This is important. From Soma FM:

The RIAA is up to it again. Now they want to stop you from recording digital radio, including internet radio and satellite and the new digital FM broadcasts as well. That's right. The RIAA is trying to to sneak a provision into a bill about digital television transition that would allow the FCC to impose home copy protection provisions on digital radio, something the FCC doesn't have the authority to do, and has never proposed doing. Americans: write to your representatives online and ask them too oppose this bill or else remove the provisions applying to digital radio.

Go here: HRRC and send your representatives an e-mail about this. Will it do any good? I have my doubts, but I feel better for doing so. The last time I did this -- it was about the FCC and Record labels tying to stop online radio stations by making them pay 70 times more than regular radio stations -- I actually received a letter back from my senator. So go do it.

Also, I finished the W. T. for Short animatic. I hope to do an h.264 version of it and place it online this weekend. If not h.264, then there's divx and... uh... Windows Media. The point being, there'll be a version online to download in a few days.

But now, Terrance:



  ¶ 2:44 AM

  Closer. I am now working on audio effects and music for the W. T. animatic. I still need an opening and some type of credits, but the "body" is now done. I'm going to go to bed now. Sleep calls hard.

  ¶ 3:36 AM

  It has been a storm day. Gee, I wonder if you could tell by all the extra "weather" posts to the blog. While I had time, and it was on my mind, I thought I'd post about two things I recently discovered that maybe you might want to know about.

First, and most importantly:

NoScript

What is NoScript? It's a plugin for Firefox/Mozilla. Firefox is a type of Mozilla Browser. These are browsers you should use instead of I.E. Why? Because I.E. has crappy security. NoScript makes Firefox/Mozilla better. It turns off JavaScript. This stops those sneaky popups that just started showing up in the Firefox/Mozilla world. Plus, NoScript adds another level of security. You can temporarily allow Scripts for site or allow them always. I love that.

Second, and most interesting:

www.google.com/ig

What's that? It's something new Google is trying. It's basically a portal. It shows news and your weather. And you can customize it and add your own rss feed as a section, which I really enjoy. I also like the fact you can drag things around and place them how you like them. Just click and drag. Check it out.

The Google thing is interesting because Google has gotten under Microsoft's skin. As the Internet becomes a stronger and smarter platform for applications, Google becomes a bigger player. If you can do a lot of things online, doesn't your OS become less important, basically just something you need to get you online?

Microsoft has a lot to worry about these days. With Apple switching to an Intel based computer, will an Intel ready OS X be the new PC OS? I pray so. Do you really think I want to use XP? I need XP for the Adobe software that doesn't run in Linux. XP, by the way, was and still is Windows NT and 2000, which are cooperate operating systems. All M$ did was put some fancy gui, as ugly as it is it is still fancy compared to Win NT, on it and shoved it on home users, who were not ready for the responsibility of unsecure software.

Oh well. Speaking of Adobe, I need to get back to the W. T. animatic. I haven't had a chance to work on it today.

  ¶ 5:37 PM

  ABC 33/40 E-WARN: Tornado Warning

From ABC 33/40 E-Warn:
WFUS54 KBMX 251931
TORBMX
ALC127-252015-
/O.NEW.KBMX.TO.W.0133.050925T1931Z-050925T2015Z/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
231 PM CDT SUN SEP 25 2005

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
NORTHWESTERN WALKER COUNTY IN CENTRAL ALABAMA

* UNTIL 315 PM CDT

* AT 231 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO NEAR CARBON
HILL...OR ABOUT 13 MILES WEST OF JASPER...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 40
MPH.

* THE TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO BE NEAR...
NAUVOO AND CARBON HILL BY 240 PM CDT

IF YOU ARE CAUGHT OUTSIDE...SEEK SHELTER IN A NEARBY REINFORCED
BUILDING. AS A LAST RESORT...SEEK SHELTER IN A CULVERT...DITCH OR LOW
SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS.

TO REPORT SEVERE WEATHER...
CALL 1-800-856-0758.

LAT...LON 3387 8763 3387 8753 3377 8752 3400 8720
3401 8752

$$

WWWW

E-Warn is a free public service from the ABC 33/40 Weather Center
and Alagasco. Natural Gas. Reliable. Comfortable. Convenient.

To sign up for other ABC 33/40 E-Warn products, or to unsubscribe, go here:
http://www.jamesspann.com/ewarnmain.html

  ¶ 2:33 PM

  ABC 33/40 E-WARN: Tornado Watch Outline Update

From ABC 33/40 E-Warn:
WOUS64 KWNS 251600
WOU9

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH OUTLINE UPDATE FOR WT 819
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
1105 AM CDT SUN SEP 25 2005

TORNADO WATCH 819 IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 700 PM CDT FOR THE
FOLLOWING LOCATIONS

ALC001-007-009-015-019-021-027-029-033-037-043-047-049-051-055-
057-059-063-065-071-073-075-077-079-083-085-089-091-093-095-101-
103-105-107-111-115-117-119-121-123-125-127-133-260000-
/O.NEW.KWNS.TO.A.0819.050925T1605Z-050926T0000Z/

AL
. ALABAMA COUNTIES INCLUDED ARE

AUTAUGA BIBB BLOUNT
CALHOUN CHEROKEE CHILTON
CLAY CLEBURNE COLBERT
COOSA CULLMAN DALLAS
DEKALB ELMORE ETOWAH
FAYETTE FRANKLIN GREENE
HALE JACKSON JEFFERSON
LAMAR LAUDERDALE LAWRENCE
LIMESTONE LOWNDES MADISON
MARENGO MARION MARSHALL
MONTGOMERY MORGAN PERRY
PICKENS RANDOLPH SHELBY
ST. CLAIR SUMTER TALLADEGA
TALLAPOOSA TUSCALOOSA WALKER
WINSTON
$$

MSC003-017-057-081-095-115-117-139-141-145-260000-
/O.NEW.KWNS.TO.A.0819.050925T1605Z-050926T0000Z/

MS
. MISSISSIPPI COUNTIES INCLUDED ARE

ALCORN CHICKASAW ITAWAMBA
LEE MONROE PONTOTOC
PRENTISS TIPPAH TISHOMINGO
UNION
$$

TNC003-005-015-017-021-023-031-033-037-039-043-051-053-055-069-
071-077-079-081-083-085-099-101-103-109-113-117-119-125-127-131-
135-147-149-161-165-169-181-183-187-189-260000-
/O.NEW.KWNS.TO.A.0819.050925T1605Z-050926T0000Z/

TN
. TENNESSEE COUNTIES INCLUDED ARE

BEDFORD BENTON CANNON
CARROLL CHEATHAM CHESTER
COFFEE CROCKETT DAVIDSON
DECATUR DICKSON FRANKLIN
GIBSON GILES HARDEMAN
HARDIN HENDERSON HENRY
HICKMAN HOUSTON HUMPHREYS
LAWRENCE LEWIS LINCOLN
MADISON MARSHALL MAURY
MCNAIRY MONTGOMERY MOORE
OBION PERRY ROBERTSON
RUTHERFORD STEWART SUMNER
TROUSDALE WAYNE WEAKLEY
WILLIAMSON WILSON
$$

ATTN...WFO...BMX...OHX...MEG...HUN...

WWWW

E-Warn is a free public service from the ABC 33/40 Weather Center
and Alagasco. Natural Gas. Reliable. Comfortable. Convenient.

To sign up for other ABC 33/40 E-Warn products, or to unsubscribe, go here:
http://www.jamesspann.com/ewarnmain.html

  ¶ 11:13 AM

  I have done all I can do tonight with the W. T. animatic. I got to a part that's going to require some effects (real photo transitions and such), and my brain has thunk all it can think for now.

And because I hate teases, and I'm mean sometimes, below is a quick sketch of Junior, Terrance's son. It, of course, is not the finished drawing of Junior -- he has no face. The finger count is correct, though.



  ¶ 2:25 AM

  There wasn't an early morning (really late night) post because last night I sort of caplunkered out. I did work for a while on the W. T. animatic. I've got the first part of the living room scene done, and I had just gotten to the the cable guy when I retired for the evening.

After working, for some strange reason, I started playing Lunar Silver Star Story, an old anime-RPG on the Play Station, Play Station One. Lunar was originally released on the Sega CD. How many of you remember that thing? No joke. I had the original Sega CD, not the second release that had many bug fixes I would have loved to have had. I never had Lunar on Sega CD, though I did want it back then. When the game came out on the PS, I quickly bought it. While it is a short RPG -- I like my games Morrorwind-long -- I did enjoy the game so much that I considered it one of the best, if not the best, RPGs. I think Morrowind is the best now even though that game is flawed.

I just remember having a lot of fun playing Lunar, and I'm hoping that replaying it is fun as well. I'm also hoping that playing a silly video games relives some stress because I have a lot of that these days. There hasn't been time in the last few months to play video games, but if it gives the slightest relief, I'm going to have to make time for it.

  ¶ 3:56 PM

  5,781. That's how many frames that exist in the W. T. for Short animatic. Or how many that were rendered. I'm not sure.

It has been a long day, but I was able to work on the animatic. I'm finished with the hallway stuff, which includes three flashbacks. Next, the living room, chicken, and the cable guy. I am going to have to record some audio effects, knocking on doors and such. And I have had to spend a lot of time in Photoshop creating scenes. For example, I only drew Terrance once. I've cut him out, and I'm using that one image over and over. That is taking some time. For most of the remaining scenes, I am going to have to create them one at a time. It's all time, which I never have enough of. One of these days, time permitting of course, I'm going to invent a 32 hour day.

  ¶ 3:04 AM

  I thought I had the palsy, but it turned out that my Logitech mouse had just gone goofy. The left click doesn't seem as sensitive as it used to be; the click works but not as well. My mouse problem happened while I was working on the W. T. for Short animatic. No joke. I thought I had the palsy.

As for the animatic, I'm up to the hallway so I'm inside the White's trailer. Everything was going well until the mouse problem. But it's only a slight problem. I found a mouse to use.

After the animatic, there might actually be a redesign of this site. Might be. It all depends on how much time there is when the time comes.

Ed Wood by Tim Burton was on earlier. Ah, Edward Wood. Such an inspiration.

  ¶ 3:14 AM

  The scanning of the storyboard for W. T. for Short is done. I finished them last night. I did not post about it because as soon as I was finished, I had a movie to watch. I'll get to that later. The storyboards are in the computer now. Next, I begin the tinkerings in Photoshop. I need to assemble a few things and cut out elements to use in the animatic, which I'll start as soon as I can. It all depends on how long the Photoshoping takes, which I won't know until I start and work a bit.

Because of the headache named Earl, I quit early the other night. I turned on Sundance and catch the last half of the Al Franken Show. And then to my surprise, the movie Audition by Takashi Miike came on after it. I did not want to watch that movie with a headache. But I couldn't find it listed to come on again anytime soon so I watched it.

My other experiences with Takashi Miike are Dead or Alive: The Final and Ichi the Killer. I love Ichi the Killer. It is a gorefest that's over the top almost in a comic book way. Dead or Alive: The Final was okay. I enjoyed it but in a weird sci-fi kind of way. I knew of Audition well before I'd ever heard of the other two movies. I knew Audition was supposed to be really good and was beloved by horror fans. I'm a horror fan. So, despite the headache named Earl, I was a bit giddy when Audition started.

The movie is slow. It takes about an hour and a half to get to the fucked up stuff that everybody freaks out about. It is not like Ichi the Killer. Audition is almost a romantic comedy. It's the story of a man who looses his wife and seven years later, with encouragement from his smart son, decides to look for a new wife. He's a bit traditional and wants a traditional wife but one with confidence in herself. So his buddy at work decides to fake a movie and holds auditions for actress. The man picks a very quiet and beautiful woman, shy and demure. He wines and dines her. Like I said, it's almost a romantic comedy. And everything seems beautifully shot. The director took his time, which I enjoy. Ichi the Killer, the other famous Takashi Miike film, does not take it's time. It's all over the place.

Here's where I have a hard time admitting things. Audition is the better movie because it takes it's time before it shows all the horrible gore and torture, and when it's time to show those things, it doesn't show you everything. And it's not all that gory, too. When the torture starts, you see close ups the very beautiful Eihi Shiina as she does her thing. I enjoy seeing all the gory details in movies. This partly why I like Ichi the Killer. But sometimes, the hard time admitting part, it's better to let the viewer or reader use their imagination.

Also, the Japanese word for "deeper" sounds like "kitty" and that's freaky.

Last night's movie was different. As soon as I finished the scanning, I watched A Tale of Two Sisters, a Korean horror movie by Ji-woon Kim. This movie reminded me of Ju-on in a good way. The movie is supposed to be a traditional Korean ghost story. I'm sad to say I'm not that familiar with Korean ghost stories. I need to be. A Tale of Two Sisters is the story of two sisters who come home after being sick. Their mother is dead, and their father has remarried. The stepmum doesn't seem to be very nice. There are plenty of jump scenes and creepy stuff. It's a very beautiful film as well. I'm not sure where it was shot, and I'm guessing Korea. Korea looks a little bit like Alabama. That's kind of creepy in itself.

A Tale of Two Sisters pays off big time in the end. Not only is it scary, it's also sad, one of the saddest movies I've seen. The characters were real, and it was easy to feel for them. There were also some pretty neat camera stuff going on. At first, it was all subtle, but as the story went on, it became less subtle. It almost seemed the moment I figured something out about the story, the neat camera stuff became less subtle and became more important to the story telling.

Well, it's time for me to get back to work.

  ¶ 2:14 PM

  Today I started scanning the storyboards for W. T. for Short. I did not get as many done as I wanted. I have an amazing headache, one that deserves a name, Earl or Ted perhaps. I can no longer look at the monitor. Scanning will continue tomorrow.

But before I go, if you are a Republican reading this, ask yourself why days before the President said that support and money would go to the local business and contractors to rebuild New Orleans that Haliburton was awarded a no-bid contract along with four other non-New Orleans companies? I guess if you are a Republican reading this you probably don't have probably with that. Can't let the poorest people of America make money. If they made money, they'd have power.

There can be no war without a profit. I guess there can't be a natural disaster without a profit either.

  ¶ 2:14 AM

  I have finished drawing the storyboards I wanted to do for W. T. for Short. I'm sure there are a few little things I'll have to draw in the next few days as I remember them, but for now, I'm finished. Later today, I start scanning the storyboards in. That shouldn't take all that long. Then I can start on the animatic. Joy.

  ¶ 3:09 AM

  Storyboard update. I'm now drawing Terrance's bedroom. There should be two main storyboard drawings for the bedroom and a few small ones. I'm sure I'll have to draw a few small things for other scenes. But in the next few days, I should be assembling an animatic. I'm so looking forward to that because I am not the biggest fan of drawing. And I have all this stuff in my head that I can't get out on paper, and I should be able to get it out of my head in the animatic. I have been surprised at the ideas that I've had while drawing things. There have been a few line changes and a few lines added. Weird. But people do animatics to see how things will work, what won't work, and if things can be added or needs to be added. And I'm also aware of the evolution of the story. W. T. for Short started off as a different kind of story, a horror story. Now it's satire and farce.

  ¶ 3:12 AM

  I didn't know Glen Danzig was on Aqua Teen Hunger Force. I know about Space Ghost, but not Aqua Teen Hunger Force.

"Brownie" quit today. I have no idea why. He was doing a heck of a job.

After an amazingly bad day of little things going wrong in between big things going wrong, I am pleased to say that I'm halfway finished with the W. T. living room storyboards. After the living room, I have to do one more room, the bedroom. And then I build an animatic from that. I'll then have W. T. for Short's first act done. I can't wait.

  ¶ 2:38 AM

 

  ¶ 1:35 AM

  Brownie had to go home yesterday. Michael "Brownie" Brown was taken off of the Katrina relief and sent home.

"Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job." - President George W. Bush

I guess Brownie wasn't doing such a good job. I had hopes that because Brownie was sent home that Bush might have woken up a bit. I doubt it. Remember what he told the Governor of LA when she said Michael Brown needs to be fired because of what went wrong and what didn't go right.

"What didn't go right?" - President George W. Bush

Yes, boys and girls, the President asked, "What didn't go right?" Maybe I should cut him some slack. He didn't get to Katrina for three days because of his vacation. So it is possible he had absolutely no clue what was going on. And that, unfortunately, is a habit of W. Bush. We're faced with two possibilities. One that he has no clue about anything or that he's a liar.

"I don't think anybody anticipated the breach of the levees." President George W. Bush

"That Category 4 hurricane caused the same kind of damage that we anticipated. So we planned for it two years ago. Last year, we exercised it. And unfortunately this year, we're implementing it." - Michael Brown

"(T)hese levees were designed for a Category 3. These levees will not hold the water back." - Placquemines Parish Sheriff Jeff Hingle

In 2002 the New Orleans Times-Picayune ran a five-part series exploring the vulnerability of the city. The newspaper, and other news media as well, specifically addressed the possibility of massive floods drowning residents, destroying homes and releasing toxic chemicals throughout the city. - CNN.com

And if you want to read the Times-Picayune article: Click Here

But hey. Relax -- This won't hurt.

"We're problem solvers." - President George W. Bush

Liar! Well, maybe W. Bush can't help it. Maybe he really is disconnected from reality so it's not technically a lie when he gets something wrong.

"Almost everyone I've talked to says we're going to move to Houston. What I'm hearing which is sort of scary is they all want to stay in Texas. Everyone is so overwhelmed by the hospitality. And so many of the people in the arena here, you know, were underprivileged anyway, so this--this (she chuckles slightly) is working very well for them." - Barbara Bush

I wonder if she looks at poor people and thinks that her table scraps would make them the happiest they could ever be in life. "Good lords, Mrs. Bush. Thank'ee for the leftovers. Lord knows I shore do appreciate 'dem."

The whole Bush family is disconnected from reality.

  ¶ 3:08 AM

 

Football Season Is Over

No More Games. No More Bombs. No More Walking. No More Fun. No More Swimming. 67. That is 17 years past 50. 17 more than I needed or wanted. Boring. I am always bitchy. No Fun -- for anybody. 67. You are getting Greedy. Act your old age. Relax -- This won't hurt.

- Hunter S. Thompson

The above was Hunter S. Thompson's suicide note. It was written four days before he committed suicide. At the bottom of the page, he drew a "happy heart," the kind found on Valentine's Day cards. It was February after all, the month of St. Valentine.

And how weird is it for the note to be published just as football season is starting?

My life. I just finished another storyboard for W. T. I finished one for the picnic scene, and I'm nearly done with the second storyboard for the picnic. It is taking longer than I wanted, but it is because of the number of people and the fact that I can't draw. Then it's into the living room of Terrance White. I can't wait. I'm sure Terrance can't either.

  ¶ 2:54 AM

  The storyboards for the first scene with Terrance and Togan, Terrance's pop, have been completed. I started the picnic scene, and it has given me a lot of trouble. There are several different people to draw in it. Though, it is helping that I'm going to be able to re-use some drawings. For example, the Terrance in the picnic scene will be the same drawing of Terrance from the porta-potty scene. Yes, porta-potty. This is fancy stuff here, people. Sophisticated.

I hope to have the picnic scene finished later today. I also plan to do a final edit of the short story due this weekend. The name, "To The Dawn," has stuck around longer than I thought it would. Let's see if it makes it all the way to the goal line.

Speaking of goal lines, the NFL season finally gets started tonight. I can't wait. I enjoy preseason. Don't get me wrong. But it's like you get one good quarter and the rest is just... three quarters of people doing the wrong thing over and over. Hmm, just like the Bush Administration. Wait. That's not fair. Bush never had a good quarter.

  ¶ 3:00 AM

  I was able to print and edit my short story today (Tuesday). I'm still not sure of the title, but I'll figure something out. I plan edit it a few more times before saying it's done at the end of the week.

I just finished a few more storyboards for W. T. I did not get as many done as I wanted to because I let the thoughts and worries and doubts of this whole thing get to me too much. I kept thinking of getting a camera. I have absolutely no idea how to get one right now unless a series of fifty good luck things just happen one right after another. I'm just can't be that positive, but I'm going to keep working on the storyboards and hoping for the best. Good things to happen to bad people. Maybe I'm not being bad enough. Maybe that's my problem. Whatever it is, it's time to wind down for the evening and try to get some sleep. I'll worry about it tomorrow.

  ¶ 3:00 AM

  Bob Denver
1935 - 2005

So long good buddy. You finally got off this island.

  ¶ 7:29 PM

  I accomplished a few things today (Monday). I haven't been to bed yet so it's still today (Monday) to me. I finished typing in the short story I needed to write. I believe it's called "To The Dawn." Maybe. I'm not so sure yet. I will be later today when I printed it out and begin editing it.

Moments ago, I finished my first storyboard for W. T. that featured Terrance. I exaggerated his features. There was a bit of a panic when I got to him because I really hadn't thought ahead to having to draw him. I know what he looks like in the short story and in the script, which is how he looks in my head. The problem is, I can't draw very well and have no hopes of getting what's in my head to paper with pencil. I came very close to just drawing stick figures, but instead, I just leapt in and got what I got. I'll do more later today after sleep. There is so much to do, but I am moving along.

  ¶ 2:54 AM

  So what did I get done today? Well, I finished my story that I needed to finish. I'm not sure about the title yet, but that'll come. I've already typed in a few pages. The typing part is the worst part of writing for me. But since I'm the only person in creation that can read my handwriting, the typing is mine all mine. I also managed to work on some storyboards for W. T. It's going to take some time to do all that I need, but that's okay. I'm making progress on something. I just don't know what it is.

  ¶ 3:17 AM

  It just keeps getting worse in New Orleans. I don't understand why we haven't mobilized every member of our armed services and simply invaded New Orleans as if some country that the President thought terrorists or WMD were in. We have shown the world that we're not the America in the movies where we move quickly to fix problems.

"I don't want to see anybody do anymore goddamn press conferences. Don't do another press conference until the resources are in this city. Don't tell me 40,000 people are coming here. They're not here. It's too doggone late. Now get off your asses and do something, and let's fix the biggest goddamn crisis in the history of this country." - Ray Nagin, Mayor of New Orleans (9/2/2005)

I'm more concerned with what we have shown ourselves. It's getting harder to feel safe in America. If something happens, will there be help? How can anybody answer yes without hesitation after New Orleans. New Orleans seems to be a worst case scenario just short of nuclear holocaust. And it is a holocaust that we can't seem to stop or slow.

Maybe there will be better news later today. There's got to be better news.

As for me, I didn't get to do any storyboards today. I am trying to finish a short story that's due in a few days. I will get it finished. I should have it done either later today or by Sunday. I also have plans to work on storyboards later today. That's going to take a lot of time, but I have to do it. Don't ask me why. I don't know why I do most of the stuff I do. I just know I have to. For example, bed. I have to go to bed. Maybe I'll sleep better than I did last night. My back is still goofy for some reason, but today it was better. I just need better sleep.

  ¶ 3:02 AM

  I just finished some more storyboards for W. T. for Short. This is going to be... well, interesting when I get it done. I seem to have a natural ability to constantly not know what I'm doing, but be doing it anyway. That might actually be my superpower.

I'm going to go watch a movie or something and see if I can't get ready for sleep. Yesterday, I woke up in pain. My back felt like somebody had put their knee in it all night. I hope that doesn't happen again because it took all day for my back to let up.

  ¶ 3:02 AM

  My heart breaks at New Orleans, Biloxi, and Mobile. I really can't say anymore than that right now.

I've been trying not to watch the news and actually get some much needed work done. I just finished the first storyboard image for W. T. for Short. Last night, I recorded some audio that'll accompany the storyboard. I'm making my own animatic. Why? Well, because I just love a false sense of progress.

I'm going to call it quits early tonight, even though it's after 3 in the morning. I'm going to watch a movie or something and try not to watch the news anymore until tomorrow. All I can do is watch the news and wonder why all of this bad stuff won't just stop happening.

  ¶ 3:07 AM