Donegal – The Animation Anomaly

James Blob: The Animated Movie

Have you ever wondered what would happen if James Bond was made of plasticine, called James Blob instead and got attacked by an otter? Then wonder no more!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nk9YNIJgnQI

OK, did you enjoy that piece of silliness? I sure did! If you enjoyed that one, why not check out the entire series!

Of course that wasn’t done by a professional animator but by kids attending the Donegal Summer School of Music (the very same one I did all those years ago where I played piano and violin) with some help by my old classmate, Jeremy Howard.

It’s a fun little side project that I thought I would share with you because it’s fascinating how animation is almost seeping into aspects of our lives on a daily basis. Now obviously these films were done to showcase the students musical talents as much as anything else, but it’s always nice to see animation used in a complimentary way in artistic endeavors, especially when kids are involved.

James Blob: The Animated Movie Read More »

Brenda Chapman’s Irish Trip & What You Can Learn From It

So it’s the morning after St. Patrick’s Day. Seeing as I’m writing this on Friday night, I can only presume that I (and you) had a good time and did indeed uphold the fine traditions of my race on the day.

Anyway, Brenda Chapman recently spent some in Ireland to teach a few master classes, but she also did something else, namely take herself all the way up to the wilder parts where I’m from and spend some time in a cottage to herself.

Long story short, she found it a great help to simply focus on things. You should definitely read her post on it, but keep in mind that sometimes disconnecting from life for a while can be a good thing. There’s no doubt that the US is by far the fastest-lived nation on Earth and sometimes that can lead to a lot of unnecessary noise. No, not the traditional kind of noise, like from a road, but the other, psychological kind.

Brenda found taking a break a great help. Perhaps you should do the same 🙂