small victories: the journal of Sam Wey

I wrote this poem while cozy in bed this morning on my iPhone. I'm so clever.

2010-04-03T11:18:00.000-07:00

Good morning, Saturday
How awkward for me to wake up next to you when I fell asleep with Friday
Granted, I crawled into bed with Friday in a drunken stupor, it was
late and dark.
And all I really cared about was
warmth and solace.
But i usually remember these things.
I hope I didn't do anything I'll regret.
Please don't be jealous
But I have plans with Sunday,
tomorrow.

Here I go...

2009-10-15T23:23:00.000-07:00

You miss so much when you drive. When I started walking to work I realized that I absorb my city so much more. I've become intimately familiar with the trivial details of my brief journey; the white plastic bag filled with garbage hanging eternally on the post of a chain-link fense, the tree that drops plums that get mashed underfoot and stain the sidewalk beneath it, stickers on a yellow post near a waxed up step, marking it as a skate spot. So much evidence left from human activity. All of these things you miss when you drive. When you drive, you only appreciate point A and point B and neglect the arrow between the two...

This is me trying to write something that isn't a journal entry and isn't some formal essay or business letter. This sounds cheesy to me but I guess its good practice. It was sort of enjoyable to embellish a passing thought. Maybe eventually I'll try to write something ficitonal.

the joys of online shopping...

2008-03-01T00:48:00.000-08:00

I was looking at electric toothbrush reviews on amazon. This lady gave an Oral B toothbrush one star:

" Not good, August 6, 2007
By person - See all my reviews
I got this toothbrush for my dog (I thought her breath smelled kind of bad). However, she doesn't seem to like it very much. Whenever I try to use it on her she gets really mad and starts growling and she tries to bite me. Even when I just turn it on, she looks at me in a very scary way. It's awful! I really don't like this toothbrush and my dog likes it less. I think I'll just try feeding her those Listerine strips."

Seiji, the tech prophet.

2007-11-09T11:15:00.000-08:00

[11:10] Seiji Tanaka: hasof;d
[11:10] neoayngel7: asdf
[11:12] Seiji Tanaka: classic
[11:12] neoayngel7: qwerty
[11:12] Seiji Tanaka: when we're old
[11:12] Seiji Tanaka: and people arent using keyboards for input anymore
[11:13] Seiji Tanaka: they would wonder why we're blurting out "asdf" and 'qwerty" all the time
[11:13] neoayngel7: haah
[11:14] neoayngel7: i'm gonna immortalize this conversation in the blog i never post to

Animation Principles 101

2007-05-14T14:12:00.000-07:00

[15:22] neoayngel7: ooo talk animation to me baby...
[15:22] Nick Janecki: key pose
[15:22] Nick Janecki: i like the way your balls squash and stretch!
[15:22] neoayngel7: roflcoptor
[15:22] Nick Janecki: your timing is just right
[15:22] neoayngel7: lol
[15:24] Nick Janecki: keep up that spacing sam uhhhhhh mmmmmmm i am anticipating your actions
[15:24] neoayngel7: i'm getting all sweaty
[15:24] Nick Janecki: so am i i gotta stop
[15:24] neoayngel7: lol
[15:24] neoayngel7: rawr...

Felix Da Housecat - Everyone Is Someone In LA

2007-03-22T23:58:00.000-07:00

Look at these stars just you and me
Living our lives like sandra d
Its enough sites on the Hollywood sign
All night parties filled with alkaline
Shopping all day on Rodeo Drive
Out all night just to stay alive
People working hard making dreams come true
Palm trees lined up the avenue

Everyone is someone
Everyone is someone in L.A.
In L.A.
Movies and the scandals
Stories and the vandals
In L.A.
In L.A.

Reality is in the mirror in a costume
Thrown out of the front door of The Viper Room
Cruisin' past the cars on the Sunset Strip
All the famous friends and their ego trips
Cocktail parties at Stanton Hotel
Sucking down clams on a half shell
All day record shopping on Melrose
Dancing all night in our prettiest clothes

Everyone is someone
Everyone is someone in L.A.
In L.A.
Movies and the scandals
Stories and the vandals
In L.A.
In L.A.

Big scores
Fast steels
Lost souls
Hot wheels
Night drive
Neon lights
Strip clubs
Gang fights
Hustlers makeup
Half year breakups
Tattoos
Satin shawls
Pornstars
Kilos

Everyone is someone
Everyone is someone in L.A.
In L.A.
Movies and the scandals
Stories and the vandals
In L.A.
In L.A.

Stopping for a drink at the Troubadour
Redudant earthquakes on Mulholland Drive
Seems like the world is for me and you
3 day afterparties at the Rumba Room
Out on the horizon all you see is smog
Speeding on the freeway just to get out of the fog
Going to spend the day on Venice Beach
Seems if everything is within our reach

Everyone is someone
Everyone is someone in L.A.
In L.A.
Movies and the scandals
Stories and the vandals
In L.A.
In L.A.

Posting through IMified

2007-02-10T13:57:00.000-08:00

I haven't posted in a while. What's prompted me to post now is I just started using this free service called IMified that lets you access your blogger blog, google calender and a bunch of other services directly through an AIM bot or whatever IM service you use. So... I'm posting through an AIM window right now. To set it up all you do is send a message to the screen name IMified. Interesting stuff...

The Adventures of Sam in LA

2006-12-09T17:30:00.000-08:00

So let's work backwards:

I got contact lenses today. It's nice having my peripheral vision again. I haven't worn contact lenses in ages. The insurance from work covered almost half of the cost of the contacts and all of the exam cost, which is awesome. It was my first time using insurance on my own. Sweetness.

We got our Xbox 360 replacement on Thursday and we rearranged our furniture.

This previous weekend, me and Seiji went with our coworker from Red Engine to his friend's birthday party. He has a narrow apartment right up against the ocean. It was pretty pimp. There was a lot of film/tv people there. Generally lots of older people that seemed pretty well off. Wasn't exactly my crowd but I met a nice house DJ.

Speaking of Red Engine, we finally got paid for our work for the end of the Chicago bulls project. You can see it on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFZRrieLKMo and there's a higher quality topsecret version at www.redengineprod.com/bulls.mov
I made the smoke effects coming out of the bull's nose at the end as well as the dynamic pebbles bouncing that you can barely see when the main bull lands. I feel famous in a trivial way and I like it :).

Looking ahead:

I have a holiday break from the Dec. 22nd to the January 2nd. Brian will be flying me into Chicago to work with him on a Disney commercial. He's was one of my most inspiring teachers in college I'm really excited about the chance to work with him. In preparation I've learned Boujou, a camera motion tracking software. I've also started learning Shake a compositing package.

I'm looking forward to be in Chicago again. My time in Chicago during Thanksgiving really reminded my of how much I value the people in my life.

Status Report: 9/26/06

2006-09-26T23:26:00.001-07:00

Summary:
Life is good, making new friends, falling into a happy routine at work, receiving the validation and friendship of my coworkers, making money, exercising and staying pretty healthy. Oh, and the plaugue is over. The flies have disappeared since we started scrupulously cleaning the crevices that were growing mildew. Now our apartment is virtually insect free. Our apartment is even better now that our bedroom is actually a room with beds! I've been sleeping so good...It fucking rocks...

Details:
Friday night was another uneventful night of bumming around. Saturday I got some freelance work done. Saturday night me and Seiji went to a film festival where we met some cool people. Sunday woke up late, Seiji found out he didn't have work, we went to lunch with his brother and sisters. From there we went to the beach. It was gorgeous. The pier was had an aquarium in it with really cool tropical fish and sharks and such. We then went and got a Costco membership and bought a bunch of stuff in bulk then went and bought are beds at IKEA. Worked Monday received a nice compliment on my work two days in a row from my coworker. Feeling more socially at ease at work. Spun Monday night. Work. Tonight I watched a Wong kar Wai film called "Happy Together". It was so gay. ... I mean that literally. It was about the mutually destructive relationship between these two gay guys from Hong Kong that get stuck in Argentina. Lovely cinematography by Christopher Doyle, delicate directing and performance by Won Kar Wai and Tony Leung. Special thanks to Rebecca to giving me a ton of quality movies.

The fly genocide.

2006-09-22T00:51:00.000-07:00

9/20
Originally uploaded by sammokablamo.

So fucked up. Two evenings in a row we had an insane amount of flies in our apartment. I fumigated with a can of raid each time. From our tests in the field, we've concluded that they are coming in through the windows somehow (despite no apparent cracks...) and that they are attracted to the humidity of the bathroom and possibly the smell of feces or mildew. They do not come in due to food left out because today we made sure there was no food out.

I think God is angry and is sending us a plague cuz we've been talking smack. If he kills our first born or sends frogs raining down tomorrow maybe it'll bring us to the negotiation table. Cant we talk this out? You're so immature...

Check out photos in chronological order starting from my first day of work: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sammokablamo/

Slashdot | Analog Revival Means Vinyl Will Outlive CD

2006-09-21T21:01:00.000-07:00

Slashdot | Analog Revival Means Vinyl Will Outlive CD

Haha, Three days ago, I dropped 40 bucks on 3 albums on vinyl. And it feel good...

Playing Ketchup.

2006-09-16T19:49:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted in a while so the following are the highlights of the last month and a half:

I got a job at Spark Unlimited the makers of Call of Duty: Finest Hour as a Jr. Environment Artist. Life is good. I got an apartment with my friend in Sherman Oaks, California. A nice one bedroom. We road-tripped over here in his car. The landscape through Colorado and Utah was gorgeous. At the suggestion of my brother in law we ditched the interstate and cut through rural southern Utah. Unbelievably beautiful canyons.

So now I'm here. I have the job I've worked so hard to get. I'm paid well. I'm in the place I want to be. Life is good. Now to build a social life...

i did it.

2006-06-23T23:11:00.000-07:00

I sent out my demo reels, resumes, cover letters, and logsheets yesterday. It was momentous. For the week prior, I was preparing coverletters and stuff nonstop, burning DVDs nonstop. I was at kinko's for fucking hours and charged like $130 in printing fees to my dad's credit card. And now, we wait.

I ran today. For the third time since moving back here. The bike path by the Lucent campus is really nice. It weaves through foresty areas and grassy plains. It's gorgeous. A good change of pace from living in the city for two semesters. In general, I think I've been doing fairly well in balancing work and exercise. I feel so isolated here though.

I picked up another freelance job from a guy in LA. He seems like a nice guy. This should be good for me. I've also been continuing work for the japanese studio. I just pumped out the first pass of another set of blendshapes. It feels good getting work done but I'm exhausted in so many ways.

I've been reading "Guns, Germs, and Steel" by Jared Diamond. It's really, really good. It's sort of solidifying my deterministic world view. It searches for ultimate reasons for how civilizations have developed and interacted through the course of history. So far I've learned a great deal about how hunting/gathering and food production played out on the different continents and how the effectiveness of each technique was determined by ecological/geographic factors. There's so much I'm neglecting to mention just because I'd butcher the explaination, or at least be forced to simplify it to a point where it would lack context. I highly recommend it though. Helps you understand the world around you in a rational, cause and effect sort of way. It also allows you to dismiss the conscious or unconscious tendency to think any race is intellectually superior to any other by explaining how each civilization got to where it is today. Fuck. I suck at explaining this shit. Read it.

Goodnight.

Wait: Comment if you read my blog. I wanna know who reads this shit. Thanks.

Amazon.com: Good-bye, Chunky Rice: Books: Craig Thompson

2006-05-29T19:36:00.000-07:00

Amazon.com: Good-bye, Chunky Rice: Books: Craig Thompson

I just started and finished reading the graphic novel, "Good-bye, Chunky Rice". Mike bought it when a friend suggested it to him. It was really good. It's about friends parting ways, among other things. Really beautiful, cute. Really bitter-sweet.

"Just today you are leaving, and already the places we shared have grown with beauty and significance. How could you ever want to leave this behind? On second thought, Rather than gaining significance, my environment is suddenly drained of it. What does a breathtaking view of the ocean mean without you? ...nothing."
-Dandel

"Dandel. I'm a turtle. My home is on my back. And yet I feel the most real home I'll ever have is the space where our roads merged and traveled along together... -for a time. Probably I'm wrong to leave."
-Chunky Rice

...kind of strikes a cord with me since I'm moving to LA and all. We had our last party here at our apartment at Hotel Roosevelt. It was really good. I DJed for a good deal of the night. I had a pretty satisfying set. At 5 in the morning, we went to Dunkin Robbin's and got smoothies, then walked to the lake shore and watched the sun come up. It was gorgeous. Watched it from when it was just a sliver on the horizon... I'll be moving out of here into my parents house over the course of this week.

Samuel Wey, Bachelor of Art

2006-05-18T00:02:00.000-07:00

Partied Friday.

Screened my Animation Production Studio film Saturday.

Graduation ceremony Sunday. Graduated, had a nice meal at Francesca's on Taylor with my parents, sister, brother-in-law, and Rebecca. Partied again Sunday night. DJed, danced, and sang karaoke to 90's alternative til 6am.

Went to the dentist, got my teeth cleaned. They found two small cavities.

Tuesday: met with Jim. He knows people at Midway and Raven and gave me good crits on my rough demo reel. Went to Zentra to party with Maya and Mariko before they leave town. Got owned by 20 dollar cover at the door. Further humiliated by a half empty club with the upstairs and the outide area closed.

Wednesday: went to the skatepark. It started raining on the way. Came back. Worked. Showered. Worked. Cooked fettecine alfredo and steamed broccolli for Ruru. Finished an initial version of my 4th character model for Dicro Animation Studio in Japan. I"m exhausted.

Oh and I finished reading "The Game" by Neil Strauss last week. It has inspired me improve my social skills.

"People often read books to search for themselves and find someone who agrees with them." - Neil Strauss

small victories...

2006-05-08T08:36:00.000-07:00

I finished reading "The Stranger" by Albert Camus. I really liked it. Camus writes with the same existential honesty as Haruki Murakami except without all the humor and poetic fluff. Instead, Camus is more socially conscious and deals with how the rational man; a person who confronts the world with only what he knows from first hand experience, is helpless when overwhelmed by those with unshakable convictions (religious beliefs, social norms and expectations). Really, I'm just paraphrasing a quote from the author on the back of the book ("the nakedness of man faced with the absurd") but I thought it was worth elaborating upon and making my own. I bought it last Saturday, after I felt an urge to read something and I ended up seeing it on my friend Ethan's facebook profile. I wonder how often people actually do that; read books off each others' profiles on social networking sites. In conclusion, you should read it. Itwasthemotherfuckingshit.

This previous Friday, I went to Smartbar with Rebecca to see Mylo spin. The club was really nice and and Mylo was excellent. The dancefloor was packed and the atmosphere maintained by these two DJs (Elliot Eastwick opened for Mylo) was euphoric. Everyone, including me was dancing for hours on end with a smile on their face the whole time. Even though I broke up with Rebecca I still really value her friendship. I don't really have anyone else to enjoy music and other art with.

I've doing character models for this animation studio in Japan that I got hooked up with through Seiji. I've finished modeling and unwrapping UVs on two characters so far and I'm starting my third. They said they usually don't outsource characters but I work fast and my work is good. Originally they were going to just give me two characters now they're planning on giving me all nine characters. Thank god I have Seiji to translate for me or I wouldn't have this opportunity.

While I do this freelance job, I've also been cramming as much time rendering my work on the school computers as I can, before I lose access to their dual processor glory when I graduate. Damn it feels... uh... 133+ rendering on 10 computers at once. I wish they had render farm management software so I wouldn't be running around like an idiot.

This is my last week of class at Columbia College. The screening for my Animation Production Studio class's film is on Saturday, May 13th at noon in the film building and My graduation commencement is the next day at 3:30 at the UIC Pavilion on Racine and Harrison. Come if you have a taste for formalities or you just want show me how much you love me. Now to ride it out to the finish line and get out of this fucking place. Hope everything goes smoothly.

Clubbing (fucking sucks).

2006-04-30T11:46:00.000-07:00

I'm not the type to go clubbing a lot. Everytime I do go out though, it's always so anticlimactic. I always start off anxious for, I don't know what; maybe it's the prospect of dancing with beautiful women, meeting new people, the miniscule chance of getting laid... But just like every other time, it's a sausage fest, the women look at you like you're fucking scum before you even open your mouth and they're dancing in their little circle of girls. And just like every other time, I left swearing that clubbing sucks and that I'll never go again (at least not without a date). The only exception this time was that I had my jacket stolen.

Despite my bitching, I did enjoy hanging out with my friends and dancing with mostly guys until I was dehydrated enough to buy a 3 dollar bottle of water.

Oh. I also ran into the usual ghetto asians from my past, which was nice for inane chit-chat.

i cooked stuffed green peppers.

2006-04-12T15:54:00.000-07:00

I made stuff green peppers! ^_^

home again.

2006-03-21T01:10:00.000-08:00

I tend to write in my blog when I'm visiting my parent's house and desperately trying to find things to do on the internet. Here I am again. It's spring break. It feels really good allowing yourself to forget your responsibilities for a while. It's been a really packed few days:

On thursday we had APS during which I was somewhat nervous because I knew Tim was talking shit about me to our instructor but to my relief and to the indulgence of my more spiteful tendencies; she didn't confront me at all and his complaints were entirely dismissed. Friday, I dropped 300 dollars on a Klipsch 5.1 speaker system to improve the sound of our biggest party to date. That evening our party went extremely well. Our DJs included Rebecca, Mike, Franky, Greg and I. This time we also had a bar setup and rotated bartending duties. I learned to make (and as the night progressed, I got faster at making) French Martinis, Martinis, Atlantiques, and Purple Hazes. It was hectic but I enjoyed it. "The greatest pleasure is giving pleasure" as they say... >_o.

Yesterday, me, Seiji, and Difranzo skated at the rusty skate park in Elmhurst. It was nice. When we left, Seiji couldn't find his wallet and we searched everywhere. He even canceled his reported his credit card as lost. (In actuality I'm fucking blind and didn't search enough under the passnger side seat.) When we got back to the apartment and I was collecting my things I found Seiji's wallet at my feet. Seiji said something to the effect, "I should lose my wallet more often, I'm so happy now." A person's happiness really is relative to the moment before.

pugboyShot2export1

2006-03-13T21:51:00.000-08:00

pugboyShot2export1
Originally uploaded by sammokablamo.

I think i'm done.

Leveled up.

2006-02-21T13:11:00.000-08:00

I've leveled up my culinary skills by slaying a broiled salmon with tomatoes basil and mint. Save & continue...

i'm ready to move on...

2006-02-18T19:03:00.000-08:00

pugboy1
Originally uploaded by sammokablamo.

After about 3 months of work on this thing, i think i'm done and I'm 30% more boring of a person for it. I'm still not completely satisfied with the render but I don't think I want to spend any more time on this. Maybe... maybe i'll rerender some of it once i get some feedback on it from the pros. Other than ranting about this, i don't really have anything interesting to say. The two classes I'm taking are rather boring. I want to get a job and start real life really badly. I find my mind never wanders far from my art projects and what to do after graduation. Whine whine whine. blah blah blah. Sorry. Fuck. Why am I always so damn apologetic?

how i spent my break:

2006-01-17T16:19:00.000-08:00

forPosting1
Originally uploaded by sammokablamo.

working on this. working out. chilling.

i want to play scrabble damnit...

2005-12-30T00:49:00.000-08:00

I've been fairly productive since break started almost two weeks ago. I've been working on this bust of a character I designed; a combination of a fat guy and a pug dog. It's been pretty amusing but I'm losing steam. I want to move on already. People have had crits on things to change but some of it I just don't see. The rest I've just been stalling and lazy on the implementation. Since Zbrush gives the artist so much control and flexibility, it allows you to see the limits of your artistic talents that much easier too. Very little limitations imposed by the technical end of things... Here's a link to my work-in-progress thread on the Zbrush Central forums as well as CGtalk but i get very few posts on CGtalk.

In the past few days I've been hanging out with my longtime friend, Rebecca. ... I think for me, it's gotten to a point where there's not much else to talk about. I'm starting to just accept that this is the dynamic of how our personalities interact. We might as well appreciate each other and try to enjoy each others' company while we can.

In the time since I've last posted...

2005-11-20T18:31:00.000-08:00

1. I've moved out of my parents' Naperville home, into my friends' apartment downtown.

2. Never got a callback from Digital Domain after their email said they'd call me and I followed up with an email.

3. Might get paid to do storyboard illustration for a film and might get paid to edit some music together for a dance group.

4. Getting better at basic DJ skills.

5. Have spent a scant amount of time here and there on CG stuff.

6. Learned to make broiled salmon.

7. Addicted to tying up the loose end of my child hood; that is finishing Final Fantasy 7 on PS.

8. Got an expensive piece of DJ equipment.

9. Learned to make hash-browns.

10. Started learning to value someone important to me...

transformers!

2005-10-04T00:30:00.000-07:00

You know those transformers or other action figures that connect to other transformers to create a super-mega-ginormous-transformer? I feel like a kid that just got the other half of a giant combination action figure. I mean. I just moved the turntables with final scratch from beeka's apartment to my parents place in naperville. Now it's hooked into my computer, everything's in sync with surround sound and everything. I don't even have to switch audio cables for the mixer output to go to the speakers, it goes into the mic input in the back of my pooter! You rock Rebecca. You rock so much! My mix from Brazilian girls - "Don't Stop" into Moloko's - Sing it Back works pretty nice! Oh! and I finished my essay for DJ class! Now to do this character texturing for this freelance job...

No. Sleep. 'Til Brooklyn.

2005-10-02T00:40:00.000-07:00

I've been pretty extremely busy in the last few weeks. I got two consecutive freelance jobs. One from a guy in Chile and for the last few weeks I've been doing this job for a teacher from last semester. Twenty bucks an hour. I've prolly made a total of 1k so far. I think I want to drop it on a new set of turntables. That'd be hawt. This job coupled with school is killing me. In Animation Production Studio class, I've wasted too much time and efffort trying to persuade an irrational director how poorly structured and horribly uninteresting his story is. It's not working. No. Sleep. 'Til Brooklyn.

2005-08-04T19:31:00.000-07:00

my Siggraph 2005 photos

Tuesday night

2005-08-04T14:17:00.000-07:00

Tuesday night. I went to the Blur Studio party. It was sooooo pimp. Crystal Method spun at midnight. There were half naked chicks dancing on platforms. There was a fire theme throughout and then there were the performances. There half naked buff guys breakdance fighting with torches on their forearms and shins. There was a girl doing those glow stick tricks with fire on the ends. There was a guy doing the same thing on stilts. It was nuts. There was also crazy acrobatic shit going on. They had two long clothes hanging from the ceiling and they did these insanely dangerous looking stuff all high up. Seiji made friends with a Japanese chick. We met some older chinese girls. All these older asian women were so condescending cuz of our age initially. Open bar. got pretty drunk. Danced the night away to Crystal Method. soo good. ... oh yeah! i met Meats Meiers! He's one of the most well known Zbrush artists. I shook his hand, complimented him on his DVDs, he thanked me for my kind words and then I let him get back to smoking up.

Wednesday. Overslept. Went to the book store. Dropped quite a bit of money on books. Chilled with that Chinese girl from the day before. Watched some awesome animation shorts. Went to the job fair, dropped off a few more reels. Seiji left. I ran into one of the badass little Chinese girls from the night before. I gave her the electronic theatre ticket i got from Seiji. Watched some cyber fashion show stuff. It wasn't really a fashion show per se. It was more like a technical project demonstration by some chicks that combine tech with fashion. Then went to see some excellent work at the electronic theatre. Got picked up by my cousin, Jessica. Got gelato. Went to Jane's to drop off my stuff. Went back to Jessi's to spend the night.

Thursday morning. I had gotten a quasi-job interview/tour of Spark Unlimited the day before. My aunt does day care for Jeff a guy that works there as an environmental artist. The history of the company goes as such. The core group was originally assembled by Steven Speilberg as a little-known interactive department of Dreamworks. EA bought them. Then, due to the abuse of their employees under new manage, most of the team quit and started Spark Unlimited. Their list of games includes the Medal of Honor series (under dreamworks and EA) and then Call of Duty as Spark. Their next game will finally be unrelated to WWII. Touring and meeting all the talented and friendly people there was awesome. I got some excellent feedback and encouragement from the people there. Got back to Siggraph. Went to a bit of a presentation about webenabled fine arts projects that examined technology and social interaction. Some of the stuff was pretty clever. Then went to the exhibition again. Some really really sweet features coming to Maya 7.0 and XSI 5.0. Now Siggraph is over. I'm loitering around the convention center, utilizing their wireless internet and waiting 'til Jane gets back from work before I head to the bus and take it back to Jane's place.

my first Siggraph 2005

2005-08-03T18:10:00.000-07:00

This is gonna be a really really long post because it's going to function as a record of my trip as well as a way to keep ryan up to date on my life without actually talking to him. ;) So here I go...

The last friday of July, I didn't sleep all night. I got driven to Midway airport at 3 in the morning. My flight connected in Atlanta, Georgia. On the flight, I was surrounded by geeks. they were going to siggraph too. They were a group of 12 kids from Art Institute of Atlanta. Sitting next to me was a pretty blonde, I assumed she was your typical girly girl. It turned out she was a computer animator. Maybe I shouldn't judge from appearance as much.

Saturday night, Seiji and I went to a CG channel at a club called the Mayan. It was a primarily latino club. There was some really cool professional salsa dancers. I met the guy that founded CG channel, a Disney animator, and a NY based cg guy clued us in to the Blur studio party. so cool.

Sunday, went to this film preproduction and production workflow course. A lot of stuff I knew already but it was nice hearing some of the insight of industry people. After that I went to this Madagascar course. It was really interesting how their rigs enabled squash and stretch.

Monday, I went to this acting for animators class by Ed Hooks. It was excellent. I learned a ton about acting principle. After that, I went to this course on how to present your demo reel. This presented a lot of things I already knew but it was pretty helpful and encouraging anyways. Monday night, I ate dinner at a really high class restaurant built in the an extremely ornate old firehouse. The shrimp/scallop linquini was orgasmic. We had dinner with Seiji's old XSI teacher, whose in charge of R&D at Omation studio. They're doing a feature film right now called Barn Yard. There were a ton of people at this dinner party. I met Ed Harris here, he wrote an extremely popular book on how to get into the industry. Also met this Canadian freelancer. He was pretty cool... After that went to have drinks at in the bar at this hotel a lot of these people were staying at. It was soooooo nice. "oldest hotel in LA" It was gorgeous. Extremely ornate. lots of sculpture in the walls, gilding. marble, etc. EDIT: oh! and how could i forget! George Lucas gave the keynote address around noon! We got there like an hour ahead of time and the place was already packed! They had some precedings and then awards to some hardcore research people. A lot of the rendering technologies I use today were pioneered by a single Japanese dude with bad english! I liked a lot of George's social commentary. It was kind of sad, he hinted at his own mortality like 3 times during the speech. For instance, that he didn't have enough time left in his life to create films with all the ideas he has. I heard someone say that he has diabetes. He had a vicious roll of fat under his chin.

Tuesday, morning. went to the job fair, dropped off a lot of reels. Waited for an hour at the eye-on software booth to get blur party tickets. They ran out before we got there but at least we got a tshirt. Wandered around the expo. Went with Seiji to meet Makoto, a badass animator at Blur. He gave me some invaluable feedback on my reel. He also hooked us up with Blur party invitations. Each guy with an invite can bring 3 girls. After that we were going to go back to Seiji's sister's apartment but Seiji became determined to find some girls to go with us. He failed a number of times but then brought a Chinese girl back with him. It was pretty impressive. She was 27 years old. About to get a masters at School of Visual Arts. Seiji went back to have dinner with his sister. I ended up going to Denny's with her and then back to her hotel to drop off stuff. She showed me her work. She was really insecure about it. She had some really good traditional paintings. Her use of color translated well into her texturing and conceptual skills, however her modeling skills were not very good. She ended up changing her mind about going to the party with us. And then I got a phone call. I'll tell you about this later. I gotta go catch the electronic theatre.

i am...

2005-07-29T23:38:00.000-07:00

a desktop publishing machine and a one-man-sweatshop. Don't fuck with this. You don't got nothing on me... um... I've been working on my shit pretty nonstop the last few days. I burned 40 dvds, designed a label printed them out, applied them. printed resumes, log sheets. I did a site design, pumped that shit out in like a day and a half. http://www.samwey.com I submitted my shit to Industrial Light and Magic for feedback as well as Digital Domain and asked to get in on their party. My plane to LA is at 5:40am at Midway airport. Oh and before all this desktop publishing shit, I rendered my kid model in MR with nice global illumination, edited another version of my reel, pumped out various different compressions of it. Goddamn... This week is going to be fucking insane. I planned out what I'm going to be attending for the most part. this is sheer fucking madness. Thanks. I love you too.

Here's some action shots.

runaway child

2005-07-24T22:57:00.000-07:00

http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=261656
a model i've been working on.

from reading on the train

2005-07-06T22:56:00.000-07:00

"My reality seemed to have left me and was now wandering around nearby. I hope it can find me, I thought...My reality was still having trouble locating me, it seemed." -Haruki Murakami "The Wind-up Bird Chronicle"

Goocheegoocheegoo

2005-07-06T15:19:00.000-07:00

My parents excitedly took me to the 5 dollar-all you can eat buffet at Pizza Hut to eat alongside the morbidly obese American bargain hunters. The hostess asked me how old I was. I assume she asked to see if was eligible for the kid prices. When I responded that I was twenty one. She seemed embarassed and said that she would never have guessed that. Do I really look that young? Next time someone asks me that I should say, "I'm 12 but I'm really good in bed."

Last night Seiji called and informed me that Brian wants our demo reels by Friday. When I called him and asked if circumstances had changed, he said, "Anything and everything." So mysterious. Maybe I'll have a chance to intern at Sol Design after all. The next two days will be like a crunch time training.

A cautiously optimistic Sammo.

ups and downs

2005-07-04T21:22:00.000-07:00

On Friday, the first of July, we went skating at the two skate parks in Naperville and then the one in Lisle. Upon arriving at the skate park in Lisle a cop was stopping every car that entered this road. We told him we were looking for the skate park and he said it was closed. Not believing him and not having anything better to do, we decided to approach from the east. There was apparently a large town festival going on with several hot air balloons. At the bridge: 9 dollars to get in. Fuck that. We wandered south along the river on the bike path. A pedestrian bridge was fenced off and guarded by a cop. We went further south, following two skateboarders and a biker to a shallow portion of the river. After some hesitation, we forded the river. I felt like an escaped slave or something. After we got to the other side, a cop in a golf cart intercepted us. We thought we were screwed. All he said was that we couldn't be at this end of the field. We walked to the other end, jumped a fence and skated for a bit before they turned the lights out. It was a shitty park but it was worth it just to be able to say I crossed a river to get to it.

Saturday was dedicated to being stood up by this girl.

Sunday was for feeling shitty and not getting a ride to my friend's bbq.

Today was for cleaning the rest of my crap out of my apartment and wasting time on the internet. like so.

skate then geek then skate again. repeat.

2005-06-27T15:37:00.000-07:00

This past week I've been alternating between aggressive rollerblading and sitting in front of my computer for long hours at a time. I've been skating a lot of the parks in Berwyn and Oak Lawn with my geek crew; seiji, mike, and nick. When I was young and skated, I rarely had the opportunity to skate park. I always went downtown and skated street. Now that I'm skating park I'm learned soooo many tricks sooo fast. For instance, I've recently learned how to grind the coping on the halfpipe, do switchups, cessslides, and some topside grinds. As a result, I've been feeling virile. In the geek department, I've been putting final tweaks on my werewolf model. I posted it on cgtalk. but critiques have been sparse. I've also recently gotten webhosting with 4bucks.net and a domain at http://www.samwey.com I've uploaded my old web portfolios at http://www.samwey.com/oldsites/2002/ and http://www.samwey.com/oldsites/2003/ I've also created web forum for my animation production studio class so we can throw around ideas and get to know each other before our class formally starts, seeing as how our teacher is MIA. I've been listening to "Verve Remixed 3" it's an awesome compilation of remixes of classic jazz tracks by various sample DJs. You should look it up and listen to it.

so good.

2005-06-17T09:33:00.000-07:00

werewolf2b
Originally uploaded by sammokablamo.

the first two weeks of vacation have been good. I've been able to spend some time with some old friends as well as some new ones. I've also been able to keep myself fairly productive. I've been working on this werewolfslashdogmandude with a maya/zbrush workflow. it's nice. It's really gotten me better acquainted with human anatomy. This digital sculpting dvd has really pushed me into thinking about each muscle as a form attached to a bone rather than shapes which i think i sort of viewed them as when illustrating. I visited Brian's class yesterday and got some critiques from him on this. His students were really interested in the workflow for this, felt like some sort of geeky rockstar. too much attention. Frank invited me to work with them on the special effects on this "Burden" science fiction film. I'm sceptical about the competence of the people running this show. I don't think they grasp how much CG is going to be necessary for their project. I ran into them the day before last at Got Pizza. they talk big though, they're going to shut down part of LaSalle street, downtown for two days to shoot this shit. Ambitious at the very least.

2005-05-29T19:09:00.000-07:00

lots of random things have happened this week. I dunno if you're interested but I'm going to write it down here anyways in case I forget.

I've registered for Siggraph 2005. I'm excited and apprehensive. In the next two months I'm going to work my ass off and get my reel together before Siggraph and hopefully get myself a job or at least some of the best advise of my life. Even if I do get a job, I don't know if I'd be able to take it yet. I have a year left at Columbia College and I plan on finishing it. I think i'm going to focus on modeling after I do this animation. Learning all this shit about rigging and animating has been interesting, but I fear that I'm becoming a diluted generalist. The big studios seem to want "the sharpest knife for the job" and I've been trying to learn all this shit because I'm stubborn and a control freak and have a low attention span. I'm currently doing a basic "heavy box lift" animation excercise with my guard rig. It's tough and tedious. There are moments when animation is exhilarating. I'll be like, "damn, that's fucking alive! this is the coolest shit ever!". But I've been animating pretty nonstop for the last few days and 90% of it is tedious tweaking and fixing. It's burning me out.

My internship with Sol Design fell through. My teacher, Brian said that his boss's two sons are coming up from somewhere to intern so he fired all the interns they had. I asked Brian if the interns they had were good and he said they were. Sounds pretty unethical to me. I was pretty disappointed initially. I was hoping to experience some yuppie decadence and the "good life" briefly even though I'm not really interested in doing commercial work. It would've also been cool to work with Brian and have access to a render farm. It's sort of a good thing that it fell through though. I don't have much time before Siggraph and I have to "get my ass in gear" as they say.

In the last two weeks I've been going with Seiji to a free capoeira class at Roosevelt University on Tuesdays and Thursdays, with Seiji. If you're not in the know as I wasn't until two weeks ago, capoeira is a Brazilian/African dancing/martial art. It was created by slaves as a fighting discipline disguised as a dance. Basically all the moves from break dancing are derived from capoeira. It's insane. Hopefully by taking this class, I'll be able to get in shape and have my whole body as rediculously tone as some of the people in this class. I've been so sore the past few weeks, I've barely had enough time to stop being sore before another class.

This previous Wednesday, Brian took me, Seiji and Mike to a bar during his class's break to celebrate Mike's 21st burday. I downed a redbull and vodka. I was pretty insane for the next few hours. I was talking fast as hell and quite sociable. Probably not very good for my heart though.

My made up word of the day is cunnilinguist, -noun, A person who is very fluent in cunnilingus.

I finally registered for classes and got some academic advising on what I need to take for the next year. I'm only going to take 3 classes in the fall and two classes in the spring. The Animation Production Studio class I've enrolled in is with the worst teacher of the three that teach it. The classes of the other two were full and I was unable to register early enough because I had a hold on my account and my parents couldn't pay it off fast enough and/or didn't want to until the financial stuff with the house was done. I saw the work that comes out of that class at the previous open house. It sucked. She imposes her aesthetic and artistic vision on her students and there is absolutely no collaboration. Everyone hates her because she is so uncompromising and shows so much favoritism to a few students. It is also said that she is never able to give articulate critiques of student work and instead just says things are wrong or right or wrong. Me and Seiji sent an email to Jim Rohn the best teacher relative to the other ones pleading our case to be let into his class. He said there was nothing he could do and some naive shite about there being something to be learned from every teacher. Animation Production Studio is a two semester class so I'll be stuck with her for both semesters. The only benefit I see in taking her class is the ability to work in relative autonomy and not be dragged down by the ineptitudes of others.

If you read all this, I'm impressed. Peoples' attention spans are short on the internet. I love you too.

uproot downroot

2005-05-05T01:03:00.000-07:00

I'm at my parents house right now. I came over here to help them pack. They're going to be moving out of here on Saturday. They found a real nice place in Naperville. I haven't been there yet but I've seen pictures and it seems pretty sweet. High ceilings and enough room for the pool table. In addition to getting it moved, they're also going to get it re-felted and they're going to get the color changed. Had a nice talk with my mum. Her conservative Christian ideology is infectious... in a good way i suppose.

hm. I've lived here for about 15 years. it's crazy how fast these things happen. you'd think after moving in and out of places for college for the last 3 years would get me used to this nomadic thing. but. nope.

hmmm.

2005-04-07T23:41:00.000-07:00

We are currently downsizing Libido Inc. There will be layoffs, budget cuts and corporate reshuffling. Please come back later when Vice President Sammo's managerial competence returns.

Iris Chang's suicide stunned those she tried so hard to help -- the survivors of Japan's 'Rape of Nanking'T

2005-03-31T13:24:00.000-08:00

Iris Chang's suicide stunned those she tried so hard to help -- the survivors of Japan's 'Rape of Nanking'

I spent the last few days at my parents house. It was nice to be in the tranquility of the suburbs, away from my work and the city lights. hmm... city lights" thats a good Lucky Boy's song. I finished reading "The Conquest of Happiness" by Bertrand Russell. It was really good. I think I benefitted a lot from it. While I was home I looked through an box of my old stuff which included some sketchbooks. It reaquainted me with who I was in highschool and junior high. It was interesting. I think in the last year I've sort of lost sight of this part of me.

Concerning the link above. My mom told me about it. I read the "Rape of Nanking" a few summers ago. It was about the Holocaust-scaled massacres that the Japanese committed in Nanking during WWII which history has forgotten for the most part. It was really depressing. The article talks about the author of this book and how she committed suicide November 2004. Makes me sad.

The weather's beautiful though.

Burn out.

2005-03-15T18:47:00.000-08:00

I've been working pretty nonstop on my computer animation. I think I'm burning out. I'm pretty much done with the character models. I've managed to cram in homework for other classes by doing it the morning before my classes. My monday to tuesdays are always madness...

2 weeks into spring semester...

2005-02-27T00:06:00.000-08:00

I'm sleepy.

I've been working pretty nonstop on my film. I'm currently working a "3D layout" It's basicly the film composed of temporary, really simple 3d models and camera work. It helps extablish the necessary scale the people and scenery will be. I had some technical difficulties getting the frame numbers right. My storyboard reel was composed in Premiere Pro and it became evident that Premiere sucks at dealing with 24fps film. I couldn't set the project's fps setting to 24 and exporting the current project to 24fps wasn't very convenient either. I've since switched to Sony Vegas 5 with DVD Architect, which is extremely handy since I just got a handy dandy DVD burner. I got the NEC ND3520A for 65 bucks. Seems like it's one of the best on the market right now. I tried it out. I burned my 3d head lipsync onto a dvd and it worked. I also got my dad to get my a Gnomon DVD demonstrating how to incorporate ZBrush into my production workflow. I'm really excited.

Concerning classes, i have art history mondays. it's pretty mundane. I tend to draw some interesting stuff though since I'm so bored in that class. After that I have Computer Animation Studio. So far it's given me a very good structure and production workflow. Also, it's a small class with people I'm familiar and friends with, which has given me a sense of comradery that I've sorely lacked in the last 3 years in school. Writing for New media on Tuesdays is another intellectually stimulating gen ed. I enjoy it. I'll be learning a lot about the new cultural dynamics introduced by the internet. geektastic. I wonder how badly I'll end up neglecting these classes for the sake of my film...

so tired. my hands are so cold. i need excercise badly. I feel all shitty even though I'm happy and excited about many things.

grades came in...

2005-02-11T22:36:00.000-08:00

Fall Semester - 2004
Course	Section	Title	Hours	Grade
26-2030	02	Stop-Motion Animation *	3.00	A
26-3046	01	Advanced Computer Animation: Maya*	4.00	A
50-1302	02	U.S. Foreign Policy	3.00	A
52-1401	18	Basic Public Speaking	3.00	A-

Statistics
	Attempted	Earned	Passed	Quality	Points	GPA
Session	13.00	13.00	0.00	13.00	51.10	3.930
Cumulative	94.00	94.00	27.00	67.00	264.10	3.941
Statistics last updated: 02/02/2005

Momentum

2005-02-11T00:13:00.000-08:00

noun - 1: something I gain and lose way too easily in my daily life.

after a week of break

2005-02-02T14:50:00.000-08:00

I've been on break for a week and a half now. I've been keeping myself reasonably busy. I put together a short action flick plotline. I did really rough storyboards for it. scanned them. and did a quick storyboard reel. Now I'm doing concept art for it. It's sort of too long for me to reasonably complete by myself. So I figure I'll do the beginning and end of it first and chug away at the middle. I have like 90 storyboards...

:: Degagement ::

2005-02-01T17:36:00.000-08:00

:: Degagement ::

check out my friend's film.

letting school get in the way of my education

2005-01-23T02:37:00.000-08:00

The issue that I discussed in my last post has been rolling around in my head a lot for the last week, causing me distressed and anxious. On Friday I went to a screening of the Animation Production Studio classes' work. There were 4 films, one of them finished and completely 3d. While I was impressed by the amount of work put into them in some cases, the aesthetic quality of the work was pretty pathetic. If I were to take these production classes I would have two choices. Either to be the most anal retentive, micro-managing art director ever or complete slack off and focus on my personal work during the class. I'm more sure than ever that dropping out will be the best decision. Another idea that I thought of last night, that would appease my parents while allowing me to work on my own art would be to figure out a custom work on my own thing with the school. This wouldn't really make any sense though because I'd be paying 8,000$ a semester (a total of 16000$) for them NOT to teach me and me teaching myself. Rediculous. I discussed the financial element earlier with my parents who don't care about the money but it doesn't make sense. Also the point about it being only a year can be seen in a different light. The computer animation industry moves extremely fast and losing a year can have quite an adverse effect on my portfolio reel. As far as this upcoming semester is concerned, I'm going to attend these classes. I've yet to try XSI and Computer Animation Studio may give me some collaborative experience.

I'm done with this semester. I owned it. Before my US Foreign Policy final I had a 102% average, second highest in the class and I did fine on the final . I did fine in Stop Motion Animation, Advanced Maya and Basic Public Speaking.

The Conquest of Happiness

2005-01-16T19:21:00.000-08:00

Lots of new developments in this autobiography. ...hmm.... well now I can't think of anything... Oh yeah. Brian, my Advanced Maya teacher is willing to try to get me an internship at his commercial postproduction studio, however it would have to be full time so it would have to be over the summer, unless I stop taking classes this semester. He also strongly urges me to drop out of school. No wait, hear me out. It makes perfect sense, I swear. He doesn't believe that, at this stage in my development as a Maya artist, I can learn anything more at Columbia College. In the next year and a half my computer animation classes will be geared toward working as a team with fellow classmates to complete short films. However he feels and I agree, that working with these peers will ultimately weaken my final reel with which I will send out to employers to get a job. I think I can fairly accurately say that I'm far ahead of my classmates both technically and aesthetically. In this industry, no body cares if you have a degree or not. They care about whether your animation reel is good or not. Whether or you have skills. The money spent on college tuition would be much more effectively spent on hardware, webhosting, a domain name, and other ways to promote myself and learn on my own. Paying off college tuition is also seems to be an immense financial strain on my parents.

Now this brings me to my parents' point of view which is a component of my attitude, which is based on principle. I only have a year and a half left of college and I might as well finish. ...That's it. My parents are willing to do whatever it takes to get me through college. Supporting their stance, I think that so far I have gained a great deal of knowledge from my general education classes. They have helped me become more cultured and wellrounded, however I only have like 2 or 3 genEd classes left to take.

I'm not sure what I should do. At this point in time, I've already registered for my classes for the Spring and I think I'm going to go with the flow. Any comments would be appreciated on this subject.

Despite this concern, everything else is going pretty smoothly. I only have a week left in this semester. Two classes left. One is my Advanced Maya: I've finished rendering my passes and compositing. I don't really have a good place to host my stuff so I'll put it off for now. My last responsibility of the semester will be a 10 minute speech in Basic Public Speaking class this Friday.

I got two books from Border's yesterday. I got "The Conquest of Happiness" by Bertrand Russell. Pretty excited about it. It was suggested in a helpful article about the health of software engineers. Bertrand Russel is a nobel prize winning philosopher, if you're not in the know. The other book I got is Maya 6: Killer Tips. Lots of interesting little goodies in here. All temporarily paid for by Rebecca.

Rebecca also recently got some awesome vinyl and ninja head protectors too. She rocks. I love Hanzo Steel, it's an album of remixes of songs on the Kill Bill soundtrack. She also got a kickass unkle album, an excellent house album and more.

I've also begun working with a classmate on a Halflife 2 modification. I've also started work on a boring golf website with a group based in Wisconsin. Having my mom come home from Taiwan and pay off my college tuition, thus releasing the hold on my account and allowing me to register for classes is sweet. Having my first traditional Christmas dinner with my sister's in-laws is interesting. Getting a 20$ gift certificate to Best Buy is great. 75% less sugar Cocoa Puffs are okay. House of Flying Daggers and Spanglish are good movies. Thank you for reading. Sammo out.

cheval noir

2004-12-06T21:15:00.000-08:00

cheval noir

This woman's illustrations are amazing. The best stuff is at the bottom of the illustration page.

I've started lipsyncing my 3d head. I'm pretty excited. It's pretty fun. I'll show you later.

A Little Turkey.

2004-11-25T19:29:00.000-08:00

DSCF0022
Originally uploaded by sammokablamo.

Thanksgiving at my sister's house was good. Here's a new picture of Annabella's cuteness.

Everyone Else Has Had More Sex Than Me - Flash Animation

2004-11-23T21:31:00.000-08:00

Everyone Else Has Had More Sex Than Me - Flash Animation
This flash animation/music video is really really well animated, funny, and full of cute bunnies. Watch it. Or you'll regret it for the rest of your life. doom doom doom dee doom...

drinking water to stave off hunger

2004-11-23T01:34:00.000-08:00

Since the last time I've blogged, I've done a few things, seen a few things, and listened to some stuff. I went to see DJ Spooky lecture at UIC last week on wednesday. It was pretty interesting. He carried himself quite intelligently. It was almost almost over my head until I realized he was really continuously talking about audio sampling in numerous different ways and how the same concept applies to various mediums. He was pretty damn cool tho. He has a degree in philosophy and french literature, "both of which are completely useless", so he says. This previous friday, I saw his show at the Museum of Contemporary Art. He re-editted the old film "Birth of a Nation" and mixed live to it, calling it Rebirth of a Nation. (For those of you who don't know click here, it was an old film glorifying the KKK.) It was okay. It think it's an important piece of art socially because it re-introduces it into contemporary culture and audiences who may not have otherwise been aware of it. It helps the current generation to acknowledge our country's history of racism and the rediculousness of it, while bringing attention to the current degree of racial equality. Aesthetically though, I wasn't impressed by DJ Spooky's live video mixing. The editting and effects got monotonous and the three screens made me insane. His music was pretty good but sometimes I don't think it appropriately fit what was going on the film. DJ Spooky's cool tho. At the UIC lecture, he handed out these awesome mix CDs. Quality, quality music.
Tonight I was trying to write a 7 page paper from start to finish tonight. Didn't work out so well. I'm at the top of my third page and my brain is slowing down at 3am. I was attempting to meet the early deadline so I could email it to him and get feedback. Maybe I'll send it in late and hope he'll get back to me.
Thursday, I'll be spending Thanksgiving at my sister's house with the family and inlaws. On Sunday, my sister's baby is getting baptized with her husband's church. My parents are against it because they're fundamentalist bitches so they're not going. Of course... cause the bible says to put God above even your family. Fuck that and fuck them... I'll be going, to support my sister and my baby niece.

sour then sweet

2004-11-07T20:52:00.000-08:00

I voted for my first time tuesday. The whole way up north, I tried to convince my dad to vote for kerry instead of bush. I debated him into the fucking ground but he voted for bush anyways. His reasons were that he felt that Bush was more "moral" and we all know that really means that he's a homophobic bigot that's willing to endorse discriminitory policies in the government. I explained that to him too. He just stopped responding. I successfully convinced my mom to vote Kerry though. It was a shock to me because I always saw my dad as the more rational side that offset the obsessive compulsive, religious fundamentalist side that was my mother. Bush winning the election didn't make me feel any better. It made me angry at the ignorance of the other half of America and their inability to think for themselves and get educated on issues. My dad being in that half. In the subsequent anger, depression and feeling of hopelessness I found this blog particularly uplifting. I've also been spending more money in the last few days to cheer me up: I bought a really good character animation book for seventy some dollars. I also went to see "The Incredibles" with some friends. It was an extremely well crafted movie. I loved it. I've been eating out quite a bit more lately too. I've been trying to put more time into my computer animation stuff. I think I'll have something pretty badassly presentable soon. Thanks for reading. I love you too.

in and of myself & "tyranny of the left brain"

2004-10-19T22:51:00.000-07:00

Since my last post, I've gone to more classes, had a still uncertain, nerve-wrecking medical crisis of sorts, chilled with my teacher at his office again, got hooked up by tim with his cousin to do freelance for his web production company, got hooked up with some instructional dvds for rendering and lighting, ate at francesca's, a fancy italian restaurant.

Today, I went to a poetry reading by Li Young Lee. I like his personality and outlook more than I like his poetry. He speaks very poeticall making abstract analogies that aren't necessarily logical but are appealing on an emotional level. Made me think that maybe I've been suffering from a, in his words, "tyranny of the left brain", the logical side.

My right contact lens fell out at the beginning of my U.S. Foreign Policy class today. I felt so incompacitated. It made the whole world suck, not to mention blurry when looking through my right eye. I'd keep switching from one eye to the other seeing how things compared. It was kind of interesting to see the degree to which things got indistinct. Is that a word? Indistinct?

the life.

2004-10-10T01:21:00.000-07:00

thursday night I went to the most pimp party i've ever been to (other than the triple A party). It was my maya teacher's company party. It was on the 25th and 26th floor of the AMA building, right off of the Grand stop on the red line. The 25th and 26th floor is right where the hole is in the building. Open bar serving mango martinis and leechi and pineapple martini's. they also had beer and wine and catering. The company is a special effects house for commercials. Soooo money. Their offices were so sweet. Designer coaches everywhere. The door to my teacher's office was a shiny metal garage door. Good DJs too. My teacher spun some really good house. Another DJ played this remix of twisted nerve from the Kill Bill soundtrack. I looked it up. I think I wanna buy it. The view of the chicago landscape was gorgeous: rows of street lamps running toward the horizon. All of this, of coarse, made me feel quite out-classed until I was sufficiently enebriated. I danced with a woman that was probably 5 to 10 years older than me. That was my conquest of the night. haha. Needless to say, this kind of atmosphere has persuaded me that whoring myself out for commercial work might be worth the money I'd be able to make. However, I'm still not that in the least interested in representing someone else's corporate identity.

no longer homeless

2004-10-05T20:56:00.000-07:00

My website has been graciously taken in by Adam at diseasedmind.com so now my website is at
http://samwey.diseasedmind.com/
also, http://samsartisticego.cjb.net/ redirects there as well except you get an obnoxious popup if you don't have a popup blocker.

my 3 production 1 films are also back online. you can download them from these locations if you right click and go to save as. their sort of large so be patient.
http://samwey.diseasedmind.com/films/SkateNonsense.mov
http://samwey.diseasedmind.com/films/footage1.mov
http://samwey.diseasedmind.com/films/twistoffate1.mov

I've started reading the Windup Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami. So far I like it. Murakami always adds this air of mystery to everything he puts in there which make me want to read more. the shear size of the book is overwealming though. I've never read such a huge book. I've gotten through three other Murakami books though so I assume I'll be able to finish this one. Eventually.

I had my 2nd Stop-motion class yesterday. We animated our armature waving. It was so tedious I wanted to die. Even though 3d computer animation takes just as much time (maybe more) at least there's many different stages in the production which keeps things interesting. Stop motion animation seems so insanity inducing in comparison.

I also had my 2nd U.S. foreign policy class. He's establishing a vocabulary for us to use in discussing foreign policy. It's interesting and important but damn, sometimes it boils down to really trivial semantics. blah blah blah. This is of no interest to anyone. I've added more useless information to this growing "wealth" of information called the internet. I wrote an essay a while back disproving a nihilist philosopher that said that the more information there is the less meaning there is. In some ways I still disagree with him but in others I think I'm starting to believe him.

introducing Annabella.

2004-10-03T22:41:00.000-07:00

DSC00788.JPG
Originally uploaded by sammokablamo.

i got some pics of my newborn niece. she the cutest baby ever. i mean it. EVER. and if you disagree i'll have to kill you and your immediate and extended family. now say "awwwww"... say it.... that's right. more pics on my flickr page http://www.flickr.com/photos/44124442917@N01/

(o_o)

2004-10-02T19:14:00.000-07:00

something i wrote a week ago. tell me what you think. i don't know shit about poetry so it might suck but at this point i guess i'm pretty happy with it.

"firefly"

on a moonless,3AM porch,
she raises it to her lips again
and the firefly-tip of her cigarette glows
in unison with the rise of her chest.
glowing and fading
with each involuntary drag.
this firefly
thrives on her every breath,
gratifying her chemical drive
while gently ravishing her pride.
she wallows in its affectionate ether
but she's the one with all the love.

school drool cruel tool banana

2004-09-30T14:05:00.000-07:00

it's thursday and i've taken 3 of my 4 classes already. My stop motion animation class is taught by a big guy with crazy hair. My US. foreign policy teacher is some young yuppy, law genius, entrepenuer millionaire, GQ model. He's quite witty as well. In contrast, my Advanced Maya teacher started off working at UPS for many years. He rocks though, you can tell he knows his shit unlike my last teacher. I think I'll be able to learn a lot from this guy. I've already learned several new workflow techniques and stuff. GOOD SHIT.

anticipation

2004-09-25T15:48:00.000-07:00

i'm about to start school. i'm sort of looking forward to having the regimented lifestyle of school. i'm broke. i need to get money from my parents. i need to meet new people. i need to 3d model more random shit. i need to dry my clothes. i'm sexually frustrated and i'm losing my mind. i'm feeling volatile. i need food. I think i'll go eat a banana. i wrote a poem for the first time in years. i'm pretty content with it. I think i'll post it after i fix it up a bit more.

The Onion A.V. Club | Feature

2004-09-19T22:55:00.000-07:00

Mamoru Oshii interview

i recently watched Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence. It was gorgeous and thought provoking. You should watch it. The link above is an interview with Mamoru Oshii, the director of GITS2. You should read it.

I've been fucking with texturing my 3d modeled head. I've been playing with a diffusion shader for mental ray. It's pretty interesting. It can simulate Sub Surface Scattering of light. ex. when you put a flash light in your mouth, your cheeks turn red because your cheeks are absorbing the light and scattering it and because of the blood vessels, the light is turned red...

We had our first house party friday night. I think it was quite a success. Good people, good music, good drinks, good dancing. 3 guest DJs, 2 resident DJs. lots of goodness. A few hiccups but not a big deal.

My sister had a baby, friday morning. So that would be September 17th 2004 at around 2am. She was so cute. She had the widest chinky eyes. She was asleep the whole time I was at the hospital. Her eyes kept smiling and her lips would smile in her sleep once in a while. Her bottom lip tucked under her upper lip. So cute.

FrontPage - 9/11Review

2004-09-09T00:28:00.000-07:00

FrontPage - 9/11Review

this is some really interesting stuff about 9/11 attacks. also watch http://www.911review.org/Media/pentagon121.swf

...not much.

2004-09-04T20:47:00.000-07:00

i've been spending most of my time playing fallout2. i'm so addicted. when everyday life is pretty mundane the interesting plot of a good rpg can be pretty habit forming.

Nerve.com - The Ronin of Raunch by Noy Thrupkaew

2004-08-30T00:24:00.000-07:00

Nerve.com - The Ronin of Raunch by Noy Thrupkaew: "Darrell Hamamoto"

an interesting article about an asian american professor that makes porn in an attempt to challenge the asexual of the asian man in american media/porn industry. fun stuff.

comatose

2004-08-29T00:42:00.000-07:00

i'd write something: like what's happened in the last week. but i'm too tired. so i'll write it when i wake up. yes. wake up. goodbye. now.

fighter jets flying over my apartment

2004-08-19T13:06:00.000-07:00

As an American I find solace in the fact that the killing machines my country uses to kill lots of innocent people are hundreds of miles away. It makes me understandably nervous when I hear fighter jets screaming over my apartment every halfhour. I looked outside and recognized that they were those"blue angels" jets that they have at air shows. I googled it and apparently there's an airshow in chicago for the next four days. Goddamnit.

i'm sleepy.

2004-08-19T01:05:00.000-07:00

i always write these things as a last attempt at wasting time before I go to sleep. I spent the whole day 3d modeling this head that's very loosely based on me. It's okay. Still needs a lot of work. I'll show you later, whoever you are. This time it should be relatively easy to animate the face expressively since i utilized edge loop techniques in the construction of it. Yesterday I wandered onto a good article on why nurbs suck... anyways... uh, friday there's a party at susanna's apartment and me and rebecca are going to DJ. i'm really excited. It was pretty fun spinning last time. you should come. Heh heh, is it amusing when I type as if it were directed at someone specific? oh... i'm sorry I offended you. goodnight.

i think i need sugar

2004-08-17T00:07:00.000-07:00

more fucked up dreaming juxtaposed against a rather pleasant reality. slow, unproductive morning... or afternoon. I woke up late. went to a cake eating thing at the Perino's to send off Scott to his boot camp. met a Chinese lady that knows my parents through the church. it was a pleasant conversation until i got uncomfortable when she commented on me and my sister's lack of participation in our church and then tried to get me to tutor her in computer graphics. I really don't like it when strangers try to utilize your tech knowledge, especially people through church. the other day a kid from church randomly called me and asked if i could give him a copy of Flash MX. Last week, Brian's dad, a family friend through church was trying to coax me into doing a Flash animation with Christian themes. This is getting rediculous. I don't like being in the position of trying to be extremely polite while being completely dissinterested. I just don't have the patience. I'm learning more and more that one thing our church is quite good for is business networking especially when people in our church are too polite and passive to refuse any sort of collaboration.
I've had this done for maybe a week now but have neglected to upload it. Here is my third black and white, silent film from my production 1 class. It's called "Skate Nonsense", starring me and Carter. It was basically an excuse to get film of myself skating. Enough banal mental spillage.

Click this to see the film. It's 18 megs so RIGHT CLICK and SAVE AS or something.

enebriated and sober

2004-08-15T01:26:00.000-07:00

went to a keg. it was alright. sometimes i'm not the most tactful when i'm enebriated. but fuck it. "life goes on" as it said on that girls tattoo.

welcome to summer.

2004-08-14T20:51:00.000-07:00

render2edit1
Originally uploaded by sammokablamo.

this is truly summer vacation. I've been doing nothing but chilling, reading, and doing art for the last two weeks. I 3d modeled this mac 10. I have to work on the render and the cleanliness of the surfacing but i felt like getting it out. Here you go. tell me what you think, i'm starved for attention.

Doom 3 released as well as my 2 of my films

2004-08-04T00:21:00.000-07:00

Doom 3 period. This is a milestone in my life.

I just finished capturing my first two films in Production 1. I made titles and credits for them and uploaded a smaller version for you all, whoever you are, to watch.

1st film ever: "Unbearable Epiphany" (12megs)

2nd film ever: "A Twist of Fate" (17megs)

I'll have my third film up too, so stay tuned.

I'm currently chillin at my apartment. Come visit. I love it here, I'm so happy I pissed myself. I'm also staying sort of productive, doing computer stuff and making art.

DSCF0021
Originally uploaded by sammokablamo.

2004 Asian Mustache Olympics

2004-08-02T01:21:00.000-07:00

2004 Asian Mustache Olympics

this is fucking hilarious.

in other news; I moved in, opened up shop, and have free wireless internet via some generous wireless network. woo! wireless internet rocks. I love this apartment. Life is good.

packing up my life into managable little boxes.

2004-07-31T19:16:00.000-07:00

i woke from a dream where I was thinking, "i have to make sure I do my biology homework" and I'm not even in school! I think my theory from last week (that the things I dream about attempt to make up for what I haven't been doing in real life) is panning out. It's also annoying that even in dreams my mind wanders to practical considerations before engaging in sexual stuffs. It's even more annoying when you wake up right before you start dreaming about sex stuff. It's that much more annoying waking up right before having a nice sexual dream, to the sound of your mom talking obnoxiously loud on the phone.

untitled #1234908

2004-07-30T22:18:00.000-07:00

i started packing. I'm not sure when i'll be moving. Maybe in the next two days. I'm pretty excited. My parents are supportive but my dad is a little forlorn. It makes me feel bad about leaving. I really need to though. I'm running out of things to say. I wish I could be really eloquent and make even the most mundane things sound interesting. I'm not sure if writing in these blogs necessarily improves my writing ability. All I write is little disparate ideas without any overarching concept. I think I want to go get some icecream. See what I mean?

chillin like a villian

2004-07-29T23:23:00.000-07:00

I took a train downtown and went with Rebecca and Nikki to Millenium Park to really examine it for the first time. It was pretty nice. Laying in the grass is my new hobby.

my masturbating cat, now in 2-D!

2004-07-28T14:02:00.000-07:00

i used Painter for the first time. I painted my silly little cat. It's the first time I've done art for myself in a loooong time. Feels good. I'm kinda apprehensive about my use of color. Damn colorblindness. Comments are welcome.

I'm out of summer school. I think that I aced the test. I got my midterm essay and final project back and i got an A on those too. Damn it feels good to be a gangster. It sure does. Even Steven. Almost free.

myfirstcatTexture
Originally uploaded by sammokablamo.

sleepy and happy

2004-07-26T20:53:00.000-07:00

Today was a good day. Today I presented my final project to my Middle East History class. I'm a horrible public speaker. My throat gets dry. I choke. My voice wavers and my body convulses. No, I guess I'm exaggerating, but it still kind of sucked. My illustration was well received, I got a lot of compliments and people seemed engaged in my discussion of the political climate in Iran. A girl even wanted one of my extra copies of my illustration and asked me to sign it. It made me feel like a celebrity. After this project, all I need to do is take my final exam on Wednesday. This is a huge relief for me. Maybe I'll be able to actually start my summer now. This feels really good. After my class, there was a study session for the final. After that I went to Beeka's, chilled and had lunch at Yummy Thai. We had this chicken with spinach, egg, and crab inside. All in a peanut sauce. It was pretty good. She took the Metra with me, each of us going to our respective parent's houses. Beeka's presence was really soothing for me.

The other day, I obtained a copy of Fritz the Cat. It's an animated film based in the 1960's. All the character's are animals. It's pretty... let's say adult. It addresses the cultural events of the 60's, like the emergence of the Black Panthers, drug culture, etc. I think the theme's that I walked away with was that idle intellectualizing sucks, violent revolution sucks, despite respectable ideals people that communicate their politics through violence (i hate the word terrorism now but i guess it is) are insane enough to commit violence in the first place and are not to be trusted, and the only good thing left in the world are orgies. It's a good film and funnier than putting insects on a leash.

I slept three hours last night and took naps here and there today. In the few days I've been having dreams where I'm just chilling with my friends and it really cheers me up. I wake up happy. It's weird, I haven't really done anything social in the last two weeks other than hanging out with Rebecca here and there. It's like my subconcious is making up for lost time. I'm exhausted right now and my body wants me to go to sleep but I think I'm staying up, writing this with some irrational expectation that something great will happen before I head to bed and I should wait for it. Maybe I'm just hungry.

Welcome to 123 Flash Me.com!

2004-07-25T20:47:00.000-07:00

Welcome to 123 Flash Me.com!

no. this post isn't about pornography. this is a nifty little piece of software to help you make flash memorization cards. you can even print em out on double sided paper. death to hand cramping hand written index cards. ushering in a new age of... i dunno... nerdy academia. if you need a serial number... you know how to get it.... buying it, of course.

common people

2004-07-24T10:39:00.000-07:00

listen to this

will shatner doing a cover of pulp's common people.

a slow thursday

2004-07-23T00:32:00.000-07:00

i spent most of the day googling for inspiration for a middle east final project. i decided to do something about the dynamic between islam and social/political stuff. in iran, until recently, the ideocratic fascists were pretty hardcore, you couldn't even hold hands with your girlfriend in public. so i did a quick illustration, scanned it colored it and voila: used a whole day to think of a not-so-inspired idea plus minimal time devoted to execution equals not that exciting final project.

ME1a
Originally uploaded by sammokablamo.

happy

2004-07-21T23:34:00.000-07:00

one step closer to finishing my class. I turned in my essay today. After class, I went with rebecca to her last time-based class. It was interesting to see other people's work. After her class we chilled and went to see I, Robot. It was a pretty good movie, although i want to compare it to the plot of the original. Took a late train home. Did a favor for a woman by waking her up before i got off the train.

made up words of the day

2004-07-20T12:24:00.000-07:00

hangry - adj. 1. when an individual is so hungry they become angry. ex. godzilla was hangry.

redicu'loud - adj. 1. a contraction of "rediculously loud" ex. your 4.1 surround is redicu'loud.

Victory in 2004--and Beyond

2004-07-20T09:36:00.000-07:00

Victory in 2004--and Beyond

i like this article. it makes me hopeful.

yesterday fell asleep on the train. my train was to get to wilmette at 5:06, i set a cell phone alarm for 5. I woke up to the alarm. looked out the window. it was wilmette. i yelled jesus christ embarassingly loud and ran off the train.

relief

2004-07-18T20:25:00.000-07:00

we signed the lease. payed our security deposit. we can move in as soon as everyone else pays their first months rent. i can't wait. today I spent most of the day slacking and finding my bearings for this essay. I've written two pages. It's due wednesday. I can't wait for this class to be over too.

Coolsex�

2004-07-18T08:46:00.000-07:00

Coolsex�

wow. this is the sweetest product since... ever.

losing my mind

2004-07-17T23:28:00.000-07:00

going from living for myself and by myself for two years, and then moving back home where my parents try to micromanage my life makes me feel like complete ass. I also can't handle eating my mother's horrendous cooking so often. My westernized taste doesn't make it any easier to fill my stomach either. My mother never stops playing the piano either. I feel so isolated and alone in this house. It's like I'm a angry, self-destructive teenager in highschool again. I can't wait to move out.

Today I went to a dinner with my parents and extended family to celebrate a 1 month old new born. Very cute kid but very boring dinner. It's really unnerving when you see your uncle hold a newborn so carelessly, without supporting its head. The baby's head was tilting all over the place. Me and my mom were cringing and my dad looked away. Kind of funny in a sick way. It would've sucked so bad if that kid died of sudden infant death syndrome. Goddamn, some people are so ignorant.

ROBERT YAGER photography

2004-07-17T09:12:00.000-07:00

ROBERT YAGER photography

i love this guys photography. every shot tells a story. the gang photography in particular is great.

one step closer to moving out

2004-07-16T22:14:00.000-07:00

i organized an appointment to check out an apartment today. we actually got everyone there. it was amazing. the apartment wasn't that great. a three bedroom in a narrow gloomy first floor. the guy owned this coach house in the back of the apartment next door. it would be pimp for two people but wouldn't be able to cram the four of us in there. so... we did it. we're going to get the perino's apartment on bishop. it's sooo sweet. it's got to big bedrooms a really pimp kitchen with marble countertop and a big living room area. my parents are supportive but a little stressed financially. i should get a job. i feel like such a spoiled brat. i'm the only one of the four of us that isn't paying his own way. but i want to focus on my own work after summer school ends and relieve this constant crappy feeling i get when i live at home. i started reading Percepolis. it's about this girl's childhood during the cultural and political changes in Iran in the last like 30 some years. It's presented in comic book form or graphic novel form (that sounds so snooty). I like how she presents her naivety towards politics as a child. It's cute.

korean haircut

2004-07-15T19:30:00.000-07:00

i usually get my hair cut at supercuts on dempster. today i got my haircut at from this lady at my mom's favorite korean hair stylist. now my hair makes me look like a korean kid. it's all feathered on top. it's funny. it was a good haircut though. she washed my hair before and after and you could tell she's very familiar with working with asian hair.

BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Ammonia on Mars could mean life

2004-07-15T17:11:00.000-07:00

BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Ammonia on Mars could mean life

it seems that there's probably life on mars! cooooooooool.

better day

2004-07-14T22:39:00.000-07:00

last night while i was trying to fall asleep, a spider landed on my eye and spazzed out. It fell, i turned the light on, tried to smash it with a book but this agile little spider got away. I spent the next hour trying to fall asleep while suppressing my obsessive compulsive, creepy-crawly, arachniphobic feeling all over my body. It sucked. On the way to class, an opening door clipped my rollerboot. I rolled away fine, but scared the bluecollar guy opening the door. Could've been ugly. I also almost got hit by a turning car that wasn't looking at street he was turning into. Kind of rattled me. In class, I learned some interesting Iran history and some additional stuff about evil shit the U.S. does to democratic countries that make moves against U.S. economic interests. After class, Rebecca fed me and I read and took a nap while she went to class. Went to her class and watched an interesting Spanish film called "Talk to Her". It had some really unorthadox relationships and shifting dynamics in it and in the end I wasn't sure what to conclude. You should see it tho. After that we went to Grant park where there was a dance music festival. My theory is that Mayor Daley's e-tard daughter has grown up and has influenced her father to support the techno music. It was pretty nice seeing so many different kinds of people being exposed to and enjoying techno. The DJ was pretty good. I ferget his name. Got to Border's books twenty minutes before closing and got the last book I needed for Mid-East History class right before it closed. Before the music festival me and Rebecca got to Pot-Belly's ten minutes before their closing time too. Fate has been kind today.

bored at home

2004-07-13T19:44:00.000-07:00

hmm. i made pasta, ate it, had a tense conversation with my mom about the philisophical viability of christianity among other things, and started reading this Baghdad Diaries book. It's interesting. I like the tone of her writing, it's sort of rye, slightly cynical humor. yum. my mother is going bread making crazy. someone bought her a bread making machine. none of this bread is that soft, yet she imposes it on everyone around her and i think they all pretend to like it. sad shit.

my summer

2004-07-12T19:44:00.000-07:00

i think i like this blogger thing. it's really simple and light and well integrated into other stuff like the google bar and the flickr photo swapping service. Yet another thing to waste time on. But I like how this works and hopefully the ease of use will encourage me to write more, which would be good for me.

From 2 years ago in Taiwan

2003-09-09T23:48:00.000-07:00

I've decideded to copy these posts from an old Xanga page of mine to here as a means of archiving my trip to Taiwan:

Thursday, February 12, 2004

if you really love me you'll.....

read this:

http://www.boycott-riaa.com/article/10370

read this:

http://www.smallstoriesonline.com/Comics/10Commandments/10Commandments.htm

install this to block IP addresses of companies associated with the RIAA and prevent being scanned by THE MAN:

http://www.methlabs.org/PeerGuardian_v1.99_pr14.zip

sign this petition:

http://www.stoppoliceware.org/

register to vote and help get bush out of office.... he'll kill us all:

https://www.workingforchange.com/vote/index.cfm?ms=WAS001&atid=18757395

3:11 AM - 2 eprops - 1 comment - email it

hmm... this is my weblog entry. yes. yes it is.

i've finally started my semester. I'm taking screenwriting 1, production 1, computer animation 1, and animation storyboarding...... so it's basically 3 classes where i have to come up with narratives and such. If anyone has any really funny stories that happened to them or something interesting, tell me the story it might be helpful. I'm not very good at coming up with stories so any inspiration is mucho mucho appreciated. Much love from Sammo Kablamo.

1:10 AM - add eprops - add comments - email it

Wednesday, January 14, 2004

it seems like 90 percent of posts on xanga are about how people haven't posted in a long time. I guess I'm no different: Gee willikers, it sure has been a long time since I've posted!

About to finish first semester. About to house-sit for my sister. Probably going to go to my first rave, Stardust. Got the analogue bundle of Gnomon DVDs. I'll probably be posting my traditional animations online soon. I think I'm gonna make a flash game during my break.... yup. "and that's all i have to say about that."

5:36 PM - 4 eprops - 2 comments - email it

Friday, September 12, 2003

getting online legitimately at my cuzin's house is a lot better than that ghetto wireless shit from a few days ago. i did a lot in the last few days and it's all starting to blur together. that's not good. Okay. I'm gonna start Wednesday. Wednesday, I spent the morning lounging around my grandparents apartment to keep an eye on my grandma while my grandpa got a checkup at the hospitol. In the evening, my cuzin took me out to eat at this japanese barbeque place. It seemed like the cool place to be, it was small, cozy, the waiter(esse)s were kinda punk rock. apparently its so popular even if you do get a reservation there's no guarantee you'll get a table. it's tradition there that at 8 o'clock it's bottoms up and you gotta finish whatevers in your glass. fun stuff. i met my cousins friends. nice people. Then we walked down to this bar, lounge place. another cozy, small, chill place. met up with more people there, switch to another lounge place that was really pimp. i mean. wow. my cousin had to drive me back to my grandparent's place early cuz my parents were coming in. i was pretty somber for the meeting with my parents.

uh. the next day, Thursday. hope this isn't too boring... i was site seeing with the parents, their Mexican business associate and my uncle. In the evening my grandpa hosted the longest and most luxurious Chinese meal at this restaurant for us and some family friends and relatives. I had shark fin soup for the first time. Good shit. The food kept coming. the next part is the best. hmm... I think I'll make it bold so people will notice it when browsing. Picture me with old people in a lounge singing karaoke. oh my god. antiquated songs and everything. okay. you have that in your head? Now picture me singing the Macarena with a fourty-something year old, drunk Mexican business man on a karaoke machine. Who would've thought. Luckily my cousin rescued me from this and i ditched them and went to a moon festival barbeque at her friend's. It was a pretty nice place. It was like out of an IKEA catalogue. There, I met a twenty something year old guy that's in charge of distribution of the card game Yu-Gi-Oh in Taiwan. Apparently he just got back from promoting at a tournament in New York. Geeky shit. We got bored so we decided to wander the night markets. I went to this place where I had snake soup four years ago. This time I had a full bowl of snake soup, I even ate some of the meat. Snakes have so many damn bones. And I had one shot of snake gall bladder. One shot of snake blood. One shot of snake venom. My piss has never been so vibrantly yellow in my life.

That night i slept at my cuzin's house. The next morning, Friday, my uncle woke me up at 8am dropped me off at my grandparents and picked up my parents and Mexican businessman; Jesus, to the airport to go to another part of Taiwan for business. I chilled at grandparents til the uncle came back and drove us to this amazing fish restaurant in bumblefuck, east of Taipei. Then we went to this cafe at the top of this mountain. The view was gorgeous. drove back to taipei, went seaweed shopping, went back to grandparents place, my grandpa taught me how to play Chinese chess and gave me a set. It was cool. I'll teach you when i get back. Then my cousin took me out again. We met up with her friend whose friend arranged a singles party. It was weird. Not sure if I've ever been to something so formerly social. I met this 24 year old web designer that designs for a firm that makes Taiwanese sites promoting Hollywood films. They do shit for Paramount, and other big US companies. He was a real cool guy. He's gonna critique my portfolio. I'm excited. The restaurant was pimp. I had steak. My filling broke off on a molar while eating soup. wut the hell? We played one of those get to know you games. i met this dance instructor. She was cute. I met a 28 year old guy that owns a factory that makes Nine West shoes. The ladies were on him like acne on my ass. I talked to him later, he was a cool guy. I said he'd hook me up with a free pair of DC shoes. The party moved to this karaoke place. These karaoke places in Taiwan are fucking pimp. It's weird. Your own room, room service, a big booth coach, beer, food, a nice bathroom attatched. Sang the night away. It was sort of boring but sort of fun. It was a huge dose of contemporary Taiwanese music culture. It was mostly real pop but it was sort of good. I also learned this drinking game. When these two guys played it it seemed like they were kicking each others ass with kungfu, the way they were yelling it. I learned it and I'll try to teach you but I'm not sure if I'll get the same effect. They were getting into. I was like; holy shit, what's going on! Don't hurt me! We got back to my cuzin's house at 3am.

Hi beeka, wut's up? does anyone other than beeka read this? Write me a comment so i don't feel like i'm talking to myself and just beeka as much. Thanks for listening. Peace.

11:48 PM - 4 eprops - 3 comments - email it

Tuesday, September 09, 2003

I’ve basically been wandering around taipei on foot for the last two days. Yesterday I went to this gynormous zoo with my grandpa. He got tired and was worried about grandma so we got back by 11. It’s fucking hot out here. After lunch I wandered around the area immediately around my grandparent’s apartment. I bought a Gon stuffed animal. If you don’t know, he’s hella cool. He looks like a little godzilla with a big head itty biddy arms. He’s a comic book character and he helps woodland animals from predators and kicks ass in general. What? You don’t believe me? Well he’s gonna FUCK you up man... I also wandered into a Starbucks where I flirted with and got directions from a nice pretty girl that worked there. Yeah! That’s right I did! I didn’t know I had the balls for that shit!

Today I went to the Taipei Museum of Contemporary Art. It was small but pretty good. One of the exhibits was a series of works that were made to look like ancient archeological artifacts but when you looked closer the stone reliefs depicted people using computers and random contemporary shit. It functioned as a means of displacing your sense of time. It was clever I guess. The stuff upstairs were rather political and in some cases cynical as well as funny. Lots of stuff on contradictory aspects of Taiwanese national identity and political life. There was also an exhibit that conveyed the role of art throughout history as a means of the middle and upper class to asserting their wealth and sophistication. It also drew the distinction between "kitsch" art and non-kitsch art. Kitsh art is made to aesthetically appeal to the masses and the artist will suppress his own artistic sense for the sake of acceptance and marketability. Stuff that isn’t kitsch, well... isn’t.

As an artist, this series sort of troubled me because I feel that I do engineer my art for the sake of public acceptance. Does this make me a sellout? Well, I guess so but it is a source of self-esteem, motivation for technical mastery, and eventually a source of income. I guess it does result in a certain impurity ideologically but apparently that’s how art has always been. Practically, the best I can do is follow my gut sense of aesthetics a little more in an attempt to create a more genuine style for myself. End of pretentious intellectualizing.

After that I had lunch at a McDonald’s. That’s right. I had McDonald’s in Taiwan. Yup. I am a fucking American. Then I wandered south. I got a pretty pimp shirt at a department store, had a little chat with a friendly store clerk. He directed me to a bustling part of town called Hsimen. Lots of thin alleys filled with stores. There was one area full of skate clothing where a girl at a store flirted with me hardcore. She kind of scared me but she was sweet. She was like, "Next time you come to Taiwan come back here if I’m still working here, I’ll remember you...". Aggressive women are a tad intimidating. She wasn’t ugly but she wasn’t beautiful. I ended up buying 2 t-shirts from her because I felt bad. Damn. I’m a sucker.

It’s sort of lonely wandering around by myself. It’s tranquil though, being able to just walk with no particular destination.

Thanks. I love you too.

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