Stuff That I'm Doing

I enjoyed the weekend off before I dive back into writing deadlines. Here's what's going on-

-My head's feeling better now, thanks. Still have a really stiff neck, but otherwise, I'm good.

-Oh yeah, here's the deal with ice hockey. I signed up for hockey this season and got assigned to a team called the Canadiens. Played one game for them and ordered my new jersey. Then they merged with another team, had too many players, so the last three guys to join were kicked off... which included me. I GOT PUT ON WAIVERS. Anyways, I got assigned to another team and played my first game for them this weekend. I just ordered my new jerseys, so here's hoping I don't get dropped. Assuming I stick with the team, I'll let you all know if you want to come and heckle me.

-Thanks to my friend Nicole Dubuc, I'm now thoroughly obsessed with Veronica Mars. She lent me the first season on DVD and now I'm HOOKED. Now anytime I see a rich teen driving around in a nice car, I yell out, "Curse you, Logan! Leave Veronica Mars alone!"

-I think the iTunes album cover jukebox is evil. EVIL. While I work, I have an iTunes "Write Mix" made up of songs that don't distract me while I write. The problem is that now with the album cover jukebox, anytime a song comes up without an album cover attached, I have to drop what I'm doing to find the missing cover. First I try amazon.com and try to pull the cover. If I can't find it there, then I try wikipedia. And wikipedia is a HUGE time-waster. I just needed a cover to an old WHAM! track - and suddenly, I'm reading more than I ever wanted (or should) know about the history of Andrew Ridgely and George Michael. The light is at the end of the tunnel, though. I think I'm about 70% complete in my quest/obsession to have matching album covers with all my music files.

-Big Happy Birthday to Amy Wolfram. You rock, Amy.

-I replaced my desktop monitor last week. I'd had the same 17" Viewsonic CRT monitor since 1995 - eleven years of solid usage out of that old monster. I was pretty attached to thing... not out of sentimentality, but because the thing was so freaking heavy. It was a struggle to drag that thing away. Anyways, now that it's been replaced with an LCD monitor, I've got all this space on my desk that I'm learning to use.

-I just added some corals to my fish tank. Some gold star polyps, a blue mushroom, a green ricordia mushroom, and a whole bunch of zoanthids and button polyps - including some green ones, brown ones with orange rings, bright orange, some really striking lime green ones, and a set of silver ones. I wasn't going to get the silver ones, but they're poisonous (the Polynesians used to use them as toxins). Suddenly, I was a 9 year-old kid again going, "oooo, deadly!" - so now they're mine. I really should get a better digital camera so I can take pictures of some of this stuff.

-This week, if you're out and about, I'll be in the audience at the WGA event on Tuesday night about the current state of TV comedy, and at the WGA event on Wednesday night with June Foray.

October 2006 Music Diary

According to iTunes, here's what I've been listening to this month-

Starlight - Muse
New Shoes - Paolo Nutini
Last Request - Paolo Nutini
Put Your Records On - Corinne Bailey Rae
Forever Lost - The Magic Numbers
Long Legs - The Magic Numbers
Morning Eleven - The Magic Numbers
Venice - Victory Season
Stars - Dubstar
Rain in the Summertime - The Alarm
The Road - The Alarm
Sold Me Down the River - The Alarm

Dig the new tune by Muse. Dig it dig it dig it. Better than that Knights of Cydonia track.

I hate Paolo Nutini. No 19 year-old kid should be this talented. I could barely dress myself at age 19 and this kid is writing and performing incredible tunes. The New Shoes track is a free one on iTunes.

It's not easy to be a guy and sing Put Your Records On without looking stupid. Trust me on that one. You'd look more masculine singing "I'm Every Woman" at the top of your lungs.

I just discovered the Magic Numbers this month. Their new album comes out soon and I've been busy catching up with their old stuff.

Victory Season is the new project of guitarist Brian Mashburn. I met him back when he was the guitarist in the National Trust, which became Los Pantalones, which became Save Ferris. Great guy - great musician. I've never in my life met any musician as talented as Brian - and Victory Season might be his best project yet.

Someone suggested Dubstar to me last year and I never got around to hearing them. Finally did - and man this track is great.

I remember being shocked when I met someone else who'd heard of the Alarm, let alone liked them. Great 80s band - earlier this year, they released a version of their "best of" album but all done acoustically. Somehow I missed this until now.

Lastly, there're two tracks that haven't shown up in the iTunes music store yet, but I've been watching the music videos on YouTube. These'll end up in iTunes next month, but until they're there, I've been enjoying Lily Allen's "LDN" and The Magic Numbers' "Take a Chance".

I think I may have just been Concussed

I'm not really sure if I have a low-level concussion. Tonight, I played in an ice hockey game at Pickwick Gardens in Burbank. Late in the first period, I grabbed the puck off a drop pass and made a nifty move to the center... where I promptly got smashed by some sort of pick-up truck or SUV on the ice.

It hurt, but it hurt less because the ref called a penalty on the guy who hit me. Wasn't a dirty play, since he was going for the puck, but he tried to go through me to get to it.

Later in the game, I felt REALLY tired and I started to develop a headache sitting on the bench. I just wrote it off to me being woefully out of shape, which is true. On the drive home after the game, I realized my neck was really sore. And just a few minutes ago, I heard ringing in my ears. I've read enough about hockey injuries to know that these are signs of a concussion, so I felt the need to do some quick research.

Wikipedia, you complete me.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concussion

Concussion, or mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI), is the most common and least serious type of traumatic brain injury.

TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY?!? I don't like the sound of this. I'm skipping over the words "least serious"... frankly, because my eyes can't get past the words TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY. Oh man. I LIKE my brain. I don't want it traumatized.

Okay. Let's see the symptoms-

Unconsciousness. Nope - I never lost consciousness. I'm clear here.

Vomiting. Nope. Haven't vomited. Not that I know of.

Confusion. Hm. Not anymore than usual.

Visual disturbances. Don't even know what this means. I'm pretty disturbed, but not visually, so I guess I'm good.

Amnesia. Nope. There are plenty of things in my life I'd LIKE to forget. Man, I need someone to invent some real Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.

Worsening Headache. Nope. It's actually getting better.

Ringing in the ears. Only happened once. Hasn't happened since.

Drowsiness. Nope. It's almost 2 a.m. and I feel energetic.

Unequal pupil size. HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO TELL? My small Asian eyes are pretty unequal to begin with. I'll need some sort of magnifying glass to make sure. I'll go ahead and assume that this one is a yes.

Increasing disorientation. I'm fairly disoriented all the time. Ugh. I just mistyped disoriented as disorientated, tried to fix the typo, then misspelled it disoriental-ed. Better put this one down as a definite maybe.

I'm not scientist (and the world breathes a sigh of relief), but I'll play one here (and the world panics). I believe I got my "bell rung" - and I have a couple concussion-like symptoms. But I do not believe I got even a grade 1 concussion. I don't believe I was ever confused... unless I was and somehow forgot it.

The fact that I decided to blog about this right now was also a test to see how disoriented (nuts, I just mis-typed it as disorientated again...) I was. And seeing as this blog post is no funnier and no more rambly than any of my other posts, I'll go ahead and assume I'm going to be fine.

Though, maybe I'm just getting old and this is senility kicking in. I know I know - I'm too young to be talking about senility. But if my choices are senility and something with the words "traumatic brain injury"... BRING ON THE EARLY BIRD SPECIAL.

Ow, my brain...

Worldwide Eugene

A quick breather before I dive back into the deadline waters. Updates will continue to be sparse.

This past weekend, my second A.T.O.M. episode "Camping with the Enemy" premiered in Europe. I haven't seen it yet and I have no idea when the second season of A.T.O.M. episodes are going to air in the United States. But I had a blast writing the script and I'm really looking forward to seeing how it turned out.

The interesting thing about A.T.O.M. is that, as far as I can tell, it's not very big in the United States. The show airs here in the states on Toon Disney every day as part of their Jetix block, but I can never find much discussion about the show on the usual American toon-talk fan forums.

But internationally, it's a different story. I've seen A.T.O.M. fans GEEKED about the show in England, Italy, Russia. According to what I've read online, A.T.O.M. is dubbed in Arabic and is huge in Saudi Arabia. There's even a clip on YouTube of A.T.O.M. dubbed in Georgian... presumably for broadcast in the former Soviet republic of Georgia and not in Atlanta.

I was talking to a friend of mine who wrote on the show W.I.T.C.H. and there's the same kind of thing where it's huge around the world. It's a strange feeling to be a part of something that no one knows about here. Even among my friends in the animation industry, very few of them have heard of A.T.O.M..

But that's the power and reach of cartoons - and television in general. The joke I wrote about the swimming pond? Someone had to translate it so kids in Saudi Arabia could laugh at it. The convenient plot device that I used and hated in the third act? It's being enjoyed by a kid in Russia. The scene where I wrote two characters talking to each other? Their dialogue is being analyzed and dissected by a relationship fan fiction writer in the UK.

I have no way of seeing the episode in question yet, but I hope the world liked it.

Hello Deadline, my old friend

Back to the salt mines - I have a couple deadlines lurking in the shadows waiting to beat me up with sticks. Big bad sticks. Until I'm back, stay safe! I will find you!

Hockey Preview

"Don't be ridiculous, Pinky. No self-respecting team of hockey he-men would want to be called the Mighty Ducks." - the Brain

It's that time again - time for 99.9% of the world's population to stop reading because it's time for me to talk hockey. Here're my NHL predictions for the season-

Western Conference

1. Anaheim Ducks
-They lose the embarrassing name and the embarrassing jerseys, then pick up Chris Pronger to go with Rob Neidermayer's brother. Their kid forwards like Penner, Getzlaf, Kunitz, and Perry are ready to shine in the flying-V. Much as I hate the Ducks, they're gonna demolish people this year.

2. Calgary Flames
-Alex Tanguay was a great off-season pick-up. If he scores like he should and Iginla shakes off that bad season last year, the Flames will contend. And Academy Award winning director Ang Lee will be happy. So will Flames fan Isaac Kim.

3. Nashville Predators
-Every year I think the Predators are over-rated - and every year they rise up and do well. Much the same way I still think country music is a passing fad. I still don't think the Predators are all that, but I'm picking them to win their division.

4. San Jose Sharks
-Cheechoo looks like he's going to score 80 goals and Thornton will assist on probably 79 of them. The only thing keeping them from passing the Ducks is that their blueline is a little on the anonymous-lunchpail side.

5. Detroit Red Wings
-Do not discount the importance of Steve Yzerman retiring. If you were to cut his head off, his body would still stumble out onto the ice - headless - and inspire passion and heart in his teammates. You can't lose a guy like that and not drop in the standings.

6. Minnesota Wild
-Gaborik with Demitra should be good for 200 pts, at least, while the rest of the team will play tight stifling defense. I'd rather watch paint dry in a WNBA game than watch any Jacques Lemaire coached team - but the Wild will win a bunch of games.

7. Dallas Stars
-Solid goaltending and blueline. They should do well, assuming Eric Lindros stays healthy... and I mean, really, what are the odds that he's going to get injured? I mean, it's not like he's injury prone and incapable of going to the bathroom to brush his teeth without tearing an ACL somewhere.

8. Edmonton Oilers
-Their young forwards (Stoll, Lupul, Hemsky, Pisani, Horcoff, etc) will carry the team. Check that, their young forwards will HAVE to carry the team, since their blueline is a question mark.

9. Columbus Bluejackets
-Rick Nash is a stud. If he stays healthy, #61 can put this team on his back. If he gets help from Zherdev, Modin, Fedorov, and Carter, they could sneak into the playoffs.

10. Colorado Avalanche
-Trading for Theodore was a mistake. He's not much better than Abby and his huge salary handcuffed the Avs for another off-season. The cupboard still has Sakic, Hejduk, Svatos, and Wolski - but this'll be the year they miss the playoffs.

11. Vancouver Canucks
-I don't get all the love for this team in the media. Sure, they upgraded their goaltending, but they lose Bertuzzi, Carter, and Jovanovski. The team got weaker, other teams got better. Naslund is going to be asked to carry this team on his back. I feel bad for Luongo - he's still not going to be in the playoffs.

12. Phoenix Coyotes
-I don't know what to make of the Coyotes. I love their d-corps, but everything else is just... meh. I suppose if the meh comes together, they could make the playoffs. But I look at them hoping for contributions from Nolan, Roenick, and Laraques... and I just see meh.

13. Los Angeles Kings
-With a little luck, the defense and goaltending could come together, and this team could be this year's Buffalo Sabres-like surprise. But let's face it - they're Eugene's favorite team, which means they'll be terrible. At least the future looks bright, with Patrick O'Sullivan, Anze Kopitar, and now Jack Johnson.

14. St Louis Blues
-Nowhere to go but up. At least Tkachuk came into camp at under 600 lbs. It'll be a nice Team USA reunion tour with him, Guerin, and Weight - but there's not a lot of talent on this team.

15. Chicago Blackhawks
-The worst ownership in pro sports. They're going to stink for a long time. And Tuomo Ruutu better stay healthy or he's going to develop a reputation as a... nevermind. In the time it took to type this sentence, Ruutu got hurt again.


Eastern Conference

1. Ottawa Senators
-Of course they're going to win the Conference. They always win in the regular season and choke in the playoffs, and I don't see any reason why this year will be any different.

2. New Jersey Devils
-I'm really going to be happy when the Devils stop being good and miss the playoffs, sparing me having to watch their deathly-boring style of trap-hockey. I'll be happy someday, but not this year.

3. Carolina Hurricanes
-I know everyone is focusing on the players that left, but their talented core is still there to defend their championship. Plus the return of Erik Cole will be huge for them.

4. Philadelphia Flyers
-It's too bad that Forsberg plays such a rugged punishing style of hockey. If he could stay healthy and play alongside Gagne for an extended amount of time, the Flyers could win the East.

5. Buffalo Sabres
-I still have no idea how this team did so well last year. I have no idea if they can repeat their success from last year because, well, I have no idea how they did it in the first place. So I'll slot them here.

6. New York Rangers
-I love the pick-up of Brendan Shanahan. They probably don't have enough to do serious damage in the East, but with Lundqvist in net, they'll be fine.

7. Atlanta Thrashers
-Yes, this is the year they finally make the playoffs. You can't stop Kovalchuk and Hossa - you can only hope to contain them... and you can't even really do that. With some hard-nosed play from Holik and Rucchin, this'll be a fun team to watch.

8. Montreal Canadiens
-Hard to peg this team. If Koivu stays healthy, they have too much talent to miss the playoffs. But are they that much better than the other teams in the East? C'est the question.

9. Boston Bruins
-I love Chara. I'm unimpressed by Savard. I still can't believe they traded Thornton. And I just don't think the Bruins have enough talent to make the playoffs this year.

10. Tampa Bay Lightning
-Why does everyone in the media think Marc Denis is that much better than John Grahame? The three star forwards can carry them so far, but unless other players on this team step it up, the Lightning won't be any better than they were last year.

11. Toronto Maple Leafs
-Question marks at every forward position not named Sundin, question marks at every defense position not named McCabe and Kaberle, and question marks in goal. No question here - rebuilding year for the Leafs.

12. Washington Capitals
-Alexander Freaking Ovechkin. He'll be even more dominant than he was last year. If the team around him plays as poorly as they did last year, they're still a better team because #8 is one year better.

13. Pittsburgh Penguins
-Can Crosby & Malkin carry this team on their shoulders? Because there's not a whole lot of help outside those two. Maybe they can do it, but I don't think they will.

14. Florida Panthers
-This is a trendy pick to do well in the East. The distractions are gone and the players have great talent at all positions... but I just don't believe Jacques Martin is the right guy to coach that team into the playoffs. Call this my hunch pick.

15. New York Islanders
-Remember what I said about Chicago ownership? The Islanders are just as bad. It happens time and time again. When ownership is a joke, the players are unable to perform. By no means is this the worst team in the Eastern Conference, but they're going to play like it.

These people want to meet little old me?

I've only been on MySpace for a month now, but one thing I absolutely love about MySpace is the ridiculousness of the ads.

There are a ton of ads everywhere you go on MySpace - and these are ads that are specifically targeted for me. They've taken the information I've given them about myself, and they've crafted a well-researched ad campaign - with advertisements for things that they think will appeal to me and only me. And after learning all this info about me, what are the ads that they choose to display for me?

Half-naked women looking for dates.

These ads are hysterical. They don't sell dating, happiness, friendship, fun, or true love - they sell women who aren't shy about showing off their great skin complexion. I love the idea that I'm going to log into MySpace to check my friends' bulletins, their messages, their blogs... but suddenly I'm going to be sidetracked into a magical world of ladies who wear clothes four sizes too small for their frame.

"Gee, how is my friend doing? How did his surgery go? Is he going to be o-HEY! LOOK AT THE PINK TANK-TOP ON THAT ONE! SHE WANTS TO DATE ME! I GOTTA CLICK! CLICK NOW!"

Mind you - I'm not complaining about the ads, MySpace. So don't even think about cutting me off or there'll be hell to pay. But where will it lead next? If the women are unable to find dates, what will the next wave of ads look like? I'm picturing a future of macromedia flash ads where multiple half-naked women will say things like, "We both want to date you! If you click now, you can watch us fight over you!" The ads will promise skin and mindless violence with no purpose... and I'LL BE SO THERE.

Or the ads could go the opposite way. The lonely tank top-clad women will sob quietly, and every few minutes will get on their knees and beg you to date them. And if you say no, then they'll stand up and taunt loudly, "What are you, GAY?!?! Not MAN enough to date me?"

Ah, the future. It can't get here soon enough.

Quick Update / Friend's Plug

Sorry for the lack of updates. Work is keeping me busy, but it's some fun fun stuff. Can't wait to tell you all about it. Hopefully later this week I'll have time to post my NHL season predictions.

And maybe get caught up on my tv watching. Two weeks into the new season and I've already got a DMV-like backlog on my Tivo. I'm hoping to watch the premieres of most new shows in four-to-six weeks.

In the meantime, my buddy Charlotte has two episodes coming up this week. Her episode of Transformers Cybertron airs Monday, October 2nd at 6:30am on Cartoon Network - her episode of Tutenstein airs on Saturday, October 7th at 7pm on Discovery Kids. Check 'em out.

Back to whatever it is I do.