Places to Pee and Places to Play

This past Saturday, Val and I celebrated our 7th anniversary. Actually Monday was our anniversary - we just observed it on Saturday. We took a Go-Car tour of San Fransisco. A Go-Car is a 2 person (side-by-side), three wheeler (50cc) scooter that you drive all over the city while a nice lady in your radio tells you about stuff (based on her gps). We were going for 3 hours, so i thought it would be fun to document all the places where Valerie had to stop and pee (Pregnant ladies have to pee all the time, you know). Well, it turns out that she only had to go twice - right at the beginning (In a hotel across the street from the Go-Car rental), and then when we were done and eating lunch in Lori's Diner (next door to the hotel).
BTW: Lori's was delicious and fun! It was like a 1950's diner with checkered floor and red and chrome booths and fun, friendly, servers.

One of the places we went is the old WWII gun battlements. They are right at the tip of the Golden Gate and were there to protect the bay from a Pearl Harbor type attack. Now they are just a super cool place to play! I expect me and the guys will have to throw on our military gear from Halloween and pose for some pictures! Maybe we'll even get ambitious enough to shoot some video! We'll see.

"Stupid is as stupid does. . ."

George Carlin made this observation: "Just think how stupid the average person is, and then realize that half of them are even stupider!" If you have ever worked in any industry where you come in contact with the general public, you know what he means.

I tried twice before to write this entry and found myself first on one side of the argument, then the other. I think I've finally cleared up my opinion, so here goes.

I was watching the Golden Globes the other night and saw (my childhood hero)Steven Spielberg accept the C.B. DeMille lifetime achievment award. In his speech, he mentioned how the studios were thinking about making films for a broader audience (meaning the stupid people of the world), but he warned them to keep making films for "individuals", and to remember "inspiration". By indivisuals he meant "filmakers, actors, and artists", basically the enlightened few.

The kinds of films he is talking about are the ones that always win all the awards, causing most people to throw popcorn at their TVs while exclaiming "I've never even heard of that one"! You know, the films where the protagonist is a mentally challenged Jew who finds himself working side by side with a sympathetic Nazi in an effort to free the black slaves in the swamps of Louisiana.

So here is where I usually either talk about how elitist artists are, comparing them to the Senate of Rome (versus the plebeians), or contrarily, how artists really are a bit more enlightened than the general public. Instead, all I want to say is this: Imagine you bake cookies. A lot of people may love your cookies, others may not prefer them. What would mean more to you, if your cookies received a compliment from the mailman, or from world renown cookie exper, Mr. OREO? Either compliment would feel nice, but really the one from the guy who knows cookies would feel better. That's the one that would make you want to brag a bit. That's how it is with the movie awards. The Oscar goes to the film that the film experts like the most and so it means a lot to the winners.

You probably don't agree with the winner, but even though you are surely less stupid than the average person, you are probably less enlightened than the average artist pretends to be. Which leads me to this question: Which movie is more successful? The one that wins no awards, but makes $400 million at the box office, or the one that wins tons of awards , but only makes $50 million?

This whole subjet could be debated forever. What makes art art? What makes good art? Who cares? Does art actually have any effect on society or is it just an indicator? Is it arrogant of artists to want to exclude those who don't understand it? Are artists actually more enlightened? Is it mean to point out that most of the people of the world are idiots even if it's true? Does humility require that you be oblivious to the stupidity around you?




The whole point of all this unfocused rambling is a message to (my childhood hero)Steven Spielberg. Mr. (my childhood hero)Steven Spielberg, you of all people know about both types of film making. You, who brought us some of the best films targeted at the masses, like Jaws, the Indiana Jonses, ET,Poltergeist, and Jurassic Park, should know that "inspiration" can come across in films with mass appeal. It is true, that the "inspiration" in your films was never recognized by your peers until you started making films for them instead of us, like Saving Private Ryan, Schindler's List, Amistad and Munich. Why not encourage your peers to try to make films for mass audiences that also have some "inspiration"? Why not make the kinds of movies that everyone will remember and re-watch 30 years later - you've done it before, so make them understand that the value of a film lies in it's longevity - not in it's depressing obscurity - you'd win a lot more awards for sure!

DarthTater and Christmas Zombie Children

Val and the kids visited me at work the other day for lunch. I had a little extra time since I just finished up on "Up" (Coming to a theater near you May 2009), so I took them all to my office. Valerie commented on all my toys on my shelves and was surprised at all my Darth Vader (and other Star Wars) toys. I thought I would share them with you. Here's what's in the above picture (from left to right). This is one of 3 shelves of toys in my office)

A paper Boba Fett helmet I made to fit one of the maquette sculptures of a character on UP (the fat mullett-haired nurse from the trailer).
R2-D2 candy container.
Behind them is a smallish Darth Vader head (the symetrical one from the prequels). It's filled with miniature Darth Vader heads like the one to it's right. That is a sigg water bottle they gave us at work to encorage us to use instead of disposable ones (it's the green thing to do, you know). I glued a Vader head to the lid and use it as a display instead.
In front of that is my Darth Tater. Fitting cross between Star Wars and Pixar. Mia calls it my "Dark Vader Tomato Head".
Next we have Boo from Monsters, Inc in her monster outfit and behind her is a dragon with Nemo in it's hand, being ridden by Kate Bekinsale (actually Anna Valerious from Van Helsing), wearing a paper Storm Trooper helmet while holding a blue bird from Cinderella.
Next is Jango Fett with Boo climbing out of his head and reaching to touch the dragon.
Behind them is a Venom Mask, and to their right is Yoda dancing with Jaques from Cinderella. It's a celebration of Pixar. Though neither are Pixar characters, Pixar started out as a part of LucasFilm, and then teamed up with Disney.
Last is my full sized Darth Vader Helmet. There aren't many things cooler than that!

On to Zombie Children. During the Christmas season the kids watch "Polar Express" - a lot. That movie creeps me out soooo much. Every character looks and acts like a zombie with their dead expressionless faces. Anyway, we also drink a lot of hot chocolate. Because of that movie, every time someone says "hot chocolate", someone in my family says "Yeah, we got it (hot, hot)". They're all zombies too.

My Talented Wife and the Father's Guide to Pregnancy.

I want to share with you one of Valerie's talents. You might think I'm going to talk about how she's an awesome teacher, or super crafty-creative. Or, you might think I would go with her obvious (and recently realized) photography talent. Well, if you thought I was going to talk about those, you're wrong, and if you would stop interrupting me and trying to finish my sentences, I would get to the point - as soon as I share some thoughts.

Pregnancy is different for every woman. It's got to be hard right? I mean they have a parasite inside of them stealing all their nutrients and energy. They get fatter - which seems to be every woman's nightmare. And then there are the uncomfortable things like having to go to the bathroom every two minutes, craving food at odd times, and of course puking all the time.

Let it be known that I am fully sympathetic of all pregnant women.

BUT...
What about their husbands? Pregnancy is really hard for us too. First of all, from the moment she finds out that she's pregnant, she is constantly questioning whether or not she is showing yet. Every man knows that the answer to "Do I look fat?" is ALWAYS "No!". It gets more complicated when you are dealing with a pregnant woman. She is conflicted. She doesn't want to be fatter, but at the same time, she is excited to see the proof of the baby inside her. So if you answer "No" she hears "You're are getting all excited about the baby and just imagining that you can see this miracle growing each day" and she gets frustrated and upset. If you answer "Yes", she hears "You look fat". I try to go with an "honesty is the best policy" approach which just frustrates Val (because her belly is just barely showing so far).

Next you have the cravings. These can actually be a good thing for the Husband - as long as she is craving something you also enjoy. Val craves red meat - delicious! I look forward to her saying "Will you run to a local fast food establishment and get me a burger?" She feels bad about making me go, so she lets me get some for myself as well. So what could be bad about it? Imagine it's mid December. It's cold and rainy outside. The kids are all down for the night, and you have just gotten ready for bed. You climb under your favorite fleece blanket and settle into bed all nice and cozy. You flip on the TV and - look at that - a great show is just starting. -- Something about your total comfort triggers her cravings. Now you have to pull off the warm covers, get dressed, go out into the wet cold night, and miss a good show. But hey, you get a hamburger right?

Apparently pregnancy shrinks a woman's bladder too. Yesterday, in the time we were shopping at Target - maybe 30 minutes, Valerie had to go to the bathroom twice. For some men, this could get really annoying, but the way I see it, it actually means more time for me to play the Demo Playstation 3 in the electronics depatment. So Val, take your time, and maybe you should go one more time before we leave - just in case.

Lastly there is the puking. Most women get morning sickness. Not Valerie. She gets evening sickness. I figure it's really morning sickness - it's just confused. Valerie was born in Korea, so it's on Korean time. Morning there - evening here. This leads me to Valerie's awesome talent. She has total control of her puking. in fact, she seems to be able to decide whether or not to she should puke. She says to me; "I'm nauseous, I can't decide if I should eat or throw up". If we have instantly available food she'll eat, if not, she'll puke - but only when she's good and ready. Seriously, she can totally control when she will puke - the way most people can with going to the bathroom. It's not unusual for her to say that she needs to puke, but on her way to the bathroom she'll get sidetracked by some project and 20 minutes later she say "Oh I forgot, I need to puke". She's AWESOME! You probably already read her thoughts about puking at her blog.

If I don't get to write again before Christmas. Merry Christmas everyone!

Communication is Key!

Val and I are getting older, but we still try to stay up to date with the newest technology trends. Ok, maybe not up to date, but just one or two versions behind the times.

A couple of weeks ago, we both got new cell phones. We replaced our old "free when you sign up so there are no bells or whistles" phones (Ours were identical except for color) for fancier "almost free when you sign up so they are a little nicer" phones. Well, Valerie's was still free, but we got to pay for mine (so it's better). Sure they don't have touch screen or multitouch interfaces - but they come with twice as many ringtones as our last ones! And they are very shiny! Anyway, we also let Val have text message access this time around too (I already had it). It's great! We never have to talk directly to each other the way old fashioned people do.

When it works, I just text Val from the living room when she is in the kitchen and I can find out whats for dinner, how her day was, etc. I say 'When it works' because, despite having had a cell phone for 2 years, Valerie still isn't used to just carrying it around with her everywhere. Often times I'll text (or call) her only to hear her phone ringing 4 feet away from me. That's really ok if I'm in the living room and she is in the kitchen, but if she is further away (like the bedroom), how am I supposed to communicate with her?

Truthfully, we find other ways to communicate. Sometimes we comment on eachother's blogs or facebook wall. An even better technology though, is gchat. Like if I'm on the computer in the office, and she is on the computer in the living room, we can both log into our gmail accounts and chat back and forth - in real time!

Technology is so great now days that we've pretty much decided (while g-chatting) to do all our Christmas shopping online! I bet we could even have the gifts all wrapped online!

"Up" Trailer

For the past year and a half or so, I have been working on Pixar's next movie "Up" which comes out next May. It's really fun and exciting, but there are a couple of frustrating things. First, everything is 'top secret', so I can never share too much with anyone. Second, it takes a couple of years (from when I started) before I can show off any of my work.

Well, they just released the trailer for UP, so now people can get a taste of what this movie is.


It's tiny on my blog, but you can go here and see it bigger and make it full screen.
You want to make it full screen so you can really see the expression on Russell's (the boy scout kid) face at the end.

The very first things I worked on at Pixar are in the trailer:
The fat orderly/nurse guy, I shaded his scrubs and name tag. (shaded = did the color and textures).
The window shopping family, I shaded their skin and clothes, and made their grooms (their hair).

Much more to come in May.

The Award and Halloween

First off, Thank you to everyone who voted for Pajama Gladiator online! I hope you enjoyed it. If you haven't heard yet, WE WON THE VIEWERS CHOICE AWARD! This is the second award we won in this festival. I just got the plaque/trophy for the Producer's Choice award. Here it is.


Halloween is the best! My friends and I have been playing a lot of "Call of Duty 4" lately, and decided on the 30th to have a COD4 party at Lou's on the 1st. We decided we would dress up in military costumes and make it our Halloween party. After a couple of hours scrambling around at thrift stores, we had our costumes. Since Halloween was the next day, and it's a huge deal at Pixar, we decided to wear our costumes to work. I really needed a special piece to my costume, so I built an M5 rifle out of a golf club, foam board, a couple of flashlights and a lot of electricians tape. On Halloween,we went out on the Pixar property and posed for a bunch of pictures.





At work they have an awesome Halloween party. People come with the best costumes you can imagine. But even more impressive is the 'show'. There are prizes for the best costumes, but you have to 'sell' you costume as well by performing some kind of skit. Here are a few fun ones. The "Enchanted" group was awesome. Giselle got on stage and was lip syncing to a song that was beautifully sung - by the prince in a beautiful falsetto. He came on stage and they danced together while singing a duet. they would dance in a circle so that his back would be to us when he was singing her part and his front was to us when he sang his part.



The Bunny is Alec. He is the magician's rabbit from the Pixar short "Presto" that showed before Wall-e.


One hilarious part was when everybody who was planning on performing was done, there was a little lull in the show. Suddenly Elliot rode by on the bridge above with ET in his basket. It caught everyone off guard and was sooo funny!