Happy Independence Day!

Wikipedia: Independence Day

Completion of Animation Mentor!!

The image above is appropriate to sum up how I feel after the two long years of sprinting with family, work, and school. It was created by fellow AMer Will Christiansen.

The follow notes were given to me by my mentor at the end of the term:

Areas of strength: Shane has great instincts when it comes to screen composition and story telling. He has also made drastic improvements in his animation over the last 12 weeks. He is also a very hard worker and put 100% into his submissions each week.
Areas of improvement: I feel that Shane could improve on his body mechanics. He took on a lot of physicality in this short and I think that is where he struggled the most. A lot of the notes I gave to Shane were in regards to the spacing of his inbetweens which at times were too floaty. I feel confident that with more practice Shane will be able to work through his issues with body mechanics and solidify his technique.AM
Progression to the next term is: Recommended for Graduation

New info on Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games released!

Annie, Syd, and I had such a blast playing the original Mario & Sonic Olympic game. With school wrapping up soon I am really looking forward to spending more family time together and one of the things we like to do is play games together. This game should be a fun addition to our Family Games lineup!

Sega recently release a new trailer for the game and updated their website with new info regarding the game. Among the new details are the confirmation of new characters Donkey Kong and Metal Sonic. The Wii will include an Ice Hockey mode that "feels inspired by arcade hockey titles such as Wayne Gretzky on the N64, or even Blades of Steel on the NES" according to press that have played the game at e3. The game will also support the Balance Board which seems natural. I wonder if they'll include support for the Wii Motion Plus accessory? Time will tell. I'm really looking forward to playing though. Maybe if we pick up the game this fall I'll post some videos of the ensuing shinanigins.

Star Wars: The Old Republic - Game Trailer

THIS LOOKS SO AMAZING!!! I doubt I'll play the game because I'm not into MMO games, but please Lucasfilm... by all means please continue to create videos like these for me to enjoy!!

Question though... did they intentionally make that girl look like Mara Jade?

If you are interested, you can read more about the game HERE.

Up

We took a family trip to see Up last night. All three of us enjoyed the film tremendously. Syd was already off on her own adventures during her playtime today. I found the film both incredibly moving and touching yet very funny and adventurous at the same time. The film's playfulness with reality and physics reminded me a lot of Miyazaki's films. The amount of heart in the film was astonishing. I even shed a tear at one point. That has only happened two other times in my life in a movie theater. It's a film that will quickly become a classic in our household and an experience not soon forgotten.

New King Kong themed attraction coming to Universal Studios!

It has been almost a year since I posted about the fire that destroyed large portions of Universal Studios Hollywood including the classic King Kong tram attraction. I expressed my hope that they would rebuild bigger and better based on the new King Kong film and now hey have officially announced their plans to do so! With this coming next year and the new Transformers ride the following year it is shaping up to be a good few years for the Theme Park/Movie Studio. You can read some of the specifics from the press release below.

King Kong, among the screen’s most powerful and enduring icons, will re-emerge on the famed and newly upgraded Universal Studios Hollywood Studio Tour in summer, 2010 as a thrilling and ground-breaking 4-D multi-sensory marvel, a new signature attraction for Universal Studios Hollywood.

The new King Kong attraction, based on the Oscar-winning 2005 Universal Pictures film, will combine thrilling visceral effects with the world’s largest Surround Digital projection system to create a next-generation theme park experience.

Larry Kurzweil, President and Chief Operating Officer, Universal Studios Hollywood, said: “King Kong has been an integral part of Universal Studios Hollywood for decades and, after last year’s fire, we knew he had to be resurrected for our Studio Tour guests. We’re very excited to announce that not only are we re-introducing King Kong, but we’ve completely re-imagined the experience and will incorporate this legendary icon into a truly innovative Studio Tour attraction.”

In the new attraction, guests will don special glasses as they enter a darkened soundstage aboard the Studio Tour trams and will be transported— via the magic of Surround Digital 3D projection —deep into the dark heart of the world of Skull Island. They’ll survive a close encounter with a swarm of monstrous bats, only to be confronted by the terrifying presence of Kong himself. Suddenly, an enormous, ravenous 35' tall dinosaur will challenge Kong and guests will feel their trams jolt, roll and shudder as they find themselves caught in the middle of a ferocious showdown between the great ape and the giant lizard. The action will immerse guests in the battle between the two colossal predators.

A previous King Kong attraction was introduced at Universal Studios Hollywood in 1986 and remained a much-admired part of the Studio Tour until it was destroyed last year.

Now they just need to make a deal with DWA and start creating family attractions based on their body of colorful characters!

Ben Harper: Better Way

Better Way
by: Ben Harper

I'm a living sunset
Lightning in my bones
Push me to the edge
But my will is stone

'Cause I believe in a better way

Fools will be fools
And wise will be wise
But I will look this world
Straight in the eyes

'Cause I believe in a better way

What good is a man
Who won't take a stand
What good is a cynic
With no better plan

'Cause I believe in a better way

Reality is sharp
It cuts at me like a knife
Everyone I know
Is in the fight of their life

Take your face out of your hands
And clear your eyes
You have a right to your dreams
And don't be denied

I believe in a better way

Just for fun...