Madlove

We Can't... It's Just...

We have to share this. While doing research for the Madhouse anniversary cake, we came across this nutball collection of Cake Wrecks. (DO NOT follow the link if you have work to get done.)

Moments...

So a great friend of mine cashed in on a treasure trove of "moments". Three cardboard note pads, each page with its own moment. You know, everyone has had a moment... When the lights dim and things get foggy and your with the person of your dreams on a sandy beach in overalls. Wait, overalls? Yes ma'am. His hair - your hair delicately feathered to perfection, blowing in the misty seaside breeze. And then someone whispers....

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No friends, this is not the work of Jack Handy, but the work of C.M. Paula CO. circa 1972. Can you feel the mist?

Sock Mitten

"I didn't have any socks so I had to wear mittens to work today." - Alana

Down On The Corner

There's A Red One In There

The Art of the Title Sequence

One of my all time top favorite would love to have jobs would have to be that of creating opening titles for movies. When done right, it's like a mini-movie in and of itself; most of the time preparing you with subtle clues and foreshadows to the feature to come.

]]> One of my all time top favorite would love to have jobs would have to be that of creating opening titles for movies. When done right, it's like a mini-movie in and of itself; most of the time preparing you with subtle clues and foreshadows to the feature to come. Imaginary Forces did one of my all time favorites in Se7en. Find your favorite at this great site, The Art of the Title Sequence. Report back with some of your favs.

How To Embrace Worry and Stop Loving The Balm

You put the balm on? Who told you to put the balm on? I didn't tell you to put the balm on. Why'd you put the balm on? I can't help but reference my favorite show when given the opportunity. This ditty isn't so much about the balm, as it is about the worry.

]]> Worry about what? Well, worry about your code/design/concept/etc. I'm gonna address this in reference to code, since that's what I do the most. Here is a secret you may not know: there is no right way to do your code. There is also no wrong way. If your way works, then it's right. It may be wrong to your fellow coder, but if it works, it works.

So if there is no right or wrong, then why worry? Because there is always better. There could be a better way to write that function, a better way to style that element, a better way to markup that HTML. When you start to worry about that, you're going to start pushing yourself to be better at what you do.

I had a job interview for a little company a while back. Their clients consisted of some of my all time favorite companies. It was a dream gig. The VP asked me as he was closing the interview, "Why should we hire you?". I responded, "Because I worry about my code". I'm convinced that's what pushed me to the top of that stack of resumes, and I got the offer.

Tattoosday

It's my birthday today. I thought I'd get a tattoo.

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It's my first. Stepped out for a long lunch and went down to Studio 14 in Bowling Green. Was a great experience; beautiful spring day; nice shop, cool people. It was a lot more relaxing than I thought it would be. Dare I say, transcendental? (That's my wife's name, by the way.)

This is Jaimi, my artist. Her dad and I have been friends for over 30 years. I remember the day she was born. Jaimi is an art major at BGSU. Very talented. (Not my leg.)

Dorothy hasn't seen it yet, though she has seen the design and digs the whole idea. My kids think it's the most romantic thing ever.

Already thinking about the next one.

Studio 14

His number was 10, but it should be 1

The 4 song demo of Manute Bol!

]]> So these last few months, I've been going back in time and playing guitar in a hardcore band with some of my best friends from college, featuring future Madtern Garret Bodette on drums. We're full of practical ideas, mainly the fact that we named our band Manute Bol, after the 7'7" Basketball player. This guy:

Other dumb things we do: Play in full b-ball jerseys, huddle before shows, think of completely ridiculous song names (Out-Regis Philbin for example)

We recently recorded a 12 song full length, "Positiv-ly Sick!" a couple weeks ago with our friend Za3c, an audio engineering student from Cinci, and currently have 4 of those songs available on the "Speed+Freaks" Demo. Track List as follows (Just to warn you, its Positive, but also has explicit lyrics)

1. Positiv without the E (cut from the team)
2. Gnar-colepsy
3. Nancy Ray-gun: Just say go!
4. Buttroturf

Get it here
Producer's Blog with vids and photos of us recording

Invo Love

Big thanks to the Involution Studios crew for letting us disrupt their workplace for a few days last week. From the left: Donna, Simon, Chris, Rob, Brian, Dirk, Lorna, Tiffany, Andrei and Ben. A talented and gracious team with excellent taste in posters!

Zico Sinko

It's Friday morning and we have about another half day of shooting before we leave the west coast. Our hotel Zico has been a safe and quiet haven from the absolute crush of humanity that is Silicon Valley and the Bay Area. It's a quaint little operation with all the charm and sweet innocence of a velvet Elvis painting. If for nothing else, the thrill of shaving and brushing one's teeth in a glass sink is worth the trip. It doesn't take much to impress a couple of mid-westerners who don't get out all that much.

Bullitt and Blue Sky

]]> After another long shooting day, Tyler and I stepped out for some fun. The shoot took us up to the Berkeley area so we thought we'd hook up afterwards with Noah Stokes. In person. The sun was just going down over the palms.

We met Noah on B Street in downtown Heyward. First we had a little dinner and Beer at Buffalo Bills then walked on down to The Bistro Bar for some Blues. Or jazz. Or what was it?

It was Thee Immortals is what. Some trippy avant-funk from five very cool cats, ya' dig? (Went hopin' for hippies... found Beatniks.)

Made it back to the hotel in one piece, resisting the urge to go all Steve McQueen in our Mustang through the streets of San Fransicso.

(Hi Mom!)

Cast From the Past

This is Paul Juhasz. Rather, a plaster cast of Paul's head. This was made some 15 years ago as a prop for a photo shoot. I was in Andrei's office here at Involution and he pointed to his bookcase, "Look! I still have it."

]]> When I first met Andrei Herasimchuk, he was working at Specular International. One of the products they developed was Specular Collage, a photo compositing program that preceded Photoshop layers by several months.

Andrei had found a very expensive stock photo of a phrenology head to use in Collage promotional material and software. Not ready, willing nor able to shell out several thousand dollars for usage of said photo, he contacted me and Paul. (We were working on VideoFusion at the time - another product featuring bald guy graphics.)

Paul and makeup artist Doug Agosti had experience casting body parts and we gladly accepted the gig. Paul put a skullcap on, went 'under the mud' and we made a mold of his whole head. We poured plaster - making a positive - finished it off with some clay (the phrenology bits) and made another negative mold. From that we poured more plaster and cast this aproximate half head you see here.

After Bruce Works shot it, we sent the photo off to Joseph Kelter and he made the Collage graphics. Andrei got the head. I'll try and find the box at home and share the full illustration.

UPDATE: Here's the box front! (Thanks Valerie!)

Steve n' Tyler Go To Cali

We are coming to you this evening from beautiful downtown Sunnyvale, home to hookah bars, lemon trees and a slew of tech companies you may know as Silicon Valley.

We are shooting some footage for our good friends at Involution Studios. It is sunny and warm.

Don't tell the boss, but we dropped a few extra rental bucks for this Mustang. It is California, after all. Talk to you soon!

Torrential Downpour

Does the term Bit Torrent make you nervous? Thoughts of an RIAA raid bring you down? Well, I'm gonna' unload a couple totally legit, artist-sanctioned gems on ya'.

First, get thee a torrent client. Here's what I use: for the Mac.

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SXSW is happening this week, and there's... what... a couple thousand bands playing shows? Every year, organizers pack up a torrent of all the MP3's that many bands release as promos. A lot of new names will go on to further acclaim. Catch 'em here first.

This year there are over 700 songs/artists. The link below will point you to not only this years' torrents, but '05, '06 and '07 as well. Lot of chaff, but every year dozens of songs make it into my rotation.

SXSW Torrents

Last month, Wilco took up a 'winter residency' at the Riviera Theater in Chicago. (First person that says 'man-crush' gets smacked!) Over five consecutive nights they played pretty much every song in their catalog! These are historic performances from a band way on top of their game.

All five nights are available online. Again, these are band-sanctioned recordings. Free and legal. It's a great collection. (These are uncompressed.)

Wilco Winter Residency Torrents

There are a bundle more free, legal, artist-sanctioned recordings up there. Poke around and share the music!