It's finished

Yes I finally finished this video. I seem to have more than my share of problems. Technically, that is. But it's probably my fault or at least I increase the probability by pushing everything. I want to see all the big screen stuff on my little screen. Like multiple images on the screen simultaniouly with several soundtracks. This shorty is almost right. I could have given more time to the preamble to the action either verbally or written. But I didn't. More editing of the scenes would have made things better, but , alas.... If you look at the pros and you see that thay may have 15 differend shots for a minute of action, the process becomes overwhelming. But it was fun to make.

Once upon a time in Texas

I was thumbing through this old sketchbook the other day when I found these pages referring to Billy Bob's Texas. The pqages brought back some memories of the largest honky tonk in the whole wide world. I'm thinking that a honky-tonk is a country-western bar. Billy Bob's fills the deal there in spades. It is the only honky tonk that has it's own rodeo and capacity for over 6000 guests. The place was once a holding pen for cattle when Fort Worth was a big stockyard town. Cattle would be gathered from all over Texas in Ft. Worth before being shipped north to the slaughter houses. The place doesn't smell like cattle but the floor does have a slope to it so it could be easily washed out. One thing that will catch your eye is a crystal sadle hanging over one of the many dance floors.

You'll see in the picture above that I do more than sketch in my sketchbooks. There's a Lone Star beer label obviously peeled from an ice cold long-neck while I was watching some Japanese cowgirls line dance. People from all over the world visit Billy Bob's and there is always live entertainment. You can learn your line dancing too. Instructors are always on hand. The great country music entertainers such as George Jones, Wilie Nelson and George Strait perform there. So, if you're ever in the Fort Worth, TX area, drop by Billy Bob's. I'm not sure that everybody knows your name. But as Mickey Gilley would say,"The girls always look better at closing time!"

If you want to know more about Billy Bob's here are some links:

• http://billybobstexas.com/
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Bob
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Bob

The Whatzit!

Once upon a time I was into designing web pages. Before I was aware of style sheets or any of the wild and crazy things that are now done at the norm. I wanted to design a web page for Claudette and Tony's website. From my sketchbook I found some drawings of old portable electronic equipment. So, I decided that the website would have this sort of look. It would be distressed yet high tech. This was created without the benefit of Photoshop and only a very rudimentary image editing was used.
The features are as follows:
From the top left, clockwise.

• "The Year in Pictures" is a slide show with the control underneath
• "Buddy Sings" is a video, a Windows mediaplayer is embedded
• The anime is just a pin-up image
• The "Panic" button causes the entire image to vibrate when clicked
• "X" marks the spot - - mouse-over links to games
• "Music" links to music as listed -- songs will play sequential

It was upgraded at Christmas for a vocal Christmas message. Creating this was a lot of fun and I would like to build another with more realistic appearance and RSS feeds.

No Title

I've always been a fan of comics. The stories and of course the art. From time to time an idle moment with my sketchbook will present some sort of strip. This has a very simplistic layout but the rendering and story isn't bad. But I am no Frank Miller!

From Your Book to Your Back

Once, when I was in the management game long, long ago i was reading about the poor state of quality in American products. One of those mentioned was Harley Davidson Motorcycles. The quality of Harleys have improved since the days when new models would drip on the dealer showroom floor. Upon reading this I began to realize an image in my mind. But what if the fluid leaking from the motor was blood instead of oil.

How could this be? If the engine was biological then a puddle of blood under the crankcase would not be unrealistic. What organ to better represent something living that the heart. It would also represent the very soul of the machine. With a few colored pencils I made a quick sketch. Many years later when I was introduced to image editing computer programs I created the same effect by photo editing. I felt that the term "Thumper" properly identified the motorcycle. Why not use it as and advertisement for a particular motorcycle brand. Hence, Thumper Motorcycles were born. What better method to advertise such machines than with tee shirt.

The tee shirt is available for sale at this link http://t-shirts.cafepress.com/item/white-tshirt/276028712 Remember: "Thumper Motorcycles Have Heart"