To Blog or Not To Blog

Well, I fought it as long as I could. See, I’ve always thought that since I spout off as I do every week in my animation, it would be a bit excessive to add a blog where I spout off even further. I mean, look, I’ve only written three sentences and have already used the word “I” eight times. The journalism side of me resisted stepping out from behind the omnipotent opinionated curtain.

That said, it makes me feel a bit more human to be allowed to use the word “I,” and be able to talk more about my work, creative process or whatever comes up-- like this behind-the-scenes look at a recording session for last week's animation, for example:

The wild head-bobbling character you see in this video is none other than, John Taylor, a voice actor I luckily stumbled across who now voices many of my characters and narrators. He does great work and is a true professional. It’s almost as if I’ve found my very own Mel Blanc, except thanks to the wonder of the Internet, we aren’t in the same three-dimensional space going to lunch and sharing whiskey like in the old days. Thanks a lot Al Gore, you damn fat old hippy.

You might also notice a few more social networking bells and whistles on the site. Yes, I’m slightly annoyed by the ongoing media frenzy over the latest Twitter flavor-of-the-month wunderkinds, but if it helps more people see these cartoons, that’s great. Oh, and you can also follow Sarah Palin's weird tweetings for a real disturbing treat.

Check back often for new blog postings and feel free to ask questions or give suggestions. One idea I’m thinking about doing is to buy one of those new Flip video cameras and attach it to my head to document my commute to the office. I ride my bike across San Francisco and have seen everything from protest marches to gang shootings, giddy newly-married couples to hawks eating pigeons. (Might be nice to show some of the everyday elements that contribute to a crazed political animator.)

And to end with Political Animation Titbit #1: I use a Winsor & Newton Series 7 sable brush, number 2.