the ink golem

CENSORED

2012-01-18T08:08:00.001-08:00

The Best of the Year

2012-01-02T01:09:00.000-08:00

With the passing of another year comes another adult blog post from Joe! What is this? Joe is posting adult content? Why would he do that? Well because it's his blog and he can. Also he's counting down the musically best of the year, and this, my friends, is it!

BEST ALBUM

Kanye West - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

[Artistic Nudity - But not nude enough to taken down from YouTube]

One of the few albums of the year to score a perfect 10 out of 10 on Pitchfork as well as being one of my personal favorites of the year I give you My Dark Twisted Fantasy. This musically brilliant album not only manages to blow my mind on a track by track basis, but it also is accompanied by a beautifully assembled short film as a music video for the album.

BEST SONG

Mumford and Sons - Little Lion Man

[Brittish F-Words]

Best song is sorta strong, but as a debut album that runs counter to everything popular I feel like it deserves it. The entire Mumford and Sons album is an absolute delight and from the upright bass to the blazing banjo I think you'll agree that "delight" is in fact the proper word to describe this album and this band.

BEST PARTY SONG

LMFAO - Party Rock Anthem

[Some Mild Language]

I'm throwing this on here because it's good to occassionally wiggle, wiggle, wiggle, wiggle, wiggle, wiggle, wiggle (from Sexy and I Know It). LMFAO is cheap thrills with a great beat and if you're looking to party, what more could you want?

BEST MUSIC VIDEO

Is Tropical - The Greeks

[Cartoon Violence and Gore]

Seriously, if you didn't see this in my post earlier this year, then this is your chance to have your mind blown in a very, VERY good way.

PERSONAL PICK

Trent Reznor and Karen O - Immigrant Song

Do you like Led Zeppelin? How about the Yeah Yeah Yeah's? Maybe some Nine Inch Nails or The Social Network soundtrack? Then say yes to this and yes to life! Also love The Ring - esque music video. Absolutely haunting.

As for honorable mentions, talk to me in person. There was a lot of good art this year in print media, music, and film. Hopefully you got a chance to enjoy it as much as I did.

Cheers!

It's Christmas

2011-12-11T23:44:00.001-08:00

KayAnna is the brilliant photographer.

The Week of Thanksgiving

2011-11-21T21:19:00.001-08:00

I stared death in the face, and death blinked.

No but in all seriousness, my two roommates and I came within 2 feet of dying tonight. We were driving on Canyon Rd/University Avenue right before the Shops at the Riverwoods in Provo/Orem.

View Larger Map

We were driving towards the canyon when a pair of legs appeared in the headlights. I say a pair of legs because the deer/elk was so big that the body wasn't in the headlights until we were right on it.

By the time we had realized what was happening we did have much more than 35 ft away from it. Now I realize 35 ft sounds like a fair distance, but traveling at 50 mph you don't have much time to react. I hit my brakes and cut from the left lane to the right. As we changed lanes the tail of the car lost traction with the road and we began spinning into oncoming traffic.

My gut reaction was to let off the brake and loosen up on the wheel to allow the car to finish whatever it was going to do. The tail whipped completely around and the car grabbed hold of the pavement with a car coming head on, 20 ft ahead of us. Seeing that we were positioned slightly off center with the oncoming car I cut to the left to allow it to pass. It swerved with 2 ft to spare (no seriously, I wouldn't even be comfortable parallel parking to car as close as he came to us) and I cut back into my lane.

Pulling immediately to the side of the road we waited for the smell of burning rubber to dissipate and for the tires to stop smoking. Canceling all our plans Patrick, Troy, and I turned around and headed home for the evening.

I'm grateful we're all alive. I'll be honest, though I laugh and joke in serious, even life threatening, situations I take them very seriously. Laughter is my coping mechanism that occasionally makes it appear as though I have little care about the situation. Well, I care.

Appreciate what you have while you have it. Appreciate who you have while you have them. Do what you feel you should do today, because you really might not have a tomorrow.

Happy Thanksgiving.

If I Had the Time

2011-11-21T13:54:00.001-08:00

I'm tired of not having time and I'm gonna start making more time for stuff like this. Not watching stuff, but playing more. I feel like I have the most multi-talented group of friends ever and we never put it to good use. That ends now.

The Hippest Response of Them All

2011-11-20T23:00:00.001-08:00

As an expert on hipsters I feel the need to post a response post to this (it's not often that one of my favorite bloggers mentions one of my favorite subjects).

[hipster joe is hip]

I love what wikipedia says about the contemporary hipsters:

Lorentzen says hipsters, "in their present undead incarnation," are "essentially people who think of themselves as being cooler than America," also referring to them as "the assassins of cool."

But I love the original hipsters (is that overly hip to say "original hipster"?) article, mostly because I love the original hipsters:

Mailer describes hipsters as individuals "with a middle-class background (who) attempt to put down their whiteness and adopt what they believe is the carefree, spontaneous, cool lifestyle of Negro hipsters: their manner of speaking and language, their use of milder narcotics, their appreciation of jazz and the blues, and their supposed concern with the good orgasm."

the Epic Balloon Rescue

2011-11-14T17:58:00.001-08:00

The time has come and my iPhone game is live! Download it now!

The Scariest Thing There Is

2011-11-13T10:31:00.001-08:00

Most of you probably don't know that I have an affinity for music videos. I have even considered (on multiple occasions) making them my life's work. As a result I've collected (and continue to collect) inventive music videos. Today's batch is spurred by a video that was recently posted by Alex Pardee. It is not only unsettling, but it's just terrifying enough to capture the most terrifying thing in this world.

To continue on the theme (and to make your time on my blog worth your visit) I've got a personal favorite.

And just so you don't lose hope in the world, here's something absolutely awesome. And by absolutely awesome you should know that I mean it accurately reflects the garbage Hollywood tries so hard to sell (so don't watch it if you can't handle bikinis).

[this would have been a better video (but embedding has been disabled by request)]

Handle Me With Care

2011-11-12T23:36:00.001-08:00

If you don't know about "Handle With Care" you need to look it up. Whether you listen to the original (The Travelling Wilburys) or my personal favorite cover (Jenny Lewis and Friends) you're in for a treat.

"Ive been uptight and made a mess

But I'll clean it up myself I guess

Oh, the sweet smell of success

Handle me with care"

Did you know fall is already over and winter is here? Cause it is.

Also, I really like Starcraft 2. As a result I made some fan art. I hope you like it.

Don't Move To Fast

2011-10-30T22:10:00.000-07:00

[WARNING: Contains little kids flipping each other off and mouthing bad words]

An App Icon

2011-10-25T22:33:00.000-07:00

I designed this for my father without him asking. Hopefully he likes it. ;P

Thanks Annie for your input!

2011-10-21T14:57:00.000-07:00

Relevant:

Getting Back on the Horse

2011-10-11T19:25:00.000-07:00

I realized today that sometimes you just have to get up and face the day. Or week. Or month. Or sometimes your entire future.

This is me getting up and getting back on the horse.

I love Tron suits BTW. I hope they become a thing.

Simple

2011-10-06T13:29:00.000-07:00

Stay hungry. Stay foolish.

Something a Little Happier

2011-09-29T22:47:00.000-07:00

Here's something a little happier than last time. It just makes me feel good. If I could put my finger on it I would, but I can't quite yet. I'll let you know when I get it figured out though.

It's Been Quite Some Time

2011-09-21T20:11:00.000-07:00

I've been gone for a bit. Sorry. I've been busy.

People keep telling me that I need to stay busy and that's what I've been doing. Staying busy.

The first picture is a screen shot of my nearly completed game. A little more artwork to round out the last few levels and registering with Apple and it's done. The second is my Pokémon themed iPhone 4 wallpaper that I threw together. If you'll notice it matches up nicely with the iPhone home screen.
Final item of business is for me to apologize. Apparently I ruin women's lives. Cool. I wasn't aware. I'm glad it was blogged about, otherwise I'd have never known. Now I know, and I'm sorry. I guess I can't give back lost time, but believe me, I would give it back to you if I could.
I'm sorry.

[WARNING: British F-Words and Lots of Them]

iPhone Retina Lock Screen

2011-07-03T22:16:00.001-07:00

Just a little Lock Screen wallpaper I made for the iPhone 4. Enjoy.

Utah Art Festival

2011-06-28T23:06:00.000-07:00

Utah Art Festival in Salt Lake was pretty cool. Also, if you haven't heard Fictionist play, go see them. Their guitarist is out of control.

Go Skateboarding Day (+A Little)

2011-06-26T14:04:00.000-07:00

Enjoy the latest installment.

MGMT is the Problem

2011-06-13T00:05:00.000-07:00

"Let's make some music, make some money, find some models for wives. I'll move to Paris, shoot some heroin and **** with the stars. You man the island and the cocaine and the elegant cars. This is our decision, to live fast and die young. We've got the vision, now let's have some fun." -MGMT

Several people have requested, whether through comment, pm, or verbal conversation, to further elaborate on my previous post. To appease the masses (I like thinking I have masses to appease) I am here, readressing the issue more plainly.

May I start with a personal side bar? Thank you. I shall.

I recently have had the opportunity to date (go on dates with) two of the strongest women I have ever encountered. Not physically, maybe not mentally (I haven't had opportunity to thoroughly test for this ;D ), but socially. Is 'socially' the word I'm really looking for? Probably not... but social circumstance is where it manifests most immediately, so I'll stick with 'socially' to save myself the effort of pressing backspace.

This recent development has opened my eyes to a realm of women that either I've never seen before, or (more likely) that I was too immature to notice before. These two girls require respect and, as a result, get it.

Doesn't that last sentence look funny with the comma after 'and?' Doesn't that question mark look funny inside that single quote?

This post is too long already, so, to the point!

Girls, if you want to be taken seriously in the dating world (and possibly in the world in general) I would highly recommend doing these few things. Refuse anything but an actual date. Be okay with your personal quirks and crazy. Be educated and well read.

To contrast, don't be the kind of girl that is being raised by the MGMT generation. Don't be frivolous and air-headed. Don't act/dress like a hooker. And don't pretend that a modern reinterpretation of Ed Templeton's early 90's sketches is artistically 'truer' or any way superior to anything by the great masters.

Thank you, and good night.

Grow Up Girls

2011-06-10T08:17:00.000-07:00

I recently was reminded by an article re-posted from a re-blogged article originally written by an author unfamiliar to me (if you didn't understand that you can just pick up reading here) that I hate it when women that refuse to grow up. Not in the sense that they become overly matronly, mature, or any other attribute that could be used to try and make growing up sound bad; more in the sense that they refuse to let go of childish things.

I'm not going to belabor the point. If you want a full rant you can read the overtly vulgar original here. Rather, the short of the story is this: if you want to command respect from your male counterparts, be something respectable. This goes for all you twenty somethings that insist that you're still in your teens, as well as you any-agers that have decided that your way is the right (and only) way without really exploring the other possibilities (yes, finalized judgement on anything is very childish [who do you think you are? God? I don't think so.]).

Thanks. More cheerful art on the way.
If you haven't checked my new mothership page, do it. I'm posting content on it faster than I can finish the design work for it.

The World of Color

2011-06-08T22:08:00.001-07:00

Yeah... It's definitely worth seeing.

Disneyland: elecTRONica

2011-06-06T15:58:00.000-07:00

It turns out that California Adventure Park is AWESOME after dark right now. Here's what I wrangled up for you last night (all photos taken on my iPhone 4).

Sorry I've Been MIA

2011-06-02T23:15:00.000-07:00

I've been really busy.

Summer of Fun 2011 vol 2

2011-05-26T09:18:00.000-07:00

Enjoy the latest edition. You might also enjoy last issue (a couple weeks ago).

Also, scope my finger! We was gonna get some more footy yesterday and stitches prevented it.

Tech Spech Tuesday 5/24/2011

2011-05-24T08:08:00.000-07:00

Sup Spidaman?

Venom let himself go a bit..

Alright. Now that I've appeased the art hungry folk, let's talk tech. If you're like me you've wanted to know, for quite some time, how to start your own website. Well I just finished the research and this is approximately what you'll need:

An idea.
A willingness to learn HTML and CSS (or Dreamweaver or iWeb)
About $60 dollars a year

Next step, find a web host that will take your money. I was directed to GoDaddy by google (if you turn your blog into a site it hosts through GoDaddy by default). Their plans are cheap enough and they'll also register your domain name.

After you visit their site, just click what you want to buy. Don't get overwhelmed, just skip all the extra offers and features and roll with what you know you need. Also, google search for coupon codes. You will find some and you will save money.

Finally, learn your code. I learned Dreamweaver in one (really arduous) sitting. If I can do it in one sitting, then anyone can do it over about a week. I would recommend watching some Digital Tutors or Lynda stuff (either are usually available free through local Universities or Bit Torrents).

When your site if finished, follow GoDaddy's instructions on taking your site from whatever you built it in and uploading it via FTP. Their instructions are step-by-step so you really can't go wrong.

Hopefully this was helpful and hopefully this answered someones questions. I know I was going bonkers trying to figure this out on my own. Stupid information super highway.

Mixed Media Monday 5/23/2011

2011-05-23T06:56:00.000-07:00

Drawing from photos is fun and easy. Drawing from life is pure frustration.

Work Up Wednesday 5/18/2011

2011-05-19T07:34:00.001-07:00

I don't know if I like the title for Wednesdays. I think I'm gonna change it next week.

Tech Spech Tuesday 5/17/2011

2011-05-17T20:04:00.000-07:00

So does anyone else like how I spelled "Spech?" I do. It matches "Tech."

Just a couple quick things I've learned this week in iPhone game dev. First, make sure that you have properly sized images. Scaling images at runtime is a BAD idea. Second, make good use of the three r's. Reduce, reuse, and recycle. Scale it down. Focus your concept to its simplest, most straight forward core. Three, keep your code readable. For me that involves a lot of text art header things on my methods. It keeps me from getting lost.

Mixed Media Monday 5/16/2011

2011-05-16T20:48:00.000-07:00

I've been up since 4 a.m. and my ability to perform in any creative measure has been shot. This is the best I could squeeze out for ya'll before the day draws to a close.

Blogger Is Back Up!

2011-05-15T16:40:00.000-07:00

Of course the week I decide to be more organized blogger goes down for half the week! As unfortunate as that is, it does come back in a good way. You lucky readers get a über overdose of pictures and a video coming VERY soon.

Sweet SLC Apartment

Friday the Thirteenth Kara complete with ghost wisp things.

Kilby Court

The writing on the wall

The associates

The band

The wall next to where we parked

Tech Spech Tuesday 5/10/2011

2011-05-10T21:55:00.000-07:00

iPhone development is probably the coolest thing I've done in awhile. That said, I'd like to share a little insider note here. I've been trying to do hit testing with several balloon characters. There are several ways one can decide if two balloon characters collide, but the best way in my situation has been to use the wonderful libraries built into Cocoa Touch. Reading Apple's CGGeometry Reference Guide says it all. For those that are too impatient to read their documentation, here's the goodies.

1. CGRectContainsPoint( Rectangle, Point ) : This beauty will return true

if the point is within the rectangle

2. CGRectIntersectsRect( Rectangle, Rectangle ) : This little number will return true

if the two rectangles are intersecting

What does this mean for a little 2D game? Testing for hits, both with characters and touches, is REALLY easy.

Mixed Media Monday 5/9/2011

2011-05-09T20:16:00.000-07:00

So I just watched An Affair To Remember and I'm feeling a kindredness to Cary Grants character Nicky. I can't focus on any single artistic area. Everything I can't do is what I want to be involved in. Acting, painting, film, everything.

Time For a Break

2011-05-09T20:12:00.000-07:00

It's been awhile since this has happened

So I've decided that it's time to organize my life and this blog. How is this done? Simple. I'm doing daily theme posts. They will run Monday through Thursday as follows.

1) Mixed Media Monday

2) Tech Spec Tuesday

3) Work Up Wednesday

4) That Other Stuff Thursday

So that's not really what Thursday is going to be called... but I haven't thought of anything clever to call it yet. Also, mixed media doesn't mean that I'll always use mixed media, it actually means that the media used on Mondays won't be consistent. Tuesday is something that has to do with my current programming projects. Wednesday is going to be some mach ups for something productive (character designs and such). And Thursday... well... already addressed that one.

Also I'm going to try and keep the tags consistent so that this massive blog is more easily browsed.

I heart SLC

2011-05-08T17:42:00.000-07:00

You wouldn't believe the day I had on Friday.

A day intended to be filled with casual studying and WIFI stealing was abruptly interrupted when my mother realized that she left her cell phone in the car. For me this translates into a mad-dash from the Joseph Smith Memorial Building (where I was studying) to the State Capitol Building (where I was parked). For your sakes I'll summarize by saying that the time lapsed from me receiving the email to me running through airport security leaping up and down to find my family over the crowd was 22 minutes. Feel free to nickname me something with "speed" or "demon" in the title.

A quick shot of the Church Office Building I snapped

After successfully making the drop I ventured back into the heart of SLC to experience the fine culture that our state capitol has to offer. I started by sitting next to some rednecks at McDonalds. As I tried to enjoy my fish sandwich I was serenaded by their high brow talking of what features to look for in a woman (most of which were picked by their inability to be changed by plastic surgery).

Similar events continued all day as I hunted for places to steal WIFI.

At 7 p.m. I was joined by fresh company. Being joined by Kara, Patrick, and Darrian eating Thai food and homemade ice cream became the first item of business. The second item of business was to sprint to the Clark Planetarium only to find it closed during regular operating hours without explanation.

Third and final item of business was to wander from party to party enjoying more of the high brow entertainment that SLC has to offer. This item of business can easily be summarized by 5 short bullet points.

1. Wander into the wrong party to find copious amounts of alcohol and a girl with a microphone singing "I Will Always Love You" at the top of her lungs.

2. Reunite with an old friend from BYU Idaho, only to find out mid-conversation that he was trippin' on crack cocaine.

3. Find the original birthday party we were looking for only to find hash brownies, a homemade brewery in the bathroom, and a violin maker. Needless to say we didn't stick around here very long.

4. Meet four lesbians and a gay couple.

5. Spend the remainder of the evening cuddling on a porch couch discussing our favorite parts of the last General Conference.

The night went nothing as planned, but I had fun. I think the shock of the strange circumstances in which we found ourselves made for good laughs and good stories.

Summer of Fun 2011 (Issue 1)

2011-05-03T23:22:00.000-07:00

We're gonna keep these rollin' all summer long people! Sit back, enjoy, and come then come skate!

More More More!!!!

2011-05-03T07:52:00.000-07:00

Sorry for spamming sketchbook stuff. I really need to keep the posts flowing otherwise I'll start to let my artistic pursuits in general slip. I hope you are enjoying the brush pen improvement as much as me.

Super Awesome Date Night Graduation Salt Lake Stuff!

2011-05-01T19:29:00.000-07:00

Or SADNGSLS as I like to call it. Here's a couple snap shots in between middle eastern dancing. I probably could Photoshop these to make them look pro... but I'm trying to keep things raw for now.

p.s. Here's Kara's and Nikki's blogs. They were there.

Markers and Drugs

2011-04-30T14:34:00.001-07:00

Like I said, I think I'm figuring out these markers.

Black Stone Cherry

2011-04-29T23:04:00.000-07:00

Awesome show at The Great Saltair in Magna, Utah. Gotta rep for my cousin!

Photos and video on iPhone 4. If you're not gonna watch both videos below I'd recommend watching the first one. I LOVED it!

Getting the Hang of This

2011-04-29T09:34:00.000-07:00

I think me and my brush pens are starting to get along.

Also, the mail was good to me today.

It's Summer Now!

2011-04-27T21:37:00.000-07:00

Hiking the Y and getting some J Dawgs. Is there any better/more stereotypical way to get a Provo summer started?

p.s. Photos of the end of the night will be here.

p.p.s. I love taking pictures with my iPhone.

Figure Drawing and Pixie Dust

2011-04-26T21:43:00.000-07:00

Alright sorry guys! I'm working on a weekly skate update but it's taking me a bit to get it all cut and assembled into something worth watching. Until then I though I'd keep you up on my latest artistic endeavors (i.e. sketch book experimentation on method).

Lots of practice simplifying hands while keeping them accurate.

Same with legs and feet and hips.

Then some Tinker Bell and Pixie Dust

Then some Hermione (I loves me some Hermione).

And then some SUPER bored Stake Conference sketches.

All and all I wasn't very pleased with most of my characters that I've done lately (especially those I just posted). That's what spurred the studies in method. I really want to tighten drawing and then loosen my style if that makes any sense at all.

New Ward, New Faces

2011-04-24T19:45:00.000-07:00

This is one of our counselors. His kid was SUPER fat. Also, I love new faces. I've been in a really backwards place in life recently and I need new people around.

Story Telling

2011-04-17T23:53:00.000-07:00

Finals make me incapable of telling stories. As a result I listen to music and draw what I see. Does that make sense? I mean... You know! Like when you listen to something that totally paints, like, a vivid mental image. Yeah! That!

Also, there's a music video coming soon. Thanks Lucás for the iPhone 4 tripod that's getting some mild use! I'll get it back to you asap. ;)

so it ends

2011-04-15T12:15:00.000-07:00

Well I decided that I HATE having hair in my mouth. What's more, I hate having prickly hairs in my mouth. It was at that point with my mustache I couldn't bear it any longer. Here's the before and after. I know it wasn't very visible but it's all I had.

Still wishing there was more? Wait for finals to be over and I'll post more. Until then, let this video that defines "boss" tide you over. [it's a skate video, that means there's language, you've been warned]

Back To The Basic

2011-04-13T20:19:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I've done any figure studies. Enjoy.

Season Opener!

2011-04-12T21:36:00.000-07:00

Skateboarding season is here!

What Is Love?

2011-04-11T21:01:00.000-07:00

I've always loved the story of Ron and Hermione. Best friends that end up being more in the end. I've always loved that idea.

[source]

I've also love when life deals me some decent cards every now and then. Today I happened into the mall for some wonderful exploring, talking, and picture taking.

Also... I love Nikes. This shoe is fantastic.

We Become Silhouettes When Our Bodies Finally Go

2011-04-09T21:42:00.000-07:00

[song]

[lyrics]

End Of The Semester

2011-04-08T07:54:00.000-07:00

End of an era.

Everyone says this whenever anything big happens. Rephrase that... whenever anything happens. As a matter of fact... let me retract the usage of that phrase, I wanna save it for a real life changing event. Disappointed? Me too. Here's something to make up for it (it's how my American Heritage Professor decided to end the semester):

Still disappointed? Sorry... I got nothin.

Lovely Evening

2011-04-07T03:25:00.000-07:00

I was invited to The Parlor on Center Street in Provo to enjoy some absolutely splendid music and company. It started with me sitting alone in my booth and was shortly followed by me having a wonderful evening of conversation with Michael who is semi stranded in Provo.

The music then flowed like milk and honey, following which I met the band (formally, owing as we'd met briefly before) and the new owners of Muse Music. The night was absolutely the perfect break I needed from finals, excepting the fact that I was very much missing some good concert going company.

You can skip ahead as prompted by the annotation if you're too impatient to wait for the goods.

This is Michael, the gentleman with whom I spent the evening chatting about L.A.

This Is Why

2011-04-06T11:02:00.000-07:00

... I would love working in film.

Exclusive - Six Minutes of Sucker Punch Scenes, Sucker Punch (film)

At The End Of A Long Day...

2011-04-04T13:53:00.000-07:00

.... I like to kick back and appreciate the good things in life. Unfortunately today didn't have to much of that. I failed a test (despite having put in twice the time and effort in studying) and realized this is the second paycheck in a row where somebody wants first and last month payment of something.

Good news is, life isn't about that junk. It's about getting old and appreciating simple things... like dancing.

This WILL be me!

Then I take a moment to laugh at the ridiculous things that alcohol will convince a person to do, and then laugh harder that Provo residents are willing to do those things on the drop of a hat, without alcohol, and without bribes or dares. This is an odd place in which we live.

I Decended A Dusty Gravel Ridge

2011-04-02T23:17:00.000-07:00

..Beneath the Bixby Canyon Bridge.

These two aren't the same.. but this picture is the closest I could find to what I was drawing from.

As a side note, if you haven't read Kerouac, you haven't read.

You Can Help

2011-04-02T10:08:00.000-07:00

Drawing 101 had us make a "propaganda style" poster. Propaganda isn't always a bad thing.

1-800-RED-CROSS

Donate if you can.

I'm Keeping It

2011-03-31T16:54:00.000-07:00

The 'stache has developed nicely over the past weekish. I'm happy about with it.

Also, today was GORGEOUS outside. As a result I took my shirt off, rolled up my pants, and went skateboarding. It was probably the best feeling ever, just in case you were wondering. To illustrate the awesome here's a vid I put together just before winter. I'm excited for another summer of this!

Rotten Mood?

2011-03-30T15:25:00.000-07:00

Surviving the college experience often depends upon ones ability to cope with external stressors. Whether that be a mid-terms, piles of papers to write, or large projects that are overly difficult for the number of points that they are worth. In my case it's all the above, plus some. I've found that the best way for me to cope is to start by drawing something for fun, then watch hilarious/awesome videos, then browse the /r/funny section of reddit. Here's my success in said pursuit:

Probably my favorite black-clad characters

(male black-clad characters I should say)

Dogboarding from DANIELS on Vimeo.

Reddit puts it all in perspective!

[source]

A Moment To Explain

2011-03-28T13:56:00.000-07:00

Some of you may have recently noticed the beauty of the mustache that I am currently growing. It is strong! It is magnificent! And I am keeping it as a symbol of my kiss-free-status as long as I can say that I remain kiss-free. That's right! So until that day comes be prepared to bask in the beauty that is the mustache.

And for all you naysayers out there, I would like to prove that mustaches are synonymous with glory as evidenced here (these were my favorites, but feel free to browse this collection of greatness):
Tom Selleck
James Franco
William H. Macy

So what am I going to be doing in the meantime (arrayed in all my mustached glory)? Following this flowchart:

[source]

What's In The Cards

2011-03-26T20:48:00.000-07:00

You never know

what's in the cards

until life deals them.

(In my case it was the usual honest attempt, caught by a gust of wind, and thrown off a cliff, over a fence, and into a construction zone.)

Ooo! It! Feels Good To Be Free!

2011-03-25T13:49:00.000-07:00

It's not as if New York City burned down, to the ground, when you walked away.

Listen to Jenny Lewis. She just posted new tour dates for this year.

Also enjoy a playable pirate. No hands to hold weapons? His hands ARE weapons!

Fresh Character!

2011-03-23T11:35:00.000-07:00

The Lumber Jack! An AWESOME unlockable playable character. You might be asking: Where are his arms? I would answer you, he needs them not! His ginger beard of glory is mighty enough to wield weapons on it's own!

Then Again...

2011-03-23T07:58:00.001-07:00

... most days it really is awesome to be J.D.

DON'T YOU DARE NOT WATCH EITHER OF THESE!!!

2011-03-22T07:15:00.000-07:00

Some days I love being J.D.

Other days I hate it.

Is This Real Life?!?

2011-03-21T10:49:00.000-07:00

Wow! This thing is coming together! More characters are coming! I promise! Until then, we've got the icon and multiplayer connection screen coming together nicely.

Look who's got a shiny new icon!!

I think I'll change the yellow background into the yellow sunburst featured below.

Wanna play BlueTooth or WiFi??

WINNING!

2011-03-20T17:48:00.000-07:00

Sorry. I'm working on some side stuff right now so game dev has been slow. Here's the sketches of the coming characters to tide you over. I think I'm going to change the viking a bit.

Enjoy good music (I suggest full screen).

An Abundance of Catherines

2011-03-18T13:22:00.000-07:00

So I've decided that if I ever write my memoirs I'll title it "An Abundance of Catherines." I think it's pretty inventive. Plus it seems like every event I've attended over the last 3 weeks has AT LEAST 2 Catherines in attendance. Last night at blues dancing was no exception. That or I could name it "The Man Forced To Listen To Andrew Bird." That would be equally descriptive of circumstance.

Anywho.... We went Malawhi Pizza last night. SO good. It's expensive, but it's good.

And in the off chance that you've forgotten.... SUCKERPUNCH!!!! IT'S COMING. It's Coming. it's coming. Enjoy the bored-in-class sketch and the awesome animated short.

Take It Easy

2011-03-16T23:07:00.000-07:00

So apparently enjoyment in life comes from the little things.

Like accidentally buying the same shirt as your
friend and then accidentally wearing it together.

Like getting the best seat in the house,
directly under the "People" sign.

Like lucking up and getting an over enthusiastic guitarist.

Like remembering all the good things
associated with Disneyland.

Like snapping a picture and catching one friend smiling
and the other herpin the derp.

Woot!! Main Menu Works!!

2011-03-15T19:50:00.000-07:00

A finished (mostly) main menu with working buttons! Yes please!!

Mickey Mouse-ish??

2011-03-14T21:48:00.000-07:00

So I realized that this creepy head is scarily reminiscent of the old Disney movies that would have the Mickey Mouse head as a transition element. As I pondered on this fact I realized that the problem was not with my adorable zombie! Nay! The problem is that Disney used such creepy transitions!!

Anyways.... Tappable zombie heads!! Yes Please!!

The head color is dark because he's currently being "tapped"

This Is What You Missed

2011-03-13T09:01:00.000-07:00

You missed some really good live music at Muse. Okay, okay, I'll admit that the other 2 bands that played weren't good. At all. But, these two were.

And It Rises From The Ashes!

2011-03-12T08:15:00.000-08:00

Well... this first piece certainly has nothing to do with rising from the ashes... but I liked it. It was a blind contour drawing. What does rise from the ashes of new birth? XCODE!! Well I guess it didn't die, but it sure looks nothing the same as it did. And if you're wondering, it's totally worth the $5 price tag. And, in case you were wondering, yes, this means that the real coding starts now! Game on! Or... a.... Game coming soon!

Also. Phoenix Gold rises from the ashes! He doesn't show up in this episode, but it wouldn't make sense for me to start you anywhere but episode 1.

Are You Awesome?

2011-03-09T12:32:00.000-08:00

Here's an awesome test! Let me know if you are, in fact, awesome. If you are awesome also let me know which option made you awesome (this could affect your level of awesome).

1) This is awesome. If you don't know why, you're probably not awesome:

Washington Zombie Boss!! Can you defeat your founding father???

2) If you don't understand this, you're not awesome:

3) Final chance. If you don't understand why this is awesome, you're definitely not awesome:

First Pass At The Arena

2011-03-06T20:50:00.000-08:00

Here's the loading dock from our arena game! Here's where the truck dumps you out to fend for yourself and get the supplies! Good luck all you would be heroes!!

Pursuit of Happiness

2011-03-05T10:55:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the electic posts lately! I've just been all over the place lately and I'm trying to keep ya'll up to date with what's happening with me.

First off, I don't like being told to try something artistically different. Well... I do.... I just don't like feeling like I'm bad at while I'm doing it! In the end I suppose the growing is worth it, the hard thing is actually getting me to try something different.

[realism isn't really my thing]

[I don't like thinking about my appearance]

[wine and pottery is pretty cool]

[I was okay with the looseness of this one]

I hope you've been enjoying the music videos with every post. They tend to be what I was listening to while working on the art (I realize they still don't seem terribly related). I'd also enjoy any feedback anyone out there has for, both on what you've liked/haven't liked in posts, as well as techniques in illustrator (or art in general). I love it, but it's still new to me.

Brand New Day With XL

2011-03-03T16:02:00.000-08:00

This is XL. He's a Yeti. He's one of the playable bosses you'll encounter over the course of the game.

Also, I went to the Josh Radin concert. Here's a music video to a song he played. It's really funny.

Also I went snowboarding. CLICK HERE to see the pictures. It was such a perfect day!

Nothing Better than Food

2011-02-28T07:31:00.000-08:00

In a post apocalypse survival is not possible without the proper food supplies. Here's a couple you'll be fighting for in our coming game.

Bonus Video! This is the story of my life for the past 2 years (and if you are awesome enough to tell me the chords he's playing here I'd be forever in your debt!!):

Handle With Care

2011-02-27T14:48:00.000-08:00

Here's a playable human character. Surprise! A girl is the playable character! That's unheard of! Also she comes equipped with the Cardigan of Power and Bangs of Defiance.

Also, enjoy this recently discovered classic:

More Fun Art!!

2011-02-23T19:44:00.000-08:00

Here's the next set of developing art.

Cell Shaded Zombie

Supply Crate

Conveyor Belt Vent (Where zombies get dumped out from)

Added bonus! Here's a delicious piece of art.

Rilo Kiley - New Music - More Music Videos

My Winter Song

2011-02-22T19:05:00.000-08:00

Here's pass #1 on a zombie for my iPhone game. He won't display this big on the iPhone so I'm not worried about subtle details. Also there's gonna be some rendering done to give him some dimension.

Also, I love these ladies.

Fences in a Row

2011-02-20T15:31:00.000-08:00

Coloring, for me, is like singing, I'm not very good at it, but sometimes I feel like doing it. Sketch done in church, then colored instead of Sunday nap.

I guess I'm done coloring cause my littlest sister came and stole my tablet. That means back to coding, and back to coding means back to quality music:

Justin Bieber/Griefer/Crieper

2011-02-18T16:34:00.000-08:00

I love playing with Photoshop!!

What Is Art?

2011-02-17T22:49:00.000-08:00

Art is a story. It's not the story portrayed in the piece of art, rather it is the story of the development of the artist.

**edit**
Picture restored until she notices and asks for it to be taken down again.
**edit**

"We the people are the art."
-Anonymous

Comic Con 2010

2011-02-17T07:36:00.000-08:00

Here's our group highlights! Sorry it took so long, I just never have time to put together a solid edit anymore.

Joseph "Terrible Comb Over" Slinker
Luke "Bird of Prey" Lewis
Cat "Gift From the Sea" Cowan
Becca "Doesn't Have a Blog" McPartland

A Couple Things

2011-02-16T20:39:00.000-08:00

Some more skins for Minecraft I've been working on:

The dark Tron suit Daft Punk (Guy-Manuel).

The light Tron suit Daft Punk (Guy-Manuel)

Here's another set of wild thoughts that I found interesting enough that I'd share them:
While driving I noticed the thin tendrily trees reach from ditches and hill sides towards a non-present sun, very much like the trembling hands of a dying widower reaching for his long passed wife.

----------And On A Curiouser Note----------------

Valentines is.... A strange holiday to say the least.

A Weird Fellow

2011-02-13T22:03:00.000-08:00

If you didn't think I was a weird fellow before, you probably do now.

Here's some sketches (sorry for my hand shadows over the pictures):

While walking to class I became aware of the strange voice in my head. It always talks in complete sentences and gets upset when I don't use punctuation properly. So here's a small sample of the strange things that run through my head all day long:

The icy wind is whipping so hard that it makes my eyes tear up. Not the thick, weepy tears of uncontrolled emotion, but the thin, burning tears of being lied to by a lover. With a couple concealing wipes at my face I recover composure. No sooner is my face beginning to reach bearable levels of comfort do I pass through some basement doors on campus that somehow managed to contain air so thick and moist with human odor that the marsh-like napiness became tangible. Immediately my eyes are again burning and tearing this time accompanied with snot. Thin and uncontrollable snot. It's at this very moment that I realize my brain shouldn't function like this. I don't feel jilted, emotional, or sick. I just don't like winter weather.

If You Missed Real Art

2011-01-24T21:12:00.000-08:00

Well here's some sketches. Hope you like.

The World of Troncraft

2011-01-23T21:01:00.000-08:00

Minecraft world mod? Yes please. I've decided that moding a game is useful in getting a higher level feel for game programming and asset handling. What's that you say? I need a Tron character skin to go with the world mods? Already on it. Plus a bonus coming soon. ;D

Minecraft Skins

2011-01-19T14:04:00.000-08:00

Character skins are the latest feature in Minecraft. Feel free to download the two I've made. Also, I'd have a picture of the Green Lantern Skin in action but the website is being updated and so skin changes are disabled at the time of this posting.

I know I promised but...

2011-01-07T13:56:00.000-08:00

I said I was done complaining about by awful experiences... but this is it. Really.

Mary Shurtz this wonderful comic sums up most of my programming classes:

http://www.xkcd.com/844/

BYU FTL

2011-01-05T12:44:00.000-08:00

For consistent readers of this fine publication I'd like to issue a formal apology for the recent rise in the amount of education related complaining.

Here I sit in the first day of American Heritage. I feel a particular amount of disdain towards the course, not because of the teacher, nor the subject material, but because of the teacher. Yes I realize the non-sensical nature of the statement that was just made. The teacher appears qualified and competent, but he's wasting my time.

Perhaps my feeling this way is a result of being spoiled by Dr. Burton in CS 142. The man told me what was expected, told me how to do the assignments, and answered every question I could confront him with. His class was perfect.

That being said, I'm going to stop wasting your time and cut to the point. I want the first day of class to:

1. Tell me what I need to get all the points in the class.

2. Answer my questions.

3. Let me go home.

What I want from a normal lecture:

1. Tell me what I need to know to finish the coming homework.

2. Tell me ALL the information that will be on the test (not some introduction that assumes I figured out the answer from the bottom line of the last page of the reading).

3. Let me go home.

There Are No Wins At BYU

2011-01-04T06:03:00.000-08:00

After reviewing the outcome of my fifth straight semester taking CS/Animation classes I feel justified in making overarching statements of defeat. I've not managed to get a grade higher than a C+ in a CS class in so long I'm beginning to doubt it's possibility.

This last semester I poured my soul into CS 240. The result was 100% on the first three major projects, 77% on the fourth and fifth major projects (which I still feel cheated on), and 100% on the first two midterms. Curious as to how the result is C+? I'll tell you how. For the fourth and fifth major projects there were code evaluations and design documents associated with them, the results for each:

Design Doc Project 4: 20% (Uh.... what? That's pretty bold for a project whose requirement was to layout out the header files and pick data structures).

Design Doc Project 5: 77% (Again... Uh... what? I did a half page more work than the design doc for project 4 (out of like 15 pages))

The code evaluations actually went okay. The major problem I had was that extenuating circumstances (mostly with CS servers being down) made the project late, which made the code rushed, thus decreased in quality. IF YOU ARE GOING TO FORCE US TO USE YOUR LABS, MAINTAIN THEM!!!! IF YOU WON'T MAINTAIN THEM, THEN GIVE US OUR CREDIT BACK! Seriously though, I lost a solid 20% on project 4 overall because of CS server problems.

Seriously, CS240 needs more work. I realize it's better than it was, but it needs more. It needs more focus than what it currently has. Both Chess and Web Crawler are obscenely long. Cut the extra crap. We don't have time to learn makefiles. Honestly, I think ever student will report at least an extra half day of work trying to figure out makefiles and another half day spent fighting them throughout the project. Also, clean up the project documentation. Scratch that last sentence. THROW OUT the current documentation. It's garbage, it really is. Rather than trying to teach with the documentation, list the requirements for the project. Teaching is what class time and TA's are for, not project specification sheets. I know this is another sweeping statement but I feel like most students lost at least a full day of productivity because of misunderstanding in the project documentation. I could say A LOT more on what could be improved in the course, but I need to move on to my final point.

WHY HAVE WE NOT BEEN TAUGHT AN IDE OR DEBUGGING?!?!?!?!?!?!?!??!?!?!!??!?!?!?

Seriously... linux command line? Debugging with print statements? Oh... and a TA whose exact statement was "I finished this class using gvim and the command line." Thanks TA, that really helped me find my bug.

CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM:

The CS department needs to determine a learning outcome for each class (and for the program) and stick to it. There's a lot of nice stuff they can teach, but there's no time for the "nice" things, only the essentials. An example of something useful to learn is an IDE. Pick an IDE to teach and offer support with. Use the same language and IDE in all the classes that use that language. Teaching an IDE will not only make projects faster, but will encourage the learning of debugging (which honestly isn't being taught very well/at all right now). Also, either offer outstanding support for the labs, or make the projects so they can be done from our personal computers and on the major OS's. I realize the benefit of learning new OS's, I really do. The problem is you can't just decide to add new requirements (like learning a new OS) to already difficult classes.

IF YOU ADD NEW LEARNING OUTCOMES, YOU HAVE TO DROP OLD ONES. If you can't drop old outcomes, you need to add a new class. It's that simple. You can't have your cake and eat it too. If you try, the students are the ones to suffer.

Briefly using the makefiles as an example, we were required to right makefiles that functioned a specific way. This made using an IDE to it's full potential impossible (most of them use their own makefiles to build/run/debug). The simple solution would be to have taught an IDE already (because if you can figure it out, which we didn't have extra time to, the IDE's will let you use custom makefiles). The other simple solution is to not require a makefile. If you HAVE to teach makefiles, require them for the early projects and let us use non-caveman tools for the later projects. I know this may sound crazy to some, but in my opinion banning power tools from carpentry students hurts a LOT more than it helps.

A program like this requires focus in curriculum (which requires sacrifice by the department), quality lectures and TA's (which requires sacrifice by the teachers), and hard work (not obscene amounts of work) from the students (which should be a sacrifice for them). I really think that's the point here.

I will say that there have been good things in my CS classes, but all in all I feel like I poured my soul into them and got a blemish on my transcript in return. I'm not stupid. I taught myself Houdini because of the short comings of Maya. I taught myself Flash while feeling like my time and money was being wasted in Anthropology. I was bored during the reading days this past semester so I taught myself Cocoa, Objective-C, and IOS. I'm not stupid, but BYU sure makes me feel like I am.

New Years!

2011-01-03T16:11:00.000-08:00

So this is the New Year! And I don't feel any different....

Also, the game is going good. I've got custom maps loading and unloading properly. I've also got character animations working. Now I just need to do a little massaging to the graphics, and make it possible to raise and lower terrain elevation.

If you were wondering... this is probably what it would look like if Nintendo ever released an MMO.

Busy, Busy, Busy

2010-12-25T23:29:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the lack of post. I've been trying really hard just to survive the semester. Now that the semester is over, however, I've been plodding away at Objective-C.

The end goal in learning Objective-C was to make a Classic-Pokemon-Style game. Step one was to create the world. In order to simplify that process I decided to make a map editor first. Here's a quick screen shot of the rough-around-the-edges map editor in progress.

Click Image To Enhance

I've almost got it saving and loading files. The next step is going to be the clean up to make everything look nice. After that comes the game itself (with no real objectives besides walking). When all of that is complete, then comes the cool doodads, buildings, and NPC's. Whew.... that's going to be alot of work.

Fun fact of the day: How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.

Second fun fact: If you want to learn Cocoa leave a comment and I'll do my best to answer your questions.

Third and final fun fact: I am documenting this whole thing so that I can tutorialize this for whomever wishes to learn.

Adam and STEve MANIA!!!!!

2010-12-07T11:11:00.000-08:00

Here's the latest Adam and Steve. It goes out to Cat who inspired this post. Also, I have a post inspired by Mary. It's coming. It's just not finished.

Also, here's the older Adam and Steve's. If you don't know what's going on, the comic takes place AFTER Eve eats the forbidden fruit but BEFORE Adam does.

Will he ever take the fruit?!

What will become of Eve!?

What shenanigans will Adam and Steve (Satan) get into?!

Day Awesome

2010-12-01T23:04:00.000-08:00

Adam and Steve is back! And this time is was drawn on my laptop's track pad! Oh yeah!

Did I mention I love crazy people? Did I mention I love my Dinosaurs class even more?

Also, if you scroll to the bottom of the blog you'll find a nifty little treat. :D

Also, no feedback guys? You make me sad. :D Ooops... I guess I can't hide how happy Adam and Steve make me.

Day 8 ish. Favorite Superhero

2010-11-30T15:42:00.000-08:00

What is your favorite super hero? This is a super hard one for me to answer. I love TONS of super heroes. I love spiderman, nightcrawler, green lantern, wolverine, raven, swamp thing, etc, etc. The point is that to pick one is not easy. I will say that one hero that has caught my eye for awhile is Phoenix (or Hound (Rachel Sumers/Marvel Girl) depending on which universe we're in).

Here's a challenge for you. You tell me why I like Phoenix (or why you do).

The Place Where Souls Die

2010-11-29T22:11:00.000-08:00

Day 6 I think. The place where souls go to die. Bixby Canyon, Big Sur, California.

Day Who Gives A Crap

2010-11-28T01:01:00.000-08:00

   So I don't even know what day this is supposed to be for the ol' blog post challenge. You see, when something attempts to control my actions (especially in the instance of something personal to me i.e. blog) I don't respond very well.
   Anyway... Here we sit. I'm looking at the end of a long holiday and I've got a lot to say and none of it is worth listening to. That being said, here's the first ten songs my iPod plays on shuffle with their official music video (if they have one [or if I don't like the video, another video with the same song {pardon the lyrics if it applies (I don't know what's in them, I haven't picked the songs yet)}]).

1. Run To The Hills by Iron Maiden

2. Eet by Regina Spektor

3. I Like The Way You Move by Outkast

4. Celtic Moon by Enya

5. Courage by Alien Ant Farm

6. Easy Lover by Phil Collins

7. Can't Stop Now by Keane

8. Vanilla Twilight by Owl City

9. Beat 8 by Ratatat

10.The Tunnel by The Used

   I'd like to leave you with a few parting words. First I'm super glad someone found and used my "feedback buttons" under my posts. Also, the last few post I've put up have had record views. If you're reading this could you take 5 seconds and tell me what you like to see or want to see from my blog.
   Finally, if you didn't watch the videos or look up the songs, you're missing a splendid opportunity to understand me. I know that hipsters claim that music impacts them more than anyone else, but truthfully this sort of uncensored exercise really gives you a look at who a person is. Say what you will about any song on this list, but every song is on my ipod for a reason. Every song represents something in me; whether the song reflects my hope for a brighter tomorrow, a forgotten love of yesterday, or my daily self exploration.
   Thanks everyone for your support and always remember these 3 things:
   1. Never use the word 'you' when giving criticism, good or bad.
   2. For you to be saved and me to be brave we don't have to walk down that aisle.
   3. When I get older, I won't remember. Until that day comes, I've got something on you.

The Habit I Wish I Didn't Have

2010-11-19T22:41:00.000-08:00

I have a terrible, terrible habit of getting really excited about something and not finishing. It's currently on of my habits I'm trying to kill off. :D

This is a sketch from the video game I want to make. His name is Jeb.

~~Day 04 - A habit that you wish you didn't have~~