Remi's Bloglet - Monday 27 April 2009

My friend Donovan is the drummer in this adorable music video. _
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11:18:43 PM, Monday 27 April 2009

Igor Siwanowicz is a truly gifted photographer of underappreciated creatures. There are no charismatic megafauna in his galleries, instead he makes arthropods and lizards into alien things of textured beauty. Wish I could find a poster or book of his work. The computer screen is nice, but this stuff belongs in print. _
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05:03:13 PM, Saturday 25 April 2009

My Brute will destroy your Brute! Bring it on! _
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11:57:22 PM, Wednesday 8 April 2009

The Where the Wild Things Are trailer is jaw-dropping. How the heck did they pull that off?

Also, most of the posts that would go here are going on Twitter, so you might want to follow me there or on Facebook, where I cross-post. _
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04:52:35 PM, Wednesday 25 March 2009

I'm pretty excited by the new Decemberists album. They seem to have finally mastered the heavy rock inflected folk first suggested on The Tain. I've enjoyed their last two, but this one feels like a quantum leap forward, both in terms of production and cohesive rock operatics. _
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05:27:17 PM, Thursday 12 March 2009

I am back from Dreamation in Morristown, NJ. I had decided not to run any games this time and played pretty much for 3 and a half days straight. I had an amazing time. I will try to write about it more. _
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01:02:22 AM, Monday 23 February 2009

Well, that first episode of Dollhouse was truly awful. _
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07:28:24 PM, Sunday 15 February 2009

On the way to school today I saw a huge explosion and shortly afterwards drove past a red GMC Jimmy engulfed in flames. _
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09:52:34 AM, Wednesday 11 February 2009

I made a big art post over on my livejournal. Lots of pretties. _
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08:53:17 PM, Wednesday 4 February 2009

So I've put together a little mix to introduce someone to the Pixies. (not for the upcoming Blogswap mix, spread the word!) I'd like some feedback, but here's the list:
1. Where is My Mind (Surfer Rosa)
2. Debaser (Doolittle)
3. Holiday Song (Come on Pilgrim)
4. Gigantic (Surfer Rosa)
5. Hey (Doolittle)
7. Bone Machine (Surfer Rosa)
8. Wave of Mutilation (Doolittle)
9. Is She Weird (Bossanova)
10. U-Mass (Trompe Le Monde)

My basic goal is to give someone a fairly broad overview of the Pixies sound and themes. I feel the like the length/song ratio is right (30 minutes/10 songs). I tried to front-load it with songs that were more accessible/not quite as weird (although I did flop Holiday Song and Wave of Mutilation) and that feels about right. I like the ratio of songs from each album. I guess I'm wondering if I'm missing any really obvious songs or if I'm letting personal preference guide me too much, Specifically in the case of Caribou, Holiday Song, and Is She Weird. Ideas welcome. _
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12:37:52 AM, Monday 2 February 2009

Yeah! Pluto, which I've been reading in amateur translation for a couple years, is finally getting a proper publication. Want a beautifully-drawn, morally complex chunk of robot SF? Pluto will exceed all your expecations. _
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04:45:36 PM, Friday 30 January 2009

I'm making things for people who would like something mysterious in the mail. Go over here. _
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11:22:28 PM, Friday 23 January 2009

I've been writing funny lists with my friend Joe Stanton. You should check them out. _
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10:41:42 PM, Friday 23 January 2009

I apparently think the most important part of a dragon is the tongue. _
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12:23:32 AM, Saturday 17 January 2009

Patrick McGoohan, Ricardo Montalban . . . and Andrew Wyeth? _
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04:34:07 PM, Friday 16 January 2009

Does thinking transhumanism is a sucky idea make me a technophobe? _
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12:35:18 PM, Thursday 15 January 2009

I helped my friend Joe discover his favorite reality show catch phrases. _
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12:13:44 PM, Thursday 8 January 2009

Things that were awesome 2008 edition:
1. Going back to school: This has been better than I can really describe. I am better at applying myself than I was at St. John's and I really enjoy the work in all my classes. It has also been good for my confidence as an artist, as I can see that I have skills and school is simply sharpening them. I finished my first semester with flying colors and I'm looking forward to continuing the streak. Yeah!
2. Air Guitar Madness: This almost killed me during April but it is the work I am proudest of during my time at DSI. About 40 people were involved in the production, and although it had some hitches, everyone ending up having a ball. It was a real joy to see people 'get' the performance aspect of air guitar and rock out unabashedly.
3. Proletariat Princess at the Del Close Marathon: I really loved being on this Harold team. All my teammates were hard-working and enthusiastic and we put on some amazing shows. Our swan song was performed in front of a small crowd of maybe 25 people at the Del Close Marathon in NYC (thanks for coming Mirabai and Fred!), but it was perhaps the best that group ever was. I couldn't tell whether the show was good or not from inside, because I was so absorbed in what was happening, so focused on using what Harold was giving me. I would be proud if that's the last improv I ever do.
4. Utah: Who knew it could be so beautiful? I want to go back and not get sick. A wonderful vacation with my sweetie.
5. Twilight of the Living Dead: It was great to work with Mike again. It was great to produce something so fun with so many of my friends from the theater. Onwards!
6. Starting to do freelance illustration again: This is recent, but I finished up a small freelance project for the Geek Fight card game, and I recently picked up a slightly larger contract for The Book of Dragons from HERO games. A nice way to pick up some pocket money and get my name out there a little more.

In all, this has been a transitionary year. I spent the first half in a miserable job, but was highly active at DSI and other performance projects. The last quarter of the year has been much more focused on my visual arts side. I hope to keep performing but I believe my professional future lies in my graphic and drawing skills and interests. That is where my focus must lay for the year ahead. I am hopeful and relatively happy for the first in a long time.

I continue to roleplay and fiddle with RPG design as a side interest. Nothing serious has emerged from that other than illustration opportunities. It has largely been a year less seriously devoted to RPGs. I still greatly value the friendships I've made through roleplaying and look forward to many more great games in the coming year.

Improv-wise it was a good year. I had to drop out of the theater at the end of the year due to school, but I still play with the hope that I can put a toe in next semester. I had so much fun at the theater this year. I successfully directed Extraordinary Rendition to a number of solid shows. I had a lot of fun playing with Joe Stanton in the geek-themed show Doom Buddies, and, of course, I spent a lot of time torturing Cagematch announcer Scott Sullivan as evil billionaire douchebag Troy Sterling. DSI was great to me this year, and really gave me a ton of opportunities. It should all go under the 'awesome' section, but I thought I'd illustrate the highlights. _
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05:46:14 PM, Saturday 27 December 2008

I'm feeling very Roast Beef right now. _
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08:02:38 PM, Tuesday 23 December 2008

Thing that made me smile today: James Inzeo portrays James Madison. _
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03:10:35 AM, Tuesday 23 December 2008

I'm doing a dumb music thing over on my LJ, where formatting is a little more forgiving. _
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05:15:06 PM, Saturday 20 December 2008

Got a 'Internal Server Error' and duplicated. _
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05:14:56 PM, Saturday 20 December 2008

Got a 'Internal Server Error' and duplicated. _
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05:14:47 PM, Saturday 20 December 2008

A beautiful and unique spin on puzzle games, the demo for Auditorium is breathtaking. _
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09:56:44 PM, Tuesday 2 December 2008

Today I incited a mob to action. _
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02:12:53 PM, Monday 1 December 2008

Yay! My favorite comic, Scott Pilgrim, gets a new volume in February! Getting on toward the end of the saga, with each chapter has been better than the last. (and the first was really damn good) _
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12:19:09 AM, Sunday 30 November 2008

I'm really tired of scifi-like stories always resolving into some kind of worldwide conspiracy. It's really bad in television, but it's starting to creep into comics and such, too. Can't it just be people and the events that surround them? Does it always have to be a shadowy organization manipulating the entire world?

That's something I liked about Speed Racer. The big corporations were manipulating racing to better their own fortunes. It was a conspiracy, but it was limited to one area related directly to the story. It made sense, and it wouldn't be that hard to keep secret. Speed was competing for the soul of racing, not to save the entire world. _
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11:54:18 AM, Saturday 29 November 2008

I, uh, enjoyed Speed Racer a little too much, I think. _
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09:58:30 PM, Tuesday 25 November 2008

I made this mock-up of a board game box for class. Now I kind of want to make the board game. _
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05:43:32 PM, Wednesday 12 November 2008

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band is a pretty self-indulgent album _
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03:24:37 PM, Saturday 8 November 2008

An astounding video of Emmanuel Guibert's drawing style for the graphic novel 'Alan's War'. It's described as drawing with water, and I've never seen anything like it. Watch the minute-long video. It's like magic. _
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02:49:43 PM, Wednesday 29 October 2008

After hosting CageMatch for more than a year, Troy Sterling is taking a break. Here's the video. _
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04:45:16 PM, Monday 27 October 2008

Our Obama/Biden lawn sign was stolen.

I feel better about putting it up now. _
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12:06:14 PM, Saturday 25 October 2008

This made me laugh. 5 Presidential Elections Even Dumber Than This One. A humor article that tracks the evolution of dirty tricks in US Presidential elections. It bears the hallmark of good historical humor, as there's more fact than snark.

If there's a weakness it's that the article is tied explicitly to today's election. The connections are obvious, and the little connecting paragraphs at the top of each section feel a little overbearing. The meat, though, is excellent. _
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11:29:30 AM, Saturday 25 October 2008

I am back home. It is good. Gall bladder is out. I had been having attacks (assuming they were just bad indigestion or something) for a year. The head doctor described the organ as 'extremely pissed off' as a result of this abuse. I have a tube coming out of my stomach, at the end is a bulb that fills with stuff from the removal site. A continuing gift from a lost friend.

Everything else seems to be healing up pretty well.

I have been sleeping a lot. Your sleep is constantly interrupted in a hospital! That was surprising, although I suppose that's just my naivete at work.

I'm allergic to ibuprofen. Apparently this claim is a classic sign that you are a just looking for drugs.

Is it a better world when you are applauded for finally farting? I think so.

I have a little toy that is a contest of will over pain. It also prevents pneumonia. _
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02:18:06 PM, Thursday 23 October 2008

My friend Dave Siegel (who won that Denny's contest with his McCain impression) has put up a site featuring more impressions of a variety of political personalities. I liked the Harry Reid and Barney Frank ones. Keep it up, Dave! _
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08:48:26 PM, Sunday 5 October 2008

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