Avatar x2

Just got back from seeing Avatar a second time. I can't remember the last movie I saw a second time and blogged about.

Seeing Avatar a second time really brought things together. Not that they weren't the first time but you catch a lot more the second time through a movie.

Tonight I saw it with Gretchen and her nephew Xavier, he LOVED it and she really liked it too. I guess she should see more movies that I recommend. But I'm glad she liked it.

Tuesday = Friday

Today is/was Tuesday. I was originally supposed to work Monday through Wednesday this week but something is going on at my work so we will work Mon. and Tues. this week and Mon. through Wed. next week.

This is fine with me since the new Family Guy Star Wars DVD (Something, Something, Something, Dark Side) just came out today and I went to Zac's house straight from work to enjoy it.

Zac, Ashley, there dog Louie and I watched the first Family Guy Star Wars DVD (Blue Harvest) followed by S.S.S.D.S. We had a blast. Not only did we watch these two movies but we also sat around and drew pictures on my 22" monitor with my wacom tablet.

Zac's brother Joe showed up a little later, as did our friend Griffin. We all watched Star Wars Family Guy and played with the tablet until it was getting late and Zac and Ashley had to go to bed. They are getting up at 4am tomorrow to go to Texas for Christmas.

Since my weekend started a little early this week, I think I'll spend tomorrow trying to go see Avatar again. If anyone who reads this is interested in seeing it with me, shoot me a call.

CRUNCH!

On my way home. Almost there. 6:12pm. I'm turning off of 81 onto West Broadway. There's a car in the right turn lane so I decide to go to the left, in hopes of maybe passing them on the inside of the turn. My blinkers on. Waiting for the green. Cars going through the intersection. Light turns yellow, cars still going through the intersection. Light turns red, Final car taking a left goes into the intersection to turn, 2 asian girls in a honda think they can make it thru the red, but they weren't looking and CRUNCH! Right into the front bumper of the car trying to turn after the light changed.

Sucks for both parties... so what did Jared do? I mean, I had a FRONT ROW seat to this entertaining event...

Jared takes a hard left, around the accident, and goes home. Thinking to himself, "Wish people would pay attention these days."

The End.

Avatar

When I first heard about Avatar I was not impressed. Humans going to some far off planet to get resources and were being interrupted by blue aliens... Not the best seller in my opinion.

But after seeing the movie at a midnight showing AND in 3D, I must say I was wrong. The movie was overwhelming. The most overwhelming part was probably that the entire thing was a good two and a half hours of eye candy. The story was pretty predictable but what movie isn't these days?

Zoe Saldana played her part in this movie WONDERFULLY. She plays the lead female character and is completely CG. Her character is the one that really gets you feeling emotionally invested in. Everyone else in the movie was probably as good as can be expected but Zoe was fantastic.

I would definitely say that Avatar is worth seeing. And, in my opinion, it should be seen in 3D while you still can, because until we get 3D TV's in our homes, this is probably as good as it gets.

It probably is one of my favorite movies of 2009... But that isn't saying much since I generally LOVE everything that I put the effort into going out and seeing.

James Cameron makes a movie once a decade, and every one of his movies is an instant classic... This falls into that category.

Day three of the job

Third day of work and I'm already getting tired before 10:00pm... something is wrong with me. Who knew that sitting in a chair and animating on the computer could take so much out of you? Well, only one way to learn I guess.

But so far so good. Not sure on how secretive this place is with their animation so I won't post any shot's I've completed. But I have to say, once it's cleaned up in After Effects, The animations look pretty good.

The episode we're working on should air on the Larry Lipton Site mid January. Hope that's enough info for now.

Don't forget to keep an eye on the Winged Yeti Blog and Site. The site is getting Zero work on it right now because of the time spend on this job, but the blog gets a few new images now and again.

First Day of Work

Today was my first day of working at Wellness Resources working on the third installment of the Larry Leptin web series. Simple style. But it's animation and good experience for me.

also, Saw this today... i believe it's an older video but he breaks it down...

BUY MAC!!!

What Computer Should I buy? from Nick Campbell on Vimeo.

This Morning

So I'm bummed that I didn't get to go hunting with Tom. But on a lighter note. I received a phone call from a gentleman I met at a networking party at Robot Love. His name is Michael. He's working on an animation web series.

You can see the older episodes HERE.

Looks like I start Monday. 9am to 5pm. Forty hours Next week and then another 40 spread between the following two weeks. It's going to be fun. I'll technically be an Animator's Assistant. So learning the tricks of the trade from these guy will be a great experience for me.

On an unrelated note, I was informed about this new app for the iPhone (and probably iPod Touch). It records your voice and turns it into text. And it works REALLY well! Once it is text, it copies it for you and you can paste it into an eMail or text message or anything you want.

Here's a video of it!

Sorry if the video is backwards :/

but still... Awesome!

Photographer

Sorry I haven't been updating this blog too often. I have, however, been posting at the Winged Yeti blog.

Today, right out of bed, I threw on some long undies and a layer of clothing, headed outside, and shoveled the hell out of our driveway. Tuckered myself out pretty good. But I still had enough energy to go out and take pictures.

Tonight I did some photography for a retirement party. Gretchen's mom, Bonnie, asked me to take some photos at the dinner they were having for a coworker who was retiring.

After I got home I was invited to play some on line video games with a few friends, which is probably another reason why I haven't been posing too much on my blog. But during my game playing, my uncle, Tom Hanson, called me and asked if I was up for a bike ride... he was kidding. But then he asked what I have planned for tomorrow. I was thinking, "WOW, it's cold outside but I could probably go for a ride"... but then he asked if I wanted to go pheasant hunting tomorrow at 5:30am... I don't think I'll be able to do that... I mean, look at what time I'm posting this... 12:30am... 5 hours of sleep is not going to be enough for me. Which sucks because I really do want to go hunting. :(

Anyway, off to bed.

Fantastic Mr. Fox

This Movie was everything I had hoped for, and then some. Not saying it was the greatest movie ever, but it was definitely a delight to get out and see a movie that wasn't "the same old thing". The concept behind the movie was pretty great. And all of the voice actors and actresses that they had portray these characters was nothing short of stupendous.

The movie really held my attention throughout the whole thing, although I'm not sure it would be the same for a small child.

Very fun and artistic movie. I really loved the style of the whole thing.

Room's done

Finally got around to changing up my room layout. If you look in earlier posts, You'll see how it was and how I planned it. And it actually turned out just as I'd planned.

The Gretch-Monster came over and demanded that we do the room last night so we did and, after working on things from 9pm to 2am, it's done. It didn't help that the Victoria Secret fashion show was on either.

Looking at my room now, I'm pretty stoked that it is the way it is. I even took a series of photos and turned them into a panorama for your enjoyment.

So Enjoy -

(It's a pretty big file... about 1.8 mb or so. You should be able to click and enlarge it.)

New Blog

Well... In a movement to become more creative. I posted a new blog that will correspond with my new SITE... once THAT's up and running. I'll post it everywhere I can... believe me.

So the link to the new blog is:

wingedyeti.blogspot.com

Learn more about that blog by following that link .

Biking and Toys

Today was another bike ride with my uncle Tom Hanson. We biked to Shorewood near Minnetonka, to my cousin's house (Chevis, Dan, Daniel and to be determined ). After hanging out with them for a bit we decided to head back home.

At the end of the entire ride, my computer read 50.08 miles for todays ride. It was pretty good. And I'm actually getting used to riding right around 50 miles now. When I first went for a ride with Tom, 30 miles and I was beat. After the first ride, 40 miles and I was beat. we went 45 the second and it was getting a bit cold for me but I felt I could go farther. The next, 58 miles and I was getting pretty beat around the 50 mile mark.

NOW, 50 miles and I could probably STILL rock and roll. I usually bring a bar or something to eat about 30 miles in, and that probably helps. But I'm thinking I'm about ready to go for a 50 or so mile bike ride with nothing but breakfast under my belt.

ALSO, I stopped by Robot Love today and picked up a couple of things I've been looking forward to.

Teddy Trooper "Le Mans" by Flying Fortress:

and Dragon Boy by Sam Flores

Both amazing pieces and I've been waiting a while for.

My Room

Alright... I think this will be a pain in the ass... but change is good.

Here's my (OLD) room layout:

I just rotated my bed, so here's my room NOW:

Here's an actual pic:

That's my desk in the bottom right corner...

And here's what my room layout will be in the future:

I measured out each piece of furniture in my room. Then I created them to scale with the dimensions of my room.

Move pieces around freely with a simple click and drag, and BOOM... new room layouts.

Interior Design ftw...

just kidding :p

Good Night Tonight

Tonight Gretchen came over and we made turkey sloppy joes... SO AWESOME. I really love sloppy joes.

And if that weren't enough, Gretchen also made us a couple of Vikings tie dye shirts.

Very cool. I know Tom will be jealous.

Also, to finish off the night, a couple of friends and I (Dan and Bryan) played Left 4 Dead 2 for a few hours.

It will be hard to top this night... but I'm sure thanksgiving will have a shot at it. Especially since we'll be kicking it at Chevis and Dan's place with their family.

FUN!

Bike... to the death!

Recently I've been getting these phone calls from my uncle Tom Hanson. He calls to see if I'm up for a bike ride, and I always am. Even during a Vikings game day. He convinced me to tape it and watch it later with him... after the ride. I'd be willing to bed that he's the only person who could get me to skip a Vikings game to go for a bike ride. Biking doesn't trump a Vikings game... but biking with Tom does.

He always takes me someplace new, and shows me a new way to get to places I know along the way. It's awesome. The guy knows EVERY ROAD... and I do mean EVERY road.

Here's the mileage we went each day this week.

Sunday 11/15/09 - 39 miles:

Tom called me and talked me out of watching the Vikings game. We biked down to and around Minneapolis. After the ride, we went to Tom and Janice's place, picked up chinese and watched the recording of the game.

Wednesday 11/18/09 - 45 miles:

I forget exactly where we went on this trip... I'm usually not too great with directions. But I believe it was somewhere near the airport. Or maybe that was the first day... I don't know.

Saturday 11/21/09 - 58 miles:

This time we went past St. Paul and road back up to downtown. On the bridge we took these pics.

Tom insisted on taking a pic of me.

I insisted on taking one of both of us. Loved the hat.

After we went through downtown St. Paul, we ended near Como Zoo.

It was awesome.

We rounded that bike ride to the State Fair grounds. It's really nice going through there with no people around, and it's a lot different.

If it gets/stays somewhat around 50°, maybe we'll get out for another ride or two.

Blind Side

Janice, my mom, Gretchen and I went to see "The Blind Side" last night. It was pretty good. Probably along the lines with every other high school/collage movie that WASN'T Varsity Blues. God that movie sucked.

Pretty much like I expected it to me. I'm not sure that it's really all that Oscar worthy. But it wasn't bad.

New Moon

Sorry I've been neglecting my blogging lately. I got a new video game, Assassin's Creed 2, and that will continue to rule my life till I beat it. I also am working on a website for another bar owned by my friend Jeremy's dad. Kellys-Centerville.com.

Anyway, last night at midnight, I saw the movie "New Moon" at the old IMAX theatre in St. Michael. I don't believe they call it IMAX any more. And before I get into how the movie was, I would not recommend seeing it on the IMAX unless you can get their early enough to sit far enough back. We were in the 3rd row, because it filled up so fast, even though we were an hour early, and we still got screwed. Damn near unwatchable in the third row. During the previews it was bad, but it did get better when the movie started. Just gotta sit back, let your eyes glaze over and focus right, then it wasn't bad.

But as far as the movie goes, it was pretty good. I mean, it had its share of tween relationship crap, but the fights were borderline awesome. The thing that I liked more about this movie was that it just plain went more in depth.

It talked a great deal more about the vampires having different powers and what each one was. They went into more detail about the history of vampires and where the "HEAD" vampires are. That was probably my favorite thing about this movie.

Even with the amount of EMO kids that this movie possessed, it still had my attention throughout the entire thing. Funny parts, action parts, history parts... Almost makes me want tot ready the book so that I can find out more about all the little things that the movie left out. All the detail behind each of these races. And to cover up a plot hole or two. But I do say "ALMOST" because I'm not committed to reading the books. And I'm not sure that I will be...

But if I do, you can believe that they won't be blogged about.

2012

Sh*t's goin down. Start the timer cuz the planet's gunna expire.

Movie finally came out and I finally got to see it. Pretty much, %100, of what I expected. It was good. Entertaining and the story wasn't too bad. Small part with Woody Harrelson didn't hurt at all.

If it's something you're into, definitely check it out. But, if you're like some people I know, you don't even wanna think about it. Personally, I like talking about it.

Pirate Radio

Amazing movie. The music really makes it. And, I don't know why, but I'm a fan of just about every "Focus Films" movie I've seen. They sure know how to pick em'.

Saw this and

was AMAZED...

So simple and insane... I really wanna do this now, but alas, I have no subways in brooklyn park.

:(

Staring at Goats

Today I went to see "The Men Who Stare at Goats" with Michael. I thought it was awesome. Michael thought it was pretty good.

The combination of George Clooney, Ewan McGregor and Jeff Bridges is damn near unbeatable. That, with all the references to Jedi, made this movie not only cool, but HILARIOUS. People who think they possess some kind of extraordinary power to the point of running at a wall head on THINKING they'll pass through it... Brilliant. And what makes it even more funny is that it's loosely based on a true story. The movie actually opened with a line something like, "More of this is true than you'd actually believe". That just set the tone for me...

Very enjoyable. Almost exactly what I was expecting. See it.

Halloween as "The Legend Of NEIL"

This Halloween I dressed up as Neil from "The Legend Of Neil" video web series. You can view the videos HERE. I recommend them to people who have a little bit of a background with the video game "Legend Of Zelda".

Anyway, after hours in Zac's dad's wood shop, and HOURS at my grandparents house... I ended up with THE BEST costume I could have wished for. Big Thanks to Zac, for helping me cut all the pieces for the weapons, Ashley and Gretchen, for waiting for us to finish the pieces, and my Grandma Reins for doing all the sewing and layout of the main costume.

THANKS TO ALL...

now for the photos.

Here's my dad playing with my NEWLY painted weapons.

My first REAL picture of the full costume, Thanks Mom!

Here's Gretchen as a fairy and me as Neil.... notice the heart pieces on the arm...

This pose is kind of an inside joke for anyone who has watched the videos. They ARE great, and again, you can watch them HERE.

Special thanks again to Zac and my Grandma.

ANOTHER pumpkin

Same Theme... different character.

Kind of a "chibi" Boba Fett.

Pumpkin Carving

This year we all got together for pumpkin carving at my grandpa and grandma Reins' house. It was awesome.

Here's some pictures. I bumped up the exposure so you can see them better.

Kerri's

Terri's

Kate's

Janaya's (which I drew on the pumpkin for her) :p

and mines...

Stormtroopers are awesome.

For those of you who didn't see my LAST YEARS pumpkins... here it is...

Batman FTW!

Astro Boy

Stopped by the theater for a midnight showing last night... It was either Astro Boy or The Vampire's Assistant. Ended up seeing Astro Boy, and I'm glad that I did. When I bought my ticket the lady told me, "Looks like you're the only person in that one so far," so I was excited. So excited I decided to get an icy and a small buttered popcorn... Classic. Right before the preview started a couple came in and watched it with me, but they didn't stay till after the credits...

The movie opens with a pretty cool, yet simple, 2D style explaining how the world became how it is in the movie. I liked that they started this off as the beginning of Astro Boy, as most movies are doing these days. I've watched the original cartoon and I think this didn't sully it's image much at all, if any. I'm not a DIE HARD Astro Boy fan, but I do, and always have, enjoyed watching it when it's on, and by "on" I mean "on" Cartoon Network's Adult Swim.

Overall I really enjoyed the movie. Even with it's amateur timing in a few places, and a few plot holes here and there, I think it's definitely worth checking out for anyone who is or was a fan of the original Astro Boy.

Star Wars Garage Sale... WIN

Found a Star Wars garage sale on craigslist.com not too far from my house. Had to go and check it out. After taking a few wrong turns and calling Gretchen for help, I finally found it. I got there at about 9:45am... they opened at 9am... I left at about 8:40am.... like I said, I got lost.

But once I got there, there was loads of Star Wars things to go round. As I walked in I felt a bit let down because there's didn't appear to be too much. But when I got in there, saw the 3 or so tables full of stuff above and below, I went ape shit.

Star Wars book, Star Wars figures, Star Wars original records, Star Wars collectables... it was awesome.

Here's a pic of all the stuff I bought... I kinda wish I would have bought more, but I'm glad that I was able to show a little bit of restraint.

I know what you're thinking... and yes, those are blueprints to the Slave 1, X-Wing, and Rebel Snowspeeder. AND YES, that's a star wars bed sheet... for children...

and a stormtrooper pez dispenser...

Where The Wild Things Are

I loved it. Wasn't the longest or most in depth movie in the world, and I don't think it would hold a child's attention throughout almost any of it, but I thought it was great.

You know that feeling you get when you go see a movie based on a book and they leave all the good parts out... that wasn't the case, especially since Spike Jonze only had about 14 lines of story and dialogue combined. The Direction that Spike took this film in was definitely a good one. I don't know how most people are going to feel about it because it's not the typical ending that the "PUBLIC" wants or is used to, but it followed very closely to the book .

I read the book minutes before I left and I think that the movie was the best it could have been regardless of who was making it... unless Maurice Sendak himself did a complete animated, frame by frame of the story.

The creatures looked AMAZING, Max was awesome, the added story was clever. I really enjoyed how Spike Jonze didn't make it into something that it wasn't. When you read the book, it's all very vague, and I think he did an incredible job creating the same feelings that the book created, as well as adding some of his own story.

When I first got to the theater at 11:30, there was a line, I'm fine with lines. There was a bunch of annoying teenagers, I can deal with that. It was getting hot and I was still in line when 11:58 rolled around. At that point I was thinking, "they SHOULD have let us in by now," and, "I might have to find a manager to complain a little." I was texting people about these complaints and even told Zac that if I felt this way after the movie, I would definitely complain... well... I didn't even remember all of that until I got home and started blogging. I completely forgot, and in my mind, THAT is a good movie.

It wasn't what I was expecting, and I'm really happy about that. Recently, there have been very few movies that I commit to buying the DVD when I leave the theater... The only ones I can think of lately are Zombieland... and this.

Whip it GOOD

Tonight, Gretchen and I went to see Drew Barrymore's movie, "Whip It". This was her first time Directing a full length feature film and I must say that she didn't do THAT bad. She's definitely not my favorite director but she's not the worst.

The cast was a pretty good mesh of characters. Ellen Page was good, Drew Barrymore was okay... Kristen Wiig was good, as she usually is. Jimmy Fallon wasn't bad, but the star of the film, for me, was Andrew Wilson, the oldest of the three Wilson brothers, also including Owen and Luke.

*side note* - safari crashed (safari fail) Blogger saved a draft of this (blogger WIN)!

Anyway, the movie was good. It got four out of four stars so I was expecting a lot. And, in my opinion, it delivered. I would recommend it.

but if you can only go see one move... see Zombieland.

Couples Retreat

Not gunna lie, it had me laughing... some of the time. It wasn't a BAD movie but it wasn't that great either. I guess it's about as good as you can get with a romantic comedy these days. Mostly, I went to see it because Jon Favreau, Jason Bateman, Ken Jeong, and John Michael Higgins are in it. Vince Vaughn was just an added bonus.

I think Stewie (from Family Guy) put it best when he said, "Here's my impression of every Vince Vaughn movie. 'Oh, I'm incapable of loving anyone, Oh wait, I'm not.'"

It wasn't as good as 'I Love You Man'. But it WAS watchable.

Ren Fest

Today, Paul, Brittany, Gretchen and myself went to the Minnesota Renaissance Festival. Had a blast. Gretchen and I went earlier and experienced the rain AND shine... Paul and Brittany just experienced the Shine. Pretty much all day, it was cold and cloudy, but at one point it was pretty sunny and somewhat nice.

Paul and brittany rode an elephant and did a bit of archery while gretchen and I watched and took pictures. We all had a great time. Drank some mead, ate some pretty awesome food, including a chicken wild rice soup in a bread bowl and stuffed breadsticks... also onion rings, ice cream, caramel apples, and more mead. It was awesome... except for the fact that they were out of strawberry mead. I guess they ran out of strawberry mead on Labor day weekend. Kinda shitty.

But aside from that, jousting, knife throwing, fire breathing... all awesome. Funny stuff all day. We all had a great time.

Newspaper comic

The Incredible

JARED

Spoon Thrower

lol... awesome

Zombieland

This is definitely a must see in my opinion. The combination of these actors and actresses makes for one hell of a flick. I saw this movie with my aunt Tammy and uncle Dean, who both thought that it was good, although Tammy thought it was AMAZING, as did I.

Funny, action packed, filled with zombies... is there anything else a movie needs? I submit that there is NOT!

The story in Zombieland wasn't bad by any means. It wasn't the greatest. But it was just about as good as it gets for a zombie movie. Zombieland, in my mind, is in the same league as Shaun of the Dead. Go see this movie. I insist.

the Invention of Lying

This movie was the best movie ever made... that's me lying. It wasn't that great... that's me telling the truth. Movie ended up being a little slow. Less eventful than I would have liked from Ricky Gervais... what with creating the Office and all... even though it's not as good as the U.S. version... probably just because it's not as long as the U.S. version.

The Office aside, The Invention of Lying was not that great. I probably won't watch it again. And that usually means it isn't something I favored much at all.

Tropic Thunder was better than this... although that's not saying much... (that was for Nye)

lol

Dragonforce

Last night, Zac, Ashley (zac's girlfriend), Nye (ashley's brother) and I went to the Dragonforce concert at the Cabooze. It was pretty awesome. Nye got 3 guitar pics and gave Zac and I each one.

This is a picture of Herman Li, probably one of the most bad ass guitarists ever. At least to my knowledge with this style of playing.

Family Guy Premier

it...

Was...

AMAZING!

I feel bad for you if you missed it...

oh wait, no I don't. You can watch it HERE.

Surrogates

Went and saw surrogates last night at midnight. Wasn't TOO bad. I liked the concept of it. I expected a little more from Bruce Willis. Even tho he DID play HIS part pretty well. The movie was a bit lacking. Seemed like they didn't really solve anything. Kind of a build up, build up, build up, over.

I don't think it was worth the midnight run but I am glad I saw it and would probably recommend it to the Willis fans, Sci-Fi fans, and action fans...

Chelsey's Tattoo

Before Chelsey died, she asked me to design a tattoo for her. Later, Janaya, Chelsey's sister, asked me to finish it the tattoo, so I decided to incorporate her name into the design. I made stickers with this design and handed them out to people at the funeral and wake. If anyone else wants a sticker please let me know and I'll send one your way.

More on Chelsey

You can visit her Caring Bridge page HERE.

You can write a note about her and read what other people wrote HERE.

Thank you to everyone that posted so far.

Chelsey, I miss you...

This morning, at approximately 1:30am, we received a terrifying phone call that would change our lives forever. My cousin Chelsey had been in a motorcycle accident. The back tire of a motorcycle carrying my cousin, blew out and both riders, her and Jeremy (the driver), were in a terrible accident, neither were wearing helmets. When we were alerted we heard that she was being air lifted to St. Cloud Hospital. She was being brought first because her injuries were slightly worse.

My mom and I were just going to bed when the phone rang. There's nothing worse than a phone call like that in the middle of the night. So we packed up and started heading for St. Cloud. We made it to Rogers when we got another phone call saying that she was being flown to Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis. We turned around and headed back to the cities.

After meeting many family members we were placed in a few different waiting areas with nothing but the knowledge that Chelsey had damage to her head with internal bleeding. We were told that she would have a piece of her skull removed to relieve the pressure and allow for expanding of the brain. Shortly after we got settled into our newest waiting room, a doctor came in and gave us an updated. It wasn't good. We were told that the amount of damage isn't good. There were many things going wrong. Too much swelling, too much pressure, too much bleeding. It was hard to handle for everyone, but not nearly as hard to handle as when we were first allowed in to see her. She was still alive, breathing on her own, hooked up to many medications. That, to this day, is by far one of the scariest things my eyes have ever seen, even through the layers and layers of tears.

In the hours to follow, we were told that they had done as much as they could and that they would run another few tests as soon as all of the medications had exited her system. In these long and demanding hours, many many loved ones came to show their love for Chelsey. Everyone was making trips in and out of the intensive care unit to visit her and show their love. Holding her fingers, holding her toes, rubbing her shoulders and her ankles. There isn't a doubt in my mind that she knew she was loved.

Today, September 19, Chelsey Nielson, my cousin, a great friend, a favorite aunt, a wonderful person, was pronounced brain dead at 7:04pm. She will be tested and her organs that are salvageable will be donated within the next 24 to 36 hours. It's what she would have wanted. The most selfless person, studying to be a nurse, would have wanted nothing less, than to be able to help as many people in as many ways as humanly possible.

Chelsey,

I don't know what to say, you're leaving us when you are too young, too smart, have too much potential and are entirely too loved. Words can't begin to describe the hole created in each of our hearts. This planet will never again be the same without you. The day is a shade darker for the rest of time.

I can't make it apparent enough how thankful I am that I was able to be related to you, able to know you. I'm so happy that we were able to spend Labor Day weekend together. I had the best time spending that time with you. Thank you so much for staying up late talking with us. I'm so happy I was able to play a few rounds of games with you, and I'm even more happy that you were on my team. I'm sorry I didn't get to design your tattoo. I know Braxton and I had the most amazing time tubing with you. We all enjoyed your company.

I'm sorry that we never got around to eating at Benihana. I'm sure it would have been a night to remember, and I think that I would have been able to get you to try some sushi. And between me and you, I think you would have liked it.

I love you more than I let you believe, and I let you believe every time I saw you.

I'll NEVER forget our times in Alaska, I'll NEVER forget our times at the lake, I'll NEVER forget our times making candy with grandma, I'll NEVER forget the vacation you spent with my family and I. I'll NEVER forget how much you meant to me, and I'll NEVER forget you.

Until I see you again.

Love always,
Jared

the Movie 9

Well, as I said earlier, the movie would have made a great short.... with no voices... Fking CALLED that one... I guess it started as a Short... and as a short it was brilliant... but as a movie, it just sucked.

So I must say, if you feel like watching 9... don't... just watch this free video on youtube.... or here...

And Save your money!

job application acquired

Just stopped in to Game Stop, about 4 blocks from my house, and asked for a job application. The manager said they'll be hiring for the holiday season and said it will probably be odd hours. I told him that's what I'm looking for.

So I picked up a job application, am filling it out now... and will hopefully get this job and it will tide me over till I find a job that will put my artistic talent to good use.

Wish me luck... kind of.

Say nein to 9

Just got back from seeing 9. Not what I was hoping for... and I wasn't hoping for much. Just seemed like an hour and half short that was dragged on and on. There could have EASILY been no voices at all.

Elijah Wood is one actor who I really don't like. He just seems like he is always playing the same damn character. "Hi, I'm a main character with a soft spoken voice who can't act". That's probably not fair but still... not a fan. The only movie I actually liked him in was Sin City... WHERE HE DIDN'T SAY A WORD!!!

The story to 9 just seemed too rushed. The plot was, in my opinion, poor. There were no character backgrounds. There is nothing holding you to each character... So when a couple of them die, you really don't give a damn.

Sure the Trailers look sick, with the ninja one doing all this awesome stuff to some hard hitting music, but when it comes to it in the movie it was just very lackluster.

Don't go see 9... or if you really want to, wait for DVD. This is actually one CG movie where I won't seek it out when it releases to DVD.

More Stickers

Not much to say about these... I guess I finally made a sticker that SAYS "thatANIMATIONsite.com" on them.... so that's promotion right?

now for a bike ride to stick them on signs and such...

just kidding... or am I?.?.?.

weekend at the lake

Spent last weekend, Friday through Monday, at my grandparents place in Osakis. Had a great time. Fishing, catching nothing, tubing, napping, catching frogs, swimming in the lake, relaxing, and drinking beer.

Loads of family and friends were there. My grandpa and grandma Reins, my mom, Gretchen, aunt and uncle, Terry and Byron, cousins, Janaya and Chelsey, Janaya's husband and their son, Brandon and Braxton, and friends of everyone as well... too many names...

Anyway, it was great and I even made it back in time to go fishing with Dan yesterday on the Mississippi River.

WIN!

State Fair: Round 2

Yesterday, Gretchen, my cousin Chelsey and I went to the Minnesota State Fair for the second time. We planned on meeting Chevis and Dan later in the day. As soon as we got there, it was nothing but a food fest. Gorging left and right. Luigi fries, alligator on a stick, corn on the cob, corn fritters, pronto pups, ice cream... then we met Chevis and Dan... Back to the food building. Root beer, cheese curds, check out the grand stand, check out Heritage Square, beer, check out the coliseum, smell some animals, miracle of birth barn...

Then Chelsey left :(

Then Australian potatoes

Back to the french fry stand where we were pointed out to participate as judges for a chick who sang a Madonna song. The guy with the mike told us we had to be the American Idol judges... Dan was the black guy, I was Paula, Gretchen was Simon, and Chevis was Madonna... it was classic... The guy even told us that if we acted the parts that we would get fries too.

When Dan was judging, he threw in a couple of "Yeah DAWGS" and he was golden. I got all emotional and told her how good she was... Gretchen said a Pickle on a stick could have sang it better... and Chevis said that she couldn't have sang it better herself...

So the chick got a 64oz bucket of fries and we EACH got a Free 16oz cup of fries voucher.... I used mine later, Dan gave his to a Chicago Bears fan, Chevis sold hers for $1, and gretchen is giving hers to a friend who will go to the fair later...

then we watched some kids on the dance video game for about 15 minutes and BOOM, time to go.

crazy day... couldn't have gone better.

what's new...

Let's see...

I bought a new (used) bike rack today. Found it on craigslist.com... not a bad bike rack for $30 I must say.

(not my car... found this pic on the web)

Today I drove to zac's house, with my new bike rack and bike, and we rode to Joe's Garage. A nice little bar with rooftop seating. There we gathered with other designers who don't have jobs, to mingle... although we didn't do too much mingling.

After that I drove back home and my my parents and gretchen for a trip out to the trap range. There we had to shoot at two times for a shoot off. The first time was for first place... we lost that one. The second time was for second place... we lost that as well... but 3rd place out of 7 teams isn't too bad... imo...

Now to prep for the state fair tomorrow and a weekend up at the lake...

FUN FOR ALL...

Pon-yo pon-yo ponyo ponyo ponyo pon

Ponyo. Hayao Miyazaki has done it again. Keep in mind that it's not my FAVORITE Miyazaki movie but wow was it good. Just like Pixar, just like Hattori Hanzo swords. They're all good and should be seen by any and all fans, kids, and probably the general public.

The story's portrayed are some of the best in my opinion. Original stories, original characters, original everything. The visual tactics of Miyazaki films are in a class of their own.

If you love, like or have even seen just one of his movies, you should see this one as well.

Worth it.