Friday, September 03, 2010
If I say it out loud maybe it won't happen.
I just ate a sandwich with questionable mayo or turkey or cheese. Something was not right. Yet hunger forced me to deny it until the bad taste became too much. Inducing vomit is out of the question. If there is a chance the sandwich was on the non-food-poisoning side it will serve as fuel for tomorrow mornings 14+ mile run. If I believed that Cheerios was a suitable replacement I might... Well, I suppose I will know in about 5 hours.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Burning more
I can't sleep. I had a terrible nightmare last night that someone was banging on my door at 4am. It sounded like a girl and she needed help. I was too scared to answer it. So I stayed in bed hoping she'd think no one was home. The AC was running. The banging got louder. Then everything began to feel like a dream. The room started to spin and shake. The sound of a subway train passed. Then I woke up. The curious thing was that the time on my clock was the same as in my dream, making it hard to tell what was real. Even though I suspected it was a nightmare I couldn't leave my bed. In the morning I checked outside the door. Nothing.
I told Jose the story. He suggested that it might be time to use the sage again. I did.
Tonight I decided to capture video from my DV camcorder. I asked Cynthea to printout a Bus ticket to Boston in exchange for a large file of her thesis film. Somehow along the way I got in a heated discussion about the mosque near the WTC. This lead me to wikipedia, google and gmaps. Hours later I was searching for the Facebook page, "I don't want a mosque built near ground zero" so I could give them a piece of my mind. However, only people who selected "like" were allowed to post comments. So I announced that I agreed only to troll their board with facts. Since the comment section only allows 100 characters or so at a time, the letter was a big mess. Here is it in paragraph form with little more spell check:
"'Ground Zero'(as non New Yorkers call it) is a sacred place for Muslims too. You are forgetting all the Muslim American victims who also died in the World Trade Center. Their families experienced the same fear and pain as any other victim’s family.
The vast majority of Muslims throughout the world are not terrorist and do not support terror. Terrorism has no religion. Remember Timothy McVeigh, the Unabomber- Ted Kaczynski, and the Weathermen Underground? If the 9/11 attackers were Christian extremists no one would petition against building a church near the site.
Some of you may say that Christian extremists (e.g., Fred Phelps’ church) are not true to Christianity. The Muslim community would say the 9/11 attackers and Muslim terrorists are not true to Islam.
Therefore, the mosque is not a “slap in the face” or a “stab in the eye.” It’s a place of worship just like the hundreds of other mosques in the NYC. Including the one 4 blocks from WTC that has been there for 30 years."
Now that it is light outside. I think I will get some sleep.
I told Jose the story. He suggested that it might be time to use the sage again. I did.
Tonight I decided to capture video from my DV camcorder. I asked Cynthea to printout a Bus ticket to Boston in exchange for a large file of her thesis film. Somehow along the way I got in a heated discussion about the mosque near the WTC. This lead me to wikipedia, google and gmaps. Hours later I was searching for the Facebook page, "I don't want a mosque built near ground zero" so I could give them a piece of my mind. However, only people who selected "like" were allowed to post comments. So I announced that I agreed only to troll their board with facts. Since the comment section only allows 100 characters or so at a time, the letter was a big mess. Here is it in paragraph form with little more spell check:
"'Ground Zero'(as non New Yorkers call it) is a sacred place for Muslims too. You are forgetting all the Muslim American victims who also died in the World Trade Center. Their families experienced the same fear and pain as any other victim’s family.
The vast majority of Muslims throughout the world are not terrorist and do not support terror. Terrorism has no religion. Remember Timothy McVeigh, the Unabomber- Ted Kaczynski, and the Weathermen Underground? If the 9/11 attackers were Christian extremists no one would petition against building a church near the site.
Some of you may say that Christian extremists (e.g., Fred Phelps’ church) are not true to Christianity. The Muslim community would say the 9/11 attackers and Muslim terrorists are not true to Islam.
Therefore, the mosque is not a “slap in the face” or a “stab in the eye.” It’s a place of worship just like the hundreds of other mosques in the NYC. Including the one 4 blocks from WTC that has been there for 30 years."
Now that it is light outside. I think I will get some sleep.
Tuesday, August 03, 2010
Burning Bridges
While rummaging through the internet pile we call Craig's List I've responded to several posts that offered small humble budgets. Some of the jobs I took. I know that CL is the place to ask for anything. However, I came across an ad tonight that set me off. Well here is my response.
Dear Sir or Madam,
It is industry standard to offer at least 1/3 of the budget up front in order get the project off the ground. You can not expect an animator to provide funds for your film. Most all talented, hard working animators have to repay Sallie Mae for their $100,000.00 education, not to mention bills and rent. Plus, money down proves that you aren't just some flake who will disappear after a month of work.
"VERY FLEXIBLE WITH TIME" is not alluring to NYC animators. They want to know that there is a real deadline so they can collect the last 3rd of their pay. The second 3rd is paid when the rough animation is complete or a process similar to that.
"The length of the animation is anywhere between 3-41/2 There are several characters in this animation." For the quality of animation (based on your youtube reference) and several characters, I would estimate a bare minimum of $2,000 per minute. Not to mention an additional cost of character design and storyboard.
Your ad had far too many requirements and no estimated budget. Instead you asked artists to bid on the assignment proving that either you haven't bothered to research or that you are looking for a real bargain. You get what you pay for. I should charge you a consultants fee for this, but I just wanted to let you know why I'm flagging your post.
Sincerely,
Christi
Dear Sir or Madam,
It is industry standard to offer at least 1/3 of the budget up front in order get the project off the ground. You can not expect an animator to provide funds for your film. Most all talented, hard working animators have to repay Sallie Mae for their $100,000.00 education, not to mention bills and rent. Plus, money down proves that you aren't just some flake who will disappear after a month of work.
"VERY FLEXIBLE WITH TIME" is not alluring to NYC animators. They want to know that there is a real deadline so they can collect the last 3rd of their pay. The second 3rd is paid when the rough animation is complete or a process similar to that.
"The length of the animation is anywhere between 3-41/2 There are several characters in this animation." For the quality of animation (based on your youtube reference) and several characters, I would estimate a bare minimum of $2,000 per minute. Not to mention an additional cost of character design and storyboard.
Your ad had far too many requirements and no estimated budget. Instead you asked artists to bid on the assignment proving that either you haven't bothered to research or that you are looking for a real bargain. You get what you pay for. I should charge you a consultants fee for this, but I just wanted to let you know why I'm flagging your post.
Sincerely,
Christi
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Illustration Friday- Double
I didn't finish in time to submit, but here it is. I hope it looks as if he's saying "Make it a double". My first idea had to do with El Mariachi. Perhaps I will finish that sometime.
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