X-Ray Studios

• 11:12 Traveling through fields, woods, & highways on this freelance job, have a feeling its only a matter of time before I come across a body #

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Roald Dahl was one of my favorite children’s authors when I was growing up. I loved “Charlie and the Chocolate Factor”. One of the first hardcover books I owned was “Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator,” which my parents got for me when it came out. When Mr. Dahl put a book out, I read it.

My favorite Roald Dahl book is “James and the Giant Peach” followed, very closely by “Fantastic Mr. Fox”. I think one of the reasons I liked Mr. Fox so much was the reason I loved all of Mr. Dahl’s works and that was his use of language which was so rich and colorful. I could see in my minds eye what was going on just from the words on the page.

Yesterday we went to see a family movie as a family and we had a couple of choose from. We had seen Planet 51 and had really no desire to go see Christmas Carol(After a couple years in theater doing a Christmas Carol 2 to 3 to 4 times a day, I cringe every time I hear “God Bless Us Every One” besides the Muppets did it best.) So that left Fantastic Mr. Fox because Old Dogs doesn’t seem to be the kind of film we were in the mood for.

Boggis and Bunce and Bean
One fat, one short, one lean
These horrible crooks
So different in looks
Were none the less equally mean.

The basics of the story are the same in the book and the movie. The movie added a couple of characters, a third act, and a ticking clock that upped the tension. The voice acting was good all the way around.

The animation was just grand. It was so nice to see real stop motion animation again. To watch the fur ruffle in what seemed a rather natural way but is really the finger prints of the animators as they move the puppets just so. And these were puppets in the truest sense of the word. As a puppeteer I enjoyed it very much.

As a fan of Roald Dahl, I was trying not to be a purist but in the end I didn’t like the changes that were made for the movie. I did understand why they introduced characters earlier than they were in the story I didn’t understand why they needed to add characters that added a couple of sub plots to the film. And there was some stuff they did with the Fox family that wasn’t in the original book that just rubbed me the wrong way including a whole bunch of human activities which were kind of amusing but it didn’t advance the plot that much.

I do think that to get all the rich detail that the animators put into the piece, it needs to be seen on a big screen. It is a good film and most of the problems I have with it are those of someone who really loved the source material as a child and still enjoys it as an adult.

So if you enjoy really good stop motion animation, this is a great film for you. If you like the book Fantastic Mr. Fox, I think you will enjoy it. If you enjoy some great voice acting, this is a good film for that. If you have children who love animals, this is a good film with a few scary parts but everything turns out OK for the animals. It is also fun for the adults rather than mind numbing so it is a good family film.

It is just for me that is all it is, a good film not a fantastic one.

I am grateful that we went to see this as a family.

Part 2:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Z4OvK3Vn44

• 23:20 I favorited a YouTube video -- John Staedler & Joshua Walters - "Summertime" @ The Cool Show bit.ly/5g8MrW #

Since I did my usual Thanksgiving list of thanks, I have already done the first topic at hand so I could have taken out the easy route but that really isn’t my style.

Net speak is a strange language to me. I have learned a lot of the basics and have a general knowledge of how to figure out what is being said. Then there are the cases where I have to use the Internet to figure out what someone is trying to say. It took me a while to figure out that OP means Original Poster but I got that one down. I will say that I do use Ariel as my translator at times or educator. I know that Internet speak is driving teachers and editors crazy because they have to explain and keep explaining why this kind of spelling is not acceptable with the possible exception of a character texting and even then kept it short.

I saw kthxbai for the first time when I was working the homework help boards on AOL. I remember that the question was one that was an obvious attempt to get homework done for them by the helpers. I used the usual patch we had for these sorts of attempts and got the reply “kthxbai” from the user. It took me a while figure out what had been said to me but I sorted it out.

Internet speak doesn’t bother me on the net or in a text if I know the short hand. Texting use to be much more expensive than it is these days (Heck, I remember a time before cell phones and the CB radio craze but then I am a dinosaur). And in some ways we are creating a new language or at least a new way of expressing ourselves. I guess Esperanto was ahead of its time. I’m not sure if it is a good thing or a bad thing, it’s just a thing like so many other means of communication that are changing so rapidly.

If you have read this far then I would like to say kthx for reading.

Kthxbai.

Life is meaningless and full of pain.

Suddenly it seems a thousand years ago when the G-Men were 5-0 and dominating. What the hell happened? Clearly I can't leave the country during football season. My teams just seem to fall apart without me.

Give yourself a folk-rock injection and listen to 'Home' by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros.

• 20:49 Thanksgiving night in Olympia, WA Its raining & the one place open for dinner is a cash only gay bar that serves grilled hot dogs... Really. #

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Yesterday was a good day. Peter made a lovely chocolate cake on Wednesday for our dessert and then took point on the turkey. My job was knocking the Dining Room into shape and the side dishes which were mashed potatoes, yams, stuffing, gravy, and green beans. We sat down about 5, said grace, and then ate until we were full. We retired to the living room and played a game of Disney Scene-It to let dinner settle. After the game we had dessert which was very yummy.

And that was our day. Today we are going to see Fantastic Mr. Fox and then Ariel and I are going to Joann’s Fabrics to look at some stuff. We have an idea for the Farpoint Costume Contest and I want to see if it would be feasible.

Tomorrow will be another quiet day. It will also be one week to Caroline’s Birthday Party. I still have cleaning and shopping to do for that.

I am grateful for the nice dinner we had yesterday.

Okay, so, I uploaded a couple stories to AOOO... but then I reached this one and got confused.

Is it slash? Is it ampersand? Because, see, it is pairing fic *in my brain*. But I figure it has about exactly the same level of Charles/Erik as the canon. But that canon convinced me Charles and Erik had a messy romantic relationship in their backstory, nothing need be added.

OTOH, maybe it is only interesting to people who share the ship, and thus it is most useful to categorize it as pairing fic? OTOH, maybe that would be false advertising, as there is not even confirmation of sexitimes?

ARGH.

(Alternatively: Is there an option for "bring your own goggles" I missed somewhere?)

another photo post
here's some snaps from Brighton Beach a few weeks ago. I'd never been there so we decided to go have a look around and see these famous Melbourne beach huts.


a lovely though expired blue blubber jellyfish. there was a bit of a jelly graveyard around one area of the beach, though this was still all well shaped, not just a little blob on the sand
( more under cut )

My mom brought a pumpkin she grew in her garden with her on the airplane so we could make fresh pie. It's just now coming out of the oven.

What are other people doing?

Feeling much better this morning, and off in a few minutes to celebrate Thanksgiving with friends and family.

(I am once again relying on TIVO to record the Giants - Broncos contest tonight, so no commentary about it here, please. I probably won't watch it until tomorrow).

I have a lot to be thankful for. My readers, my friends, and most of all Parris.

I hope all you reading this are similarly blessed.

Happy Thanksgiving.

The annual Making of Yams with OJ, Bourbon and Mini Marshmallows

SLG are having a First Friday show at their gallery on Friday, December 4 at 8:00pm.
It's the first anniversary of the gallery's opening so if you're in or around San Jose,
drop in.

Event: SLG First Friday Holiday Show
What: Opening
Start Time: Friday, December 4 at 8:00pm
End Time: Friday, December 4 at 11:55pm
Where: 577 S. Market Street San Jose, CA 95113

********************************************************
COMING SOON:

Glister: The Faerie Host
January 4th 2010
# Paperback: 80 pages
# Publisher: Walker (4 Jan 2010)
# ISBN-10: 1406320501
# ISBN-13: 978-1406320503

Extras include:
'Glister Vs The Toll Troll' short story
'Home to Roost' short story
'Glister and the Family Tree' preview

Glister: The Family Tree
March 1st 2010

OUT NOW:

Glister: The Haunted Teapot
64 pages
Walker Books
£4.99
ISBN-10: 140632048X
ISBN-13: 978-1406320480

Glister: The House Hunt
80 pages
Walker Books
£4.99
ISBN-10: 1406320498
ISBN-13: 978-1406320497

More people travel on this day than for Christmas.



If you're one of them, have a good trip. :)

Happy Thanksgiving to those who celebrate it and I hope everyone else has a good day.

This year we are staying home. We are going to watch the parade and then the dog show. We are going to have a slightly early dinner with all the foods we love. Peter is in charge of the turkey and I am in charge of the sides. My job is also to get the dinning room in shape so we can eat there today as a family. Ariel is home and Caroline is very happy to have her home as are we.

I am thankful that Ariel made it back home safely. I am thankful that she is enjoying college and is doing pretty well. I am thankful that she didn’t bring home her dirty laundry.

I am thankful for my health and the health of my family. It’s not perfect but we’re all still breathing. And considering some of the stuff I have put my body through, it’s doing a great. I should be nicer to it but it is nice to know that it does put up with stuff.

I am thankful for a roof over my head. Sure we have some problems with the house but who doesn’t have problems with their house? It’s more than a house, it’s our home. We are comfortable here. I know our house isn’t decorated quite like everyone else’s. We have comic book artwork, artwork, puppets and toys all over the place and not all the toys are Caroline’s.

I am thankful for my family. My whole family those by blood, by marriage, and by choice. These folks are there for me when I need them and I am there for them. I am thankful to my parents for “raising me right” as they say. They have made me a better parent by their example. I am thankful for my husband. I can’t even express how much I am thankful for my husband. He is there for me. He supports me. He loves me. I know I am very luck and I am thankful for that.

I am thankful for my talents and abilities. I know that I am blessed in what I can do. I have skills that others are amazed by but for me it is just something I know how to do. I have a good technical mind and how something goes together just makes sense to me which I know can be very frustrating to others. I have a good organizational mind when needed. It was one of the things that made me a great stage manager. I can multi-task with the best of them and not lose any of the threads I am trying to weave.

And I am thankful to each and every one of you who read this web log. I really am. It is nice to know that I am not writing in a vacuum.

I am grateful to have so many things to be thankful for.

Everyone have a great, happy, food-filled Thanksgiving... I'm thankful for my family, home, job, career, representation, comics, barbecue and health.

Also? I'm thankful that I'm not a turkey

Tomorrow's Turkey Day, and just like it oughtta should, there will be footsballs. I shall now proceed to predict the winners of those very games right here and right now.


GREEN BAY over Detroit. If you're betting, take the Lions and the points.
DALLAS over Oakland. Ditto. Take the Raiders and the points, that is.
NY GIANTS over Denver.


As usual, don't bet your hard earned money on these picks (even though I suggested it above), 'cause I generally don't know shit.

Back with the other games Saturday or Sunday. Have a good Thanksgiving, everyone, if you're thataway inclined.