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Nesting Screenplay - 95% Done!!

2008-12-20T11:23:00.000-08:00

I [finally] got my screenplay to a stopping point. After hearing surprisingly positive feedback from my professor, I may polish up some of the plot and character development. Overall, I feel good about the script, and I think it's a good first project. Yay!!!

So 20 more pages and a bit a fleshing out in a couple spots, and I'll have a genuine first screenplay done!

Las Vegas Neon Boneyard

2008-12-07T19:22:00.000-08:00

I found inspiration from Erin on this piece. On her last work trip to Las Vegas, she toured the famous Neon Boneyard. I was fascinated by her photos from the tour. I'm also mildly obsessed with typography. So this was a perfect fit for a painting project.

(Click small versions to load the large images.)

Fun Saturday

2008-12-07T13:19:00.001-08:00

Erin and I knocked around Dallas on Saturday.

First stop: Bolsa. This place was excellent. We split late lunch that included bruschetta and a peperoni flat bread.

Here's a recycled-styled shot that was set up by a photographer from the Observer who was there to take a couple shots about the restaurant.

After that, we cruised up Bishop street and checked out a sidewalk sale going on. I bought a couple presents... cannot share those details for fear of ruining the surprise though!

After dinner with friends, we headed downtown to catch up with Ryan and strolled around downtown a little bit. Nieman's always has cool displays. This one especially caught my eye.

Drillbaby Project

2008-12-07T12:19:00.000-08:00

I'm thinking about the relationship of oil (a finite resource) to the earth. And then I played off the idea of "mother earth." I think this illustration project captures my thoughts. I'm not saying that we're running out of oil (we won't for another long, long while, anyways). Maybe it's a hater's proposal to find a better alternative.

Pistol Cutout Project

2008-12-04T14:37:00.000-08:00

I wanted to work with paper and cutouts... playing with the juxtaposition of violence and beauty.

Oh, and I'm loving the Camera Bag App for iPhone. Cool.

Supplies
- card stock - various colors
- exact-o knife (these are NOT die cut)
- glue

Fall 2008 - Final Countdown!

2008-12-04T08:53:00.000-08:00

I have disappeared! No, not at all. Just very, very busy with a work project and with final projects for my 2 classes.

Incoming!
- 2 New Design Projects
- Final Movie Script for "Nesting"

Huttah!

Vampalin Pumpkin - Done!

2008-11-01T12:36:00.000-07:00

Okay, so here is the Vampalin pumpkin. I had to simplify some of the lines for sanity's sake. But it turned out good! Also, I completely forgot to add the circle and the bats to the piece, but I was tired and lazy. Whatever!

Obama Poster

2008-10-30T15:46:00.000-07:00

I made up an Obama poster for one of my 2D Design class assignments. It turned out decent, and I'm glad to be done!

I'm having a REALLY tough time finding the original photo in order to give credits - and I'm giving up. So here's a snapshot of the original photo that inspired the illustration.

Zina Saunders, You Are Lovely

2008-10-29T22:38:00.000-07:00

I'm addicted to Zina Saunders' blog. I was recently turned on to her and I curiously await each new piece of work that she produces. Love, love love it!

Screenwriting Project - Nesting Sequence 1

2008-10-27T20:46:00.000-07:00

One of my two classes this semester is Creating TV and Movie Scripts. I originally started out with the intention of writing a television series - two teleplays to satisfy the course requirements.

So I flailed around with bad ideas for a few weeks, simply in hopes to crank out my weekly (required) fifteen pages. (One page equals one minute of screen time, give or take a bit.) And now I'm quasi-medium-high speed ahead on writing a movie.

DISCLAIMER: No promises here folks. This is MORE about learning about a new writing style for screen, and less about selling a script to a production company.

The course format is AWESOME. The class is only eight people and the professor. He has a witty, creative, sarcastic and dry demeanor. However, his advice is paramount! Here's how it works:

Get some ideas together; feed your "muse"
Learn about writing for screen
Bring in your printed pages and fellow students read them - in a workshop format - and give you feedback on what you wrote
Participate in writing exercises to help develop plot ideas and character arc

Here is Nesting: Sequence One.

Note: copyrighted material. Steal this and... I don't know what will happen. It will be bad. Very bad.

VAMPALIN! Rahr!!! This Year's Pumpkin Stencil

2008-10-27T11:54:00.000-07:00

I'm SUPER pumped about the upcoming election. I cannot think about a much better way to voice my opinion to fellow Halloween party-goers and trick-or-treaters than in a pumpkin. So here's vampalin and all her glory.

Neel Ryan Tucker Photography

2008-10-24T08:56:00.000-07:00

My long-time friend Ryan officially launched his photography site today. And it's clean. And nice!

It's great to see his work, and I'm pumped to see what kinds of work he produced in the future. Go Ry!

Re-post: Treehouse

2008-10-03T08:27:00.000-07:00

Erin posted a nice little somethin' about our new place. Her post on Treehouse and the Guest Room are nice.. along with the book case update. Props to her on getting the apartment looking great.

Siemens PLM Blog Development on a Shoe String: Expression Engine + Image Upload + FreeForm - PART 1

2008-09-25T07:52:00.000-07:00

This begins a series documenting a small application I'm building for the Siemens PLM Software Global Calendar Program. Since we didn't have much of a budget for this project, I took it on as a leap of faith and asked for little bits of change here and there. I mean, we've already plopped down the cash for hosting and for Expression Engine to host the blog. Why not use EE? It's total shoe-string development.

DISCLAIMER: I'm not a developer. And I hardly know any PHP. I have a couple books gathering dust on my desk. I will read them when I find the time in between this full-time job and grad school lectures two nights per week. So I'm faking it, and learning as I go. Deal with it.

Benefits of the project:

We grow the Siemens PLM Software Blog member list
Cleaner data... and ONE set of data
Less data entry after the winners are announced (thank goodness)
I'm learning about Expression Engine
I'm installing EE modules like FreeForm
Promote our users!

Want to follow along? Here's what you will need:

A Web host that supports PHP + mySQL. What's this? Good question. Just look up the platform info with your hosting provider. Most decent ones support this. We use Engine Hosting
Expression Engine (installation instructions)
FreeForm (from SolSpace)
A good dose of patience

Outlining the Application
Here's how we outlined how this app should work:

Register on the site
Activate the registration (via e-mail) returns to the site
Log in and upload image, caption and other info

Once we've received all of the entries, we will rate them, edit information as needed, and display a gallery of user-submitted images.

Step 1: The Intro Page

Create a New Template Group in EE - Templates
Create the landing page for your application. This is tricky. I set up two sections for the app. One if the user is logged out - telling them to register first, and then other for users who are logged in.

CODE SAMPLE

{if logged_out} <a href="{path=member/register}">Register, playa</a> {/if}

AND

{if logged_in} Put the upload form stuff here! {/if}

In Part 2, I will explain how to install FreeForm and get it working to accept new submissions from users.

It's [almost] Pumpkin Time!

2008-09-04T10:58:00.000-07:00

I'm so pumped up about Halloween this year. I think it's the pumpkin carving part. I'm on the prowl for some good pumpkin carving designs. Got any?

Related post: Janet Leigh Scream Pumpkin | Halloween Party 2007!

Mmmm Tomatoes!

2008-08-19T07:28:00.000-07:00

I have long-time affair with tomatoes. And nothing's sweeter than when Whole Foods has delicious heirloom tomatoes on sale. Erin came back from being away on a work trip (we were both gone last week) and I wanted to welcome her home with a nice dinner. So I made chicken piccata and caprese salad. And the heirloom tomatoes sealed the deal!

Astadia, Eloqua, SalesForce, oh my!

2008-08-13T09:51:00.000-07:00

I'm in Marietta, GA this week - getting my learn on. Astadia (an Eloqua implementation partner) is teaching up the basics of the Eloqua tool. Wow, I have a ton to learn. However, I'm feeling fairly confident after 2.5 days of training. I have learned enough to get some basic forms, e-mailers and campaigns put together.

ALA Survey 2008

2008-08-04T15:05:00.000-07:00

It's time again for the A List Apart Web Design Survey. Do your part!

Rush Plays Rock Band Backstage at Colbert

2008-07-24T09:13:00.001-07:00

I just saw this post and it was a good laugh. It's Rush playing a Rush song on rock band. Awesome.

Weekend Project: Frames

2008-06-16T13:57:00.001-07:00

I must admit that I spend way more time at my girlfriend's apartment than mine. Having said that, I don't put enough effort as I should in "nesting" up the place. However, I did spend a few dollars on some new frames.

And apologies to Eric Smith. I picked up one of his "live now" prints and couldn't help myself by turning it quasi-diptych. And to William Wegman for cropping one of his beautiful dogs (from an old calendar) and turning it in to wall art.

Just Ordered: Building Findable Websites: Web Standards SEO and Beyond

2008-06-11T08:34:00.000-07:00

I just ordered Building Findable Websites: Web Standards SEO and Beyond. I feel mildly confident in my SEO skills, but I haven't taken a crazy, deep dive yet. And this book will be another step in that process.

Running... again [!]

2008-05-28T22:45:00.000-07:00

Today was my 4th run after this nasty cold (that hung on for two weeks) and I'm feeling my stamina and confidence coming back. I did a 4-mile Katy Trail route tonight... full of easy joggin' and a tee tiny bit of walking at the half-way point.

Still incredibly sore from playing tennis on Monday. Whoa, I forgot how to use those trunk muscles... my kick serve is still stuck in [circa] 2001. I had some movement on it... and almost got one six-pack (a jammed return - an almost peg) on it. Flat serves still not impressive. Lots of shanks. Time to get to work on that!

UNIQLO UT Loop!

2008-05-08T11:42:00.001-07:00

Avery Schafer: Birth Announcement

2008-05-06T10:58:00.000-07:00

For a side project, I helped my sister get a design together for her baby girl's birth announcement. I think these turned out pretty nice. I'm not in love with the font on the bottom section. Typography No-Nos aside, it turned out aok!

Digital Narratives Final

2008-05-05T10:23:00.000-07:00

Ok, it's done! I'm not totally pumped about my process notes, but it's a fair attempt at an analysis. And I'm still fighting this cold!

The project is a simulated space that takes several short stories and chops them up in to fragments and places them at a random spot inside the space.

Selected Shorts

Special thanks goes to Blitz Agency for the helper FLA file.