Bruno is now at the bottom!!

Jerksblog!

Date-Based Archive Fanart

I don't actually like Sakura, at all, but I drew this image (copied from the Naruto art book) to sell on pins at Otakon. In the art room. I feel like I've achieved something to have drawn this and colored it myself. She looks much cooler here than she is the comic or the anime.

Posted by erin at 07:21 PM | Comments (0)

Date-Based Archive What Masons are Really Like

My mom sent along this picture related to "The Order of the Eastern Star," which is a Mason spin-off group for daughters/wives etc. of Masons:

Click for the rest of the picture. (Although not if you value your sanity.)

Oh please god don't ever let me be an old fat lady in a gaudy pink dress!

Posted by erin at 12:35 PM | Comments (1)

Date-Based Archive OMFG Geek Stuff!!

In a random look at some Japan-related blogs I found a bunch of nifty USB stuff:

USB Cup warmer

USB coffee warmer

I think the cup warmer warms paper cups but the flat warmer warms regular old coffee cups.

Alison got one of these: a sushi USB flash drives.

Scott got this as a gift: USB Swiss Army knife
You can get a gig!!! A GIG!!!

Kerry's brother-in-law supposedly has one of these: a "Virtual" Laser Keyboard

In an unrelated article, read this letter about an idea for a Mario game.

Posted by erin at 06:24 PM | Comments (1)

Date-Based Archive Roosevelt Island, the Alpaca Lifestyle, Other Funny Links

There are a couple of links I've been meaning to share with y'all for a while:

Who gave this kid a TV show? Andy Milonkis lives on Grand Street, he's 13, he's overweight, and he has a lot of embarrassing videos of himself on the internet. These days, that's just one step away from having your own show on MTV, apparently.

dooku.net
Ah, Count Dooku! Click the white bar for new songs. My favorite is the yodeling, and the Benny Hill song. I don't even remember that scene from episode II.

Wuthering Heights Roleplay
N.'s description of this game was probably much funnier than reading through the rules, but definitely worth checking out.

It's been decided that N. and I will almost quite certainly have to move out of our current apartment next year, the good new being that we can move whenever. So now I'm entertaining ideas about where to move. N. and I will probably look for a two-bedroom and share it with Matt (Matt being my brother, and yes, he did get a job). I'm thinking about downtown Brooklyn (near Alison somewhere) or possibly Roosevelt Island.

Why Roosevelt Island? There are luxury apartments there at somewhat affordable rates, with things like mini-gyms, balconies, great views, and a pool! There are lots of parks and crime is non-existent. Sure, it sucks for groceries, but Fresh Direct delivers there. The F train stops there or you can take the awesome Tram for the same price. There aren't many restaurants there (like two or three) but it's not like there's much choice of restaurants in my current apartment. Plus, as this Criagslist poster says:

"Weird, desolate, strange, creepy... those are the words I'd use. You feel like you're in some 1960's futuristic sci-fi movie in the land of the automotons. Someday Godzilla will rise up out of the East River and destroy the whole thing."

Awesome!!

I heard there's a creepy abandoned mental institution there! (Not fact-checked.)

Here are some websites about Roosevelt Island:
http://www.rioc.com/
http://www.manhattanpark.com/

Really it could be that I'm only attracted to Roosevelt Island because I haven't been there before, whereas I've been to all the regular boroughs (except Staten Island) and had many a bad experience commuting to/from each one.

Or, I could give it all up and live the Alpaca lifestyle. Check it out.

Posted by erin at 03:33 PM | Comments (1)

Date-Based Archive What I do for a living, exactly.

I keep having to explain to people what I do for a living. I mean, I'll say I work on this cartoon show, but then I have to follow that up, because I'm not an animator. All the actual animation is done in Korea. I wish I could give people a two word response like "Storyboard Artist" and be done with it, but it's not that simple. Even "Production Assistant" might be easier to explain. Heck, I'd have an easier time describing what the "Design Coordinator" does than what I do.

Since I work in animation it's sort of an interesting thing, so people aren't really satisfied with as vague of a response they might be if I worked in, say, HR or something.

I am the "Production Coordinator" which means absolutely nothing in laymen's terms. In the animation industry "production" means a very specific part of the animation production process. "Coordinator" also implies certain things about my position that don't really make sense out of context. Worse still, I suspect that on different shows what a "Production Coordinator" does could be a very different set of tasks than what I do. I think the universal task of production coordinators might be delegating tasks to interns. I was relieved in a recent conversation when a friend of John Z.'s reported that they have Production Coordinators in live-action Hollywood, so she knew what I meant right away.

Anyway, here's a fairly comprehensive list of my tasks. I usually miss some when I list them verbally, so here's your chance to read about 90% of my job:

• I make changes to the opening titles and end credits.
• I build the little 3-D models. (In order to see an example go here then click on "3-D" and click forward a few times. I didn't make those, but I'll be making stuff like those.)
• I write tiny, tiny ID numbers on the characters, props, backgrounds and effects on the storyboard.
• I work on the timing board. (It's complicated.)
• I ship tapes to CN's many, many offices. And also to Canada.


• I bully interns. Well, I delegate work to interns although I am not directly in charge of them.
• I shoot retakes and new panels for the animatic (board-a-matic, whatever you call it).
• I train the interns how to shoot the animatic.
• I digitize the designs for new/customized logo wipes. Logo wipes get used a lot on this show, but I only make the new ones.
• I do whatever random After Effects and/or Photoshop stuff they ask me to.
• I send a list, to Canada, of digital effects so when they put the show on film for archival purposes those effects can be reproduced.
• I make a zillion labels for the zillion copies of every episode of the show that we make here.
• I ask the dubbing guy to dub a zillion tapes.
• Sometimes I throw together random documents - like blank Exposure sheets and storyboard cover pages.
• I make a list of what takes we used in the final cut and fax that list to Korea and L.A.

In the end, my tasks are varied and cross-departmental. I work in pre-production, production and post-production, which is unusual. I do more than just a Production Assistant would, but less than say, a Production Manager. There's not a lot of scope for creativity in my job, but there is SOME room for creative stuff. It is full time, and I've worked in this position since late October/early November.

You'll notice none of the tasks above are working in the color department - that's because that was my old intern/P.A. gig on the same show. Now that I'm the production coordinator I don't work in the color department anymore.

Posted by erin at 06:10 PM | Comments (0)

Date-Based Archive Anime Expo 2005 - Photos

N. and I made it back from Anime Expo in Los Angeles at about 1am on Monday night (technically Tuesday morning). I have a lot of pictures up, but pictures of my costume are restricted to a locked livejournal post. (Or email me and maybe I'll send you a link.)

I haven't written captions on anything yet, per say. Here are some sample pictures. N. is giving a thumbs-up near the "Square Enix" booth in the Dealer's room, Dr. Ido from Battle Angel Alita has a rocket-hammer that shoots compressed air, I don't know who that next guy is from, but it's awesome [edit: Sigfried/Nightmare, of Soul Calibur fame. In fact, the BFG he is wielding is his Soul Edge.], and finally, an Azumanga Daioh cafe group - but not the ONLY Azumanga cafe group. There was at least one or two more of those.

General Pictures of the Con/Cosplayers.
Pictures of just Naruto cosplayers.

Posted by erin at 07:05 PM | Comments (0)

Date-Based Archive Worse than Pol Pot?

Hal has been telling me for weeks now that I am tied for "Worst Person Ever" with Pol Pot. This had me pretty befuddled, and it took a little while, but one clue to his conclusion turned out to be that I don't always cover my mouth when I yawn, which is some kind of pet peeve of his. However, in this online quiz, I scored Caligula:

Which Historical Lunatic Are You?
From the fecund loins of Rum and Monkey.

Posted by erin at 03:28 PM | Comments (1)