Spam

If you have ever emailed me off my web site you most likely sent mail to me@raymation.net. This alias actual sent your email to my aol account which is all fine and dandy. However, I have noticed that the spam filter on aol has been a tad too aggressive, tossing none spam emails, emails sent through the "me" alias, into the spam folder.

I tried adjusting the filter settings but it is like a big, crazy, drooling St. Bernard, operating in one of two moods. Mode 1: aggressive and frightening, marking friendly emails as hostile. Mode 2: sleeps in the corner and lets everything in.

Since I don't have time to scan the hordes of spam looking for legitimate emails, I am changing the site email to raymation@hotmail.com. If you have ever emailed me and never gotten a response, it may not be because I don't like you, it may be in fact, that your email was flagged as spam and was purged.

New Designs

So I added a couple designs to My Shop based off a couple DrawerGeeks submissions. Yes its true. Spring is almost here and what better way to say "Happy Spring" to a friend or loved one, than with a gift of a giant robot shirt.




Perhaps giant robots frighten and scare you; that's understandable since giant robots are evil by nature. Maybe a non-threatening, mostly less evil caveman shirt would be more your speed.

Robots

Robots invade DrawerGeeks..

The Friendly Skies

This weekend we went up to Maryland to visit my wife's family. I love to travel. And I love to travel by air. However, for me, plane travel is usually pretty stressful. Sure I have the fleeting concern that something important might fall off the plane mid flight. And how can you not get on a plane without thinking, at least momentarily, about 9/11. But most of my stress...say 90%... occurs before I even step board on the plane.

The first big obstacle is getting to the airport on time. I am most always convinced that we are going to miss our flight. No matter how much time we allow, we always seem to leave the house "late". This was the case when it was the two of us and has gotten progressively worse with the addition of each child. So right as we leave the house I am having mild freak outs.

With self check in that portion of the experience has gotten less stressful, only to be replaced by the enhanced security screenings. Many times the lines can be reeeeeeaaalllly long which heightens my anxiety about missing the flight. On top of that, once we reach the security check, the stress rises as I try to keep track of all our stuff. This trip was particularly bad because it was the first plane trip for the four of us.

Lil Pumpkins stroller and car seat needed to be put on the belt. My bag, my shoes, my jacket, the baby bag, the wife's bag, shoes, purse.....ok you go through with the baby..Wonder pea stay with me...how many bins do we have...four....dear god...ok Wonder pea stay right there while I put these on the belt....ok now lets walk through..."Sir she needs to talk off her shoes"...oh right i forgot her shoes....."and her jacket"...right right ok...(this after Wonder pea went through the detector and then came back around to me...she did that twice)....ok everything is off and we both go through, Wonder pea now being scanned for the 3rd time...she wanted to go back for a forth...

Ok now that THAT is over we get to collect our four bins, stroller and car seat and put ourselves back together.

Whew ok....the big, huge amounts of stress are now behind us. We are here, through security, we have time to spare and oh good, our plane isn't even here yet.

So begins the next stressful part of the trip: the actual flight.

This was a 2 and a half hour flight and Lil Pumpkins first flight; it could go either way. This could be super stressful or moderately so; even if the kids are fine the whole trip, you have no idea IF this will be the case...so you are on high alert for when they may suddenly get nutty.

Fortunately the kids getting nutty were across the isle. Lil Pumpkin was pretty laid back the whole time. Although why do babies like to load up their diapers minutes into a flight? It's like they are challenging the parents. So caaaan you.....change my poo while on a plane with only inches of room while being very subtle as to not alert other passengers as to what you are doing .....hummm...riddle me that Batman??! Anyways he was great and Wonder pea only had a small melt down when we were descending; the air pressure does a job on her ears.

So yay! We didn't miss our flight, we made it through security with all our junk, the kids didn't freak out on the flight and nothing important fell off the plane in mid air!! Good trip!

Grrrrrr Face

This weeks DrawerGeeks .....

Worship the Sun

This past Sunday I spent most of the day outside doing work around the yard; cutting back trees, cleaning up leaves and general frolicking about. It was awesome to finally be outside for some length of time without freezing.

Yes I live in Texas and I said freezing.

We have lived here for nearly 7 years and this was the worst winter I have experienced. Rain, snow, ice and wind; we had it all. Usually the crap weather lasts for a few weeks. This year it seemed like months....MONTHS of winter....my god what kind of world am I living in.

Those who know me, know that I don't like to wear pants. I am more of a year round shorts guy. This winter I had to wear pants at least a dosen times..oh the horror! My criteria for wearing pants is this: if I get up and its below freezing and/or snowing then I can not possibly wear shorts. Many times I woke up to temperatures in the teens and twenties. Brrrr

But now that untapped resource of power and warmth is shining brightly down upon us. And in a few short months it will becoming increasingly unbearable, burning my flesh and causing pets to exploded. Then the cursing of the sun will begin.

Throwing Up Is Fun

I don't watch the Family Guy with any regularity. Ok I never watch the Family Guy..there I said it..but this clip sends me into fits of crazy laughter pretty much every time I've watched it. The first time I saw it, which was some time ago as the clip has been around awhile, I could not see because my eyes where streaming with tears. And then I threw up.

Robots in Disguise

This week we wrap animation on game cinematics for Transformers the Game. With Ninja Turtles and now Transformers, I'm getting to work with some of the characters I enjoyed watching on the TV in me younger days. Could Starblazers and Ultra-man be far behind?

I'm not sure the release date of the game, although the official site is up. Don't get too excited though, as there really isn't anything there yet.

Once the game is released I will post some of my shots. I did one with Optimus saying his famous line "Autobots...transform and roll out", which was uber geeky cool. I am very glad, like most fans, that Peter Cullen is reprising his famous voice for the film.

Rapunzel

Here is the first footage I have seen from Disney's upcoming animated film. The animation really feels like a throw back to the 2D style. And I am really digging the facial animation; the squash and stretch is very nice. I also like the visual look as it is more painterly than most CG.

Ratatouille Animation Test...No Really

So it was up and then it was removed and now it seems that the good folks at Disney/Pixar have "officially" made this test available. I say good for them! Don't be afraid of the YouTube...embrace it and whisper sweet nothings in it's ear...it is your friend.

Of course the words Property of Pixar are annoyingly place right above the characters head...I want to watch the animation but my eyes...my eyes are drawn to these words. That's what I get for learning to read.

Ratatouille Test Animation

Here's a fun piece of animation featuring one of the characters from the upcoming film Ratatouille. Since it's not a scene from the movie, Disney/Pixar security teams may let it slide....or....they will beat YouTube with a giant stick of justice.

**Update: Wow that didn't take long. Yes the movie has been removed at the request of Disney. I appreciate the whole copyright issue, however you would think that they would embrace the free advertising thing; it wasn't a scene from the movie afterall. If I was Disney, I would release these clips myself....they end up on blogs and make their way around the internet very quickly...free advertising baby! Oh well...

Shrek the Third Trailer

Here is the new trailer for Shrek the Third. I must admit that I enjoy the first Shrek less and less with each viewing, however I still enjoy Shrek 2 quite a lot; I think the addition of Puss N Boots helped. This 3rd installment looks fun, I laughed quite a few times during this new trailer.

It's Not Easy Being a Baby

As cool as it is to be a baby, there are a few things that stink about being one.

The inability to control your own head. Yes try as you might to look around and see the world, your large noggin wobbles and jerks violently to the point of damn near snapping your own neck.

The inability to control your arms. You can't point or really grab anything yet so all your arms are good for is flailing. Many times you will hit yourself in the face which can really piss you off. On the plus side, they are pretty cool to stare at.

Lack of mobility. Pretty much where ever your servants place you...there you are. Too bright in this room? Don't really feel like hanging in the crib right now? Too bad squirt. Unitl you coordinate those motor skills, your stuck.

Limited diet. Sometimes you could go for a steak or maybe some chocolate cake but oh no. It's milk all day, everyday.

Language barrier. You want your favorite blank....your screaming "Blanket!!" but since your servants only hear "waaaahhh", you are left annoyed and frustrated....and with no blanket.

Diaper rash. A chaffed bottom is an unhappy bottom. Period.

It's Great To Be A Baby!

Lil Pumpkin turned 3 months this past weekend; where does the time go. The acid reflux that was making the little man really, really angry has been under control for awhile and he is quite a pleasant little dude to be around.

Recently I got to thinking about the awesomeness it is to be a baby:

The first really cool thing is that in many cases you get your own room; it is from here that you will rule your kingdom. Wow I just got here and I have my own place. Is that my name on the blanket? Nice. I'm not really into the duckies, but the bunnies and frogs are pretty cool. Yes this will do nicely.

Whenever you want anything....anything you just go "Hey...I'm hungry" or "Hey my pants are wet" which in the baby native tongue is "Wahhhh" or "nnnnnYYYaaHH" and instantly people are jumping around you taking care of your every need. That's pretty sweet.

Zero responsibilities. Absolutely nothing is expected from you. Don't feel like doing much today? Kick back and relax.

You can go to sleep pretty much anytime and anywhere and someone will take care of putting you in a bed. Out shopping with the larger humans and getting tired? Close those eyes and go to sleep...your servants will take care of the rest.

Much like sleep, you can go to the bathroom whenever you like as well. No racing around to find a bathroom. You need to go.....go. Feeling gassy? Let it out as loud as you'd like, preferably when it's really quiet...like in church....what do you care. Hey I'm a baby over here.

Lots of live entertainment. Your servants not only like to wait on you, but they also like to make faces and jump around like monkeys in the hope that you will grace them with a smile, chuckle or laugh. If you get bored or don't like the performance just close your eyes and go to sleep; there will be another show later.

Yes it's great to be a baby!

Next time: the things that suck about being a baby

Price Check on FUN!!!

My Shop is now open for business..yes it's true. My goal is to update it regularly....of course I also had the goal of running in the Disney World Marathon and that has yet to happen, so we will see how it goes. The intent is there...

Grab your shopping cart or "buggy" has some people here in Texas say, and check out what glorious items await you in My Shop.

Caveman

Here is this weeks DrawerGeeks submission. I went a little more simple this week, trying to go for a cave painting sort of feel.

Sith Apprentice

I haven't watched The Apprentice since season 2; the show become too self aware for my tastes. But if they did a season like this clip, then I would most likely have to tune in again.

Snow White

Here are my contributions to this weeks DrawerGeeks.

Kevin Smith Talks Superman

Someone had sent this to me a couple years ago and I just recently rediscovered it on YouTube.

Back when WB was looking to restart the Superman franchise, Kevin Smith was brought in to write a few drafts. His tale of that experience is not only very funny and very entertaining, but serves as a little window into how movies get made in Hollywood.

And we wonder why Hollywood puts out so much crap? It is about 20 minutes long but SO worth it if you have the time.

WARNING: MATURE LANGUAGE......cover your ears kids.

The Year That Was.....

Happy New Year peoples! Gone is the that wacky year that was 2006.....and I thought 2005 was wacky. Year '05 was riddled with lots of minor bumps in the road as we had a string of minor bad luck. Add in the encounters with the ginormous possum and the mouse in the house , I was more than ready to get to 2006...because 2006 just had to be a better year.

Two major things happened in 2006 both residing on opposite ends of the spectrum. The good: the birth of my son. Yep Lil Pumpkin was the big, bright happy spot of 2006. The bad: losing my job and watching all my friends move all over the place. That was the big "suck" that started in February (when we were first told of the upcoming suckiness) and continued until I started my new job in August. For those of you playing at home that is 6 months of suck.

To cheer me up during the suck months I took in a couple movies, not many, just a few. I don't think I saw a single film this year that I really enjoyed on all levels. Even Pirates and Superman managed to let me down in various ways. The best thing I saw was Walk the Line on DVD and that came out the previous year. To add insult to injury Ant Bully opened and was a financial flop...sigh. So movies were a bummer for me in 2006.

But amid all the gloom of 2006 there was some bright spots. As mentioned Lil Pumpkin is the super nova of 2006. I'm at a new job and really enjoying it, I've made new friends this year as well as keeping in touch with the ol work gang which makes me happy.

In 2006 I also became involved with Animation Mentor which has been a great experience. And I started drawing again thanks to getting involved with Drawer Geeks.

So while it is true some sucktacular things happened in 2006, a lot of good things happened as well...and I didn't die which is always a plus.

Hopefully good things await in 2007.