I'll have a shiny brand new job! Yee! _
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12:24:04 AM, Thursday 15 May 2003

Shoot, I forgot my yearly mention of Peep War, the war game played with Peeps! (made by my pals at Invisible City) _
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11:31:29 PM, Tuesday 13 May 2003

Autopsy process explained in easy terms and cute, non-threatening, cartoons. [via boing boing] _
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10:40:23 PM, Tuesday 13 May 2003

Hmmmm . . . somehow methinks the cries of 'monopoly money' will become louder before they become softer. Still, it will be pretty funny in fifteen or twenty years when kids being born now will have little idea why the color 'green' is associated with 'money' in old movies. _
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07:04:00 PM, Tuesday 13 May 2003

I've mentioned Mike Doughty, former frontman of Soul Coughing, a couple times on this blog (I think). Anyway, his newly revamped site doesn't have much on it, but his MP3.com section has some really, really great songs (How great? Let's put it this way, it's some of the best music I've heard all year). It seems he's finally found his place playing so-called 'small rock', and it's really beautiful stuff. If this piques your interest, head on over to Super Special Rock, go to their ftp page, and download an ENTIRE LIVE SHOW or two. _
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11:58:05 AM, Tuesday 13 May 2003

Edward Tufte, information designer extraordinaire, has written a booklet on the scourge of PowerPoint. I'm interested in seeing how he addresses the reading-every-slide-out-loud problem. Is there a solution? If so, this may be required reading for anyone who ever has to make a presentation in a non-stone-age setting. [via boing boing] _
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11:50:32 AM, Tuesday 13 May 2003

This made me laugh and laugh. It's like all those tech-boom-era Wired articles I used to loathe . . . but about unemployment! _
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01:02:21 AM, Tuesday 13 May 2003

mmmm. fried rice. _
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11:39:29 PM, Monday 12 May 2003

Excerpts from the much-acclaimed Persepolis, about a young woman growing up during the Islamic Revolution in Iran. Looks like one of the great works of cartooning non-fiction since Maus or the Cartoon History of the Universe. These 8 pages alone drew me into the narrative completely, and made me thirst for more.

[via Frugal Chariots (Liz Sarazin's blog)] _
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10:39:19 AM, Monday 12 May 2003

Q: Transmet drew details from current events, but not the big picture. In a year where one news corp. runs attack ads against another for not being pro-administration enough, and Helen Thomas is sent to the back of the bus for not being a simpering twit, the most famous journalist today is... Geraldo. What makes you think a competent muckraker will have any kind of influence at all, starting, let's say, negative ten years from now?

A: That's because it's fiction, and fiction has no responsibility to balance. Next.

Warren Ellis is interviewed by the Slashdot mob. _
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06:23:53 PM, Friday 9 May 2003

This cartoon has stuck with me for a few weeks. "No, no. It's tangy." _
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03:55:33 PM, Wednesday 7 May 2003

Scott Kurtz usually annoys me with his 'my-way-or-the-highway' rants, but his geeky rant on X2 is just fun. If you've seen the movie, scroll down to the spoilers section for his coparison of X2 to Wrath of Khan. Even if you don't agree with his analysis, the parallels are super amusing. A geek mind at work.

(Earlier rants listed at the bottom of the page if this link goes out of date) _
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03:00:05 AM, Wednesday 7 May 2003

Had an interview for a graphic designer/illustrator/cartoonist position at a place that makes t-shirts. I'm pretty sure I could handle it, and I hope I get the callback. The callback will be a sample assignment similar to one that would be given if I actually get the job. The interview went pretty well, and he kept an old Too Fat strip (the recap strip from the Swamp storyline) as an exemplar of my work, so here's to hoping! _
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06:39:35 PM, Tuesday 6 May 2003

I'm really enjoying the Little Nephew:Rapper story arc in Achewood. Filthy rhymes about algebra and sexual dysfunction do it for me, I guess. _
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06:37:06 PM, Tuesday 6 May 2003

This cool little animation for the upcoming GURPS Shapeshifters was done by Alex Fernandez (who was at SJ Games when I was). He also did the cover of the book. Alex was a good guy, and a pretty amazing and resourceful artist, and it's nice to see him doing some art that's clearly appealing to his dark and twisted sensibilities. _
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12:51:24 PM, Tuesday 6 May 2003

Wow, has it only been two years since this incarnation of my bloglet started? I had one at St. John's, but that boggles my mind. It seems like so much longer. _
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09:32:59 AM, Tuesday 6 May 2003

There may be a purposely misspelled word in this post. Or there may not be. _
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11:34:43 PM, Sunday 4 May 2003

Those of you who knew me during my days living in 8 Maryland Ave, Apt. B (also known as 'that basement apartment in front of whose window a Irish terrorist gets ganked by a Naval Academy Guard in Patriot Games' or simply 'the basement apartment where Dave Bohannon's pillowcase curtains will hang forever') was often a no-pants-zone. I am often found sans-pants around the house to this day. With that in mind . . . WHY WASN'T I INFORMED OF NO-PANTS DAY!?!?! _
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09:35:02 PM, Saturday 3 May 2003

You wake up in a white room. You are wearing a grey tunic tied at the waist with white string. There are some other people in the room with you. You have no idea where or who you are.

This is the premise of a game I'd like to run. Anyone interested? _
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09:07:52 PM, Monday 28 April 2003

This is a very mysterious post. It looked like the one above it for a few days, but now it is different. _
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09:07:15 PM, Monday 28 April 2003

For my birthday, Liz got me Amelie and Six String Samurai (also the book version of Holes, which is delightful). Watching Jesus Christ: Vampire Hunter reminded me of Six String Samurai, because they were both movies made with great attention to humor and were obviously labors of love. The kung fu doesn't hurt, either. Amelie is just pure joy in DVD form. _
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08:19:43 PM, Monday 28 April 2003

For those who got my blogswap Tossed Off Clothing and were wondering what the hell I put on it (I hope I didn't repeat myself from earlier mixes). A real cover will follow:
Band - Song
1. Lilliput - Split
2. Sleater-Kinney - Far Away
3. Mindless Self Indulgence - Backmask
4. Sepultura - Refuse/Resist
5. Guided By Voices - Sister I Need Wine
6. Olivia Tremor Control - Define a Transparent Dream
7. Blackalicious - Chemical Calisthenics
8. Monopuff - Dashiki Lover
9. Enon - Natural Disasters
10. Tom Waits - Such a Scream
11. Kool Keith/Black Elvis - 01 Intro
12. Sleeper - Inbetweener
13. Soft Boys - I Wanna Destroy You
14. Iggy & the Stooges - Search and Destroy
15. Magnetic Fields - When My Boy Walks Down the Street
16. Long Fin Killie - The Lamberton Lamplighter
17. BEST DUET EVAR
18. REM - Love is All Around
19. And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead - Intelligence
20. Mr. Lif - Live From the Plantation
21. Sunny Day Real Estate - The Prophet
22. The Books - All Our Base are Belong to Them
23. Robyn Hitchcock - Bright Fresh Flower _
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02:07:04 AM, Monday 28 April 2003

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