Heat Is A Thief

Just in case you're not from Seattle, you ought to know that we just escaped a heat wave. Of course there are hotter places on earth, but Seattle is never prepared for any kind of extreme weather. Wednesday was 103 degrees and I had no sanctuary of cold, cool air. Work and home were both furnaces. My only relief was going to Green Lake after work with my friend Tim and Jessica, and Jessica. The above photo was taken by Tim.

The photo is a pretty good expression of what the heat was doing to me. I'd been having a very hard time thinking. Everything was off balance and difficult.

It was so hot in our apartment that I couldn't use my computer. It automatically shut off to prevent over-heating. Work was sluggish. Nothing seemed worth doing.

But it's in the 70s and 80s today. It's over. Yay. Suddenly I have this burst of motivation to do things!

I wasn't crazy--I was stupid.

Lee, Jessica, and I went tarping at Gasworks Park last Friday. It had been windy all day, until we arrived at the park. There were a few mild breezes and Lee experienced The Pull, but nothing substantial so it was a little disappointing. Lee said he's up for next time.

It was the 2nd time I had tarped since my accident. Some people think I'm crazy, but my answer to them is: I'm not crazy and never was, BUT... I was stupid and I'm a lot more careful now and I know when it's too windy.

Animation Show Seattle

Last Friday, Jess and I went to the Animation Show! A lot of great animation, really inspiring, but most inspiring was the community of animators I was able to talk with. I asked Joel Trussell if he'd let me take an ugly picture of us both and he agreed. Joel has animated such music videos as War Photographer and Paris Is On. He's a great guy and I suggest you watch his animations if you haven't.

The other photo is stuffed with Anton Bogaty, Rebecca Moline, Matt from Plexipixel, as well as Robert May--voice talent for Don Hertzfeldt's Rejected, Lily & Jim, etc. I just about crapped by pants when I realized I was in the presence of the voice that spoke "my anus is bleeding!" I mean, Rejected was one of the kickers for me wanting to be an animator. Be sure to check out the Plexipixel blog for Matt's account of the evening, as well as beautiful photographs of the afore mentioned.

In other news, I've had this blog for over a year now and I'm excited that I've been able to keep up with it.

Oh, and I've also been married to Jess for two years. I hope I can keep that up too, sike! We're so happy I have to wear a frown mask at night to rest up for the next day.

Oh Smack

This video was shot on a bus ride from Centralia to Seattle. We'd just finished the holiday party and had 2 hours to hang out, so I yanked out my camera and started improvising a film. I love spontaneous projects like these... and it helps having a captive group of potential actors.

On The Edge

I live in Seattle again. School is over. I'm glad to be here, but it's hard too. Even though I am in my home-city, my life is a different life now that I've been gone so long, and I'm married, and I'm working full-time. It's all good though. These are all things that I am pleased about. Sometimes newness is overwhelming.

Something new and fantastic happened last week. Jessica and I were walking home from a restaurant, and it started to rain. About five minutes passed and the rain wasn't on us anymore, but we could see the edge of the rainfall twenty feet ahead of us. The rain cloud was moving in the same direction, so we could literally run back into the rain and out again. I was so excited that I told people who weren't noticing it.

I would love to experience that again, but I'm fine if I don't.

In other news... sometimes I forget that challenge is good.