some high-points from my holiday...

(not necessarily in order of fantastic-ness)

1. learning a little about Flame...

2. watching "Walk the Line" with my dad... favorite lines by far...

"Mr. Cash your fans are Christians. They don't want to hear a record of you live from a prison, trying to cheer up murderers and convicts."

"Well, they must not be Christians."

3. realizing why I have a good relationship with Pop. We'd both much rather talk than watch TV... even if all we talk about is SEC football.

4. drinking beer with gene.

5. beating super mario brothers 1 (NES) in less than 8 minutes. yes, it can be done. the guys in the video below did it in less than 6. i've still got some work to do.

i'm learnin...

or at least i'm trying. i've got about 3 to 4 feet of manuals to read. i stopped counting pages, chapters, and volumes and started thinking in terms of the trusty ole english measurement system... and that stack doesn't include the numerous PDFs, help files, online tutorials, and user forums. it's pretty daunting, but it's fun. i met a guy that knows this stuff in and out. talking with him, seeing the stuff that he'd done, and hearing about what his friends were doing, has got me pretty motivated to learn this junk. he came in to help troubleshoot our new-top-of-the-line-ultra-swank system this week. i also found out that he is a programmer and is responsible for writing the code for some of the stuff that we will be using soon.
anyway in addition to learning all this software (smoke, flame, maya) now i'm seeing that if i want to really be on top of things i'm going to need to learn 2 more operating systems, and even a little bit of programming. so as i'm learning software, i'm having to wade my way through all the ins and outs of networking and filestructures of linux (not to mention making a linux box talk to the mac's and windows machines in the place) i really haven't had to deal with it much, my boss has though, and from seeing what he's gone through it don't look easy.
anyway all in all i'm having fun and am excited about being here. i actually got a call from my old art professor yesterday asking me to consider going to grad school at Penn State. honestly the prospect doesn't sound as appealing as what i'm doing now. i'm going to talk to him a little more about it though. i also don't think that i would cut the mustard in grad school. anyway here is some more cool stuff for anyone who would like to check out.

Shilo Design... these guys rule (check out the Huff show open)
Autodesk... makers of all things that are myserious to me.



this is a screenshot from flame...look interesting to anyone?

he doesn't look a thing like jesus...

i love those moments where art and truth cross paths. i especially like it when i see that intersection in pop media. about a month ago i was watching snl and saw the killers playing some songs off their new album, Sam's Town. i've never been much of a killers fan, always thought they were a little too poppy to have any weight. but i watched anyway (after all what else would i be doing on a saturday night??) "he doesn't look a think like jesus, but he talks like a gentlemen just like you imagined when you were young." the lines haunted me for about a week. it was so clever and yet so true. the song is called "When You Were Young." a friend of mine brought over the album last night. i've probably listened to that song 10 times since then.

"you sit there in your heartache, waiting for some beautiful boy to save you from your old ways... he doesn't look a thing like jesus..."

i'm seeing just how often i want to be rescued from my present situation by some idealized person, or even by idealized situations. thats why i'm constantly disappointed in people and experience discontentment with my job... i'm looking to them to make my life better, to satisfy me in some way. but those things never will (its not their intended function... at least i don't think it is) and its wrong for me to expect that they could. i surely don't want anyone to put those expectations on me.

anyway, check out the killers' new stuff. that one song is really one of the only ones off the album i like, but you guys are probably cooler than me and have better taste in music so take that advice for what its worth.

Beware of the Bear...

So Ive got this idea for a movie...

A reanimated Zombie coach Bear Bryant is hired to coach in the inner city so can he whip some troubled youth into a great football team... but the catch is he has to eat some of the kids to stay alive. The PTA will vote to keep the Bear on as a coach sacrificing the band and smart kids as long as the boys win a state championship. During the state championship game at Legion Field (where the Bear became the winningest coach in college football history) the Bear storms the field at half time eating various members of the opposing team's marching band. An angry parent then shoots the Bear in the head (thats the only way to kill zombies) and then angry long time Alabama football fans kill the parent who killed the bear. Eventually after much bloodshed the referees restore order and the game continues. Zombie Bear's boys go on to win the state championship and dedicate the season to their fallen mentor... all while standing in the crimson stain of the Bear's (and many band members) blood. I think its got some potential.