loads of updates | 3:08 PM >

So there's all kinds of stuff going on in my life. Let's go backwards in time.

In less than a month I'll be moving. We've got a new place in High Park all lined up and as of May 1st, in a much larger and modern building than I live in currently. The main reason for the move is that our building has been targeted for demolition and replacement with a luxury condo building. I'm not shedding any tears, though -- at least our new apartment has working washers and dryers. It'd be nice to not have to hang up as many things as I do currently.

I'm officially an intern for a software company now. I don't know how much of that I can talk about, or what the exact title is (might just be "intern"), so I'll leave it for now. But it's interesting -- animation merges almost everything I have my hands in: acting, writing, art, and even the technical skills I never expected would amount to anything.

Speaking of technical skills, I'm getting more and more comfortable with the rigging process in Cinema 4D. At first there were a lot of things holding me back that I thought were limitations of the program, but eventually I was able to find a happy workflow and to increase my speed in the software. There's still a lot to learn, but I feel a lot more confident using it now.

I finished Class 1 at Animation Mentor. I had a lot of fun, and learned a lot, but most importantly I finally am able to see the things I need to learn. I guess before I could tell that things were iffy in animations but I wouldn't have been able to tell you why; now I'm starting to spot the reasons. Class 2 is Body Mechanics. (Actually, after I post this I have to go record a video of my self kicking a ball.) I think it'll be even more fun than Class 1, and my new classmates seem pretty cool.

If you haven't seen Horton Hears a Who, go now. Run. Do not pass go. It's easily Blue Sky's most solid work to date, full of heart and great gags. What's more, it feels like an actual, living Dr. Seuss book, which is an impressive feat. And Jim Carrey's performance wasn't as over the top as I'd expected it would be; in fact, all the performances by the voice actors seemed to fit in quite nicely. (There weren't any odd standouts, like the evil community manager in Over the Hedge.) I might even go see it again before it leaves the theatre.

Haven't been writing too much -- not just blog posts, but anything, really. I'm trying to work on this new idea I have, hopefully for a short, so we'll see where that goes.

On music: saw José González last month and Woodhands last night (Machetes opened for them, and they were pretty awesome in their own right, like the punky children of Morningwood and Elastica). Both were excellent shows. José came back out for a great encore (the audience really seemed reluctant to let him leave), and Woodhands... well, make bootys shake, as is said in some vernaculars. In fact, at the end of their concert I swear the walls were sweating; I certainly was. Also got both Paul and Dan to autograph their new CD. Woot!

Other recent musical purchases: Finally got Mezzanine (which I've never owned a copy of), Siouxsie's Mantaray, Belly's Star, and Sarah Slean's latest, The Baroness. Of all of them I think Star is my current favorite, although they're all decent. The Baroness manages to surprise, and Mantaray shows that Siouxsie's voice has only gotten better with age.

Maybe that's all for now? I'm sure I forgot something, but I'll post it later. Oh, and my progress reel from Class 1.