I'm afraid of...

Taking showers during thunderstorms. I don't remember if my mom told me when I was younger or if it was something on one of those garbage tv shows about the possibility of being electrocuted, but ever since it was mentioned, even if people tell me it's not true, I avoid it. And so instead of showering, I'm sitting in my room listening to "Raining Like Magic" from the Fern Gully soundtrack.

I should probably do some more packing. But every time I try that, I get side tracked and end up making Sculpey necklaces or crocheting headbands or organizing my fabric collection. The good news, though, is that in the midst of going through all sorts of art supplies, I may have come up with ideas of things to sell on Etsy! My problem is just that I love making pretty much everything. That makes it hard to nail down what I really want to make a lot of. I'll be testing some things out this weekend.

Also, check out one of my favorite animations! I came across this so long ago, and still, every time I watch it, I am impressed.

Firekites - AUTUMN STORY - chalk animation from Lucinda Schreiber on Vimeo.

Robin Hood

Ok, here's a really nerdy secret about me: I started learning html coding and making layouts for Livejournal in middle school. I had a million different accounts just to test layouts on and get familiar with coding. Plus, I was obsessed with all the little groups that made icons. For some reason, those little 100x100 pixels are just so pretty to me. Note that I said "are" because I still like them. Usually. And every now and then, I look them up. Now is one of those times.

(Click images for sources)

Last night, I watched Disney's Robin Hood for the first time. We were more about the princess movies in my house, so there are a few that escaped me, but I'm working on catching up. But Robin Hood was awesome! It's my roommate's favorite Disney movie, and she was laughing at how into it I was last night. Let me tell you, that movie is intense. Did you see that rhinoceros executioner!? How is that ok for little kids?! But it's also really funny. I'm bummed I missed out on it as a kid. And from an animator's standpoint, it was wonderful. I recognized a lot of the scenes from standard Disney reference footage, but it was still beautifully done. And those opening titles with the parade of characters crossing the screen was perfect. Sir Hiss reminded me a lot of Kaa from The Jungle Book, but Kaa never got his head stuck in a balloon and flew around. I can't tell you how hard I was laughing at that part. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

One of my favorite parts of watching Disney classics is picking out familiar voices and figuring out what other characters they were. I'm getting really good at it! And I also like picking out similar animation styles, especially if I don't know the date of when something was made, so I can place it between two other movies. I guessed Robin Hood was between The Jungle Book and The Rescuers. I was right :)  Those are probably just more reasons you should never watch animated movies with me. I'll tell you all the history of Disney's Nine Old Men and which movies Tim Burton worked on before Nightmare.

Don't Worry, I'm Yours

Came across these awesome remixes today! The first is still my favorite. I'm in love with anything ukulele.

Don't Worry, I'm Yours (Jason Mraz vs. Bobby McFerrin vs. Israel Kamakawiwo'ole)byDJ Dain

Dani California's Last Dance (Red Hot Chili Peppers vs. Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers)byDJ Dain

Hotter, Colder, Dreamer, Fighter (Perfume vs. Daft Punk vs. Katy Perry)byDJ Dain


You can find more on DJ Dain's blog.

Bunny Sunday: Follow the White Rabbit

When I went home for that job interview a couple weeks ago, Mia was still on her Wonderland kick. She was even talking in her sleep/having a nightmare that "Cayla's in Wonderland and I'm not allowed in!" Haha, she's one creative kid. So we of course drew lots of pictures together. Here's one in which she asked me to draw Alice in the scene where she is in the white rabbit's house, eats a cookie, and grows into a "monster." Mia added the white rabbit (near her knee) and asked me to sign it (by her elbow) after she signed it herself (at the top...see the big "m"?). I thought it was adorable. Sorry for it not being the prettiest drawing, but when you have a 3 year old with an overactive imagination, you'll have lots to draw in a short amount of time. So anyway, just for Mia, I decided today's Bunny Sunday would be about my favorite bunny of them all: the White Rabbit from Wonderland.

You know, one of the things I want to collect is different versions of the Alice stories. Just because the story is so surreal and therefore the illustrator is in complete control of how we see this place called Wonderland. I think about that every now and then...would we still picture Alice in that blue frock if Disney had made his movie when it was originally scheduled before World War II, with styling by David Hall? It would be very different from the quirky style of Mary Blair, that's for sure.

Lazy Saturday

Today was a day off. The first since Winter Break, it seems. And so I didn't set any alarm. And let me tell you, I always set an alarm. Even if I get to sleep in. I just don't like wasting the day. So after going to bed after 2am, I slept until 2:52pm. It was wonderful, but I've felt stiff and achey all day. I guess I'm not used to sitting still for so long.

It's been weird adjusting to classes being done. Up until the last day I was working until 2am or so, and to have it all just...stop...I don't know what to do with myself. So today, I listened to records, watched some old tv shows on YouTube, made some little charms out of Sculpey for a necklace for Mia, watched some Moulin Rouge, cleaned off my desktop and my downloads folder (which had accumulated hundreds of items), and lounged around. Sundays are for cleaning, so Saturdays are for procrastinating. At least when I don't have school work to do. Of course, if I do feel like procrastinating some more tomorrow, I just may find myself at the art museum. And then I'll clean and pack. Maybe. I've got til Friday.

Is it bad that I'm already thinking about new projects for next year? I've been making lists of animations I want to do, and the ideas just keep coming.

I've also been working on changing around some things on my blog so it's a little more aesthetically consistent.

Back to being lazy. My posts will get more interesting after I recuperate from the semester. I promise.