catching up, part one

Posted on By Wil

I’ve been too busy to write about some cool things that I’ve experienced, recently. I’m taking the next few hours to catch up . . .

kyle + rosemary

The kyle + rosemary recording session was as much fun as I thought it would be. Jun cast a brilliant woman to play Rosemary, whose voice combined perfectly with her character model, and made it easy for me to commit to Kyle’s head-over-heels crush on her.

I’ve never been particularly good at doing voices, but with Jun’s help, I found a voice for Kyle that was soft and sweet and a little insecure, that I was really, really happy with.

Jun (director / creator) and Jentle (voice of Rosemary) were great fun to collaborate with, and we had a great time riffing together and discovering some funny stuff that surprised us all. One of my favorite moments was trying to come up with something to replace "severed head," which the S&P folks had decided was forbidden. We tried a few different things, and Jun settled on replacing the severed head with a skull. I suggested we make it a flaming skull, because "everything is funnier when you set it on fire." 

I saw Don the Coolest Guard in the World when I went in, but he wasn’t there when I left, so I didn’t get to thank him personally. I heard from a few people at Nickelodeon that someone did show him my blog, though, so he knows. I hope I get to go back to Nickelodeon soon and shake his hand.

kyle + rosemary is not a sold pilot; it’s a short film that will be considered by Nickelodeon for series development early next year. When I have more information about when it’s airing and how you can watch it, I’ll let you know.

Legion of Super Heroes

I’ve done two episodes of Legion so far, and I go back for another one tomorrow. I really can’t say anything about it, because the Warner Animation Goonsquad will totally come after me and take away my super powers . . . but it’s just amazing, and I think people are really, really going to like it.

More later . . .

missed the starting gun

Posted on By Wil

There just isn’t enough time.

There isn’t enough time to do everything I want to do with my kids.
There isn’t enough time to take long walks with my wife.
There isn’t enough time to work on my yard.
There isn’t enough time to work on my house.
There isn’t enough time to get out and live life to the fullest.
There isn’t enough time to seek out and embrace inspiration.
There isn’t enough time to write great stories.
There isn’t enough time to play games.

There just isn’t enough time.

the lost experience

Posted on By Wil

Initially, I thought this (possible spoilers) would be a fun puzzle-solving game to play over the summer, while waiting for season three to start, figuring out what Dharma is about, Hanso Foundation rabbits with Persephone . . . but after last week’s Sprite tie-in, and last night’s stupid Jeep commercial, I’m beginning to think the big secret message from The Hanso Foundation will be "Be sure to drink your Ovaltine."

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too much is never enough

Posted on By Wil

You know you’re playing too much Guitar Hero when you see the Arena Rock Essentials at the iTunes Music Store and think, "Dude, I totally need to buy that."

Afterthought: If you could pick three songs for Guitar Hero II, what would they be?

I’d pick:

  • Money by Pink Floyd
  • Miserlou by Dick Dale
  • One by Metallica

Ryan would pick:

  • Rude Mood by Stevie Ray Vaughn
  • Stairway to Heaven by Led Zeppelin
  • Hot for Teacher by Van Halen

Nolan would pick:

  • I Need to do My Homework, So Don’t Bother Me by I Am Nolan’s Responsibility

Anne would pick:

  • How about you play less Guitar Hero? by Guitar Hero Widows, Inc.

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seeking sanctuary

Posted on By Wil

Spring is totally here in Pasadena: it’s misty or foggy in the mornings, and cool enough to wear a shell when I jog around the neighborhood. Then it burns off around noon and we enjoy cool breezes and temperatures in the mid 70s until the sun goes down. It’s perfect planting, barbequing, and sitting-on-the-patio-with-a-nice-cigar weather. The thing is, our patio (and all of our yard, actually) has really gone to hell over Winter, so Ryan and Nolan and I gave Anne a landscaped and cleaned up yard for Mother’s Day.

I spent the entire day yesterday up to my knees in turned soil and roly poly bugs while my dogs did their best to help me out by digging holes where I’d recently stuck some new plants into the ground. The kids helped clean out overgrown grasses and piles of leaves we’d allowed to collect in the corners of the yard, and Anne and I transplanted some huge lavender bushes from the front yard to the planter beneath our kitchen window (boy, the fragrance of lavender drifting through that window can almost make washing dishes not completely suck.)

The smell of wet grass and freshly turned earth is everywhere: when I sit in my office, it comes up from the back yard; when I take my Powerbook into my living room and sit on the couch (where I am right now,) it comes in from the patio . . . and there are birds everywhere! I hung bird feeders with songbird mix and socks filled with Nyjer seed all around my yard, and filled up the birdbath on the patio as the sun was setting last night, and this morning there are close to thirty birds, from gold finches to blue jays to white tufted titmouses (titmice?) singing and chirping and making my yard the peaceful sanctuary I’ve always wanted it to be.

The best part? I spent $139 dollars on plants and soil and fertilizer and crap, and the looks and feels more like a thousand bucks. In about a month, if these plants take off the way we think they will, Anne and I are going to have several flowerbeds filled with beautiful native plants.

There’s still work to be done: the elm needs to be thinned, the palm tree needs to be cleaned up before it can dump sixty pounds of seeds and junk into my grass, and I have an entirely overgrown side yard that needs to be totally cleaned out and landscaped (it’s been the "let’s do that next" project since we moved in six years ago), but the work we did this weekend — as a family, no less — is just awesome. I have lately felt like I’m working very hard without a whole lot to show for it, and it gives me a much-needed sense of accomplishment to walk into my back yard and see the results of the work we did. I wish I’d taken before and after photos, because it’s pretty incredible.

I’ve been writing all morning, and now I can go out into the back and enjoy its growing sense of peace and sanctuary. I may even take a cigar with me, just because I can.