Zub Tales

Going a mile a minute. When I’m not busting my butt on work stuff I’m trying to get some quiet personal time…

That said, here’s a few photos from the traditional Thanksgiving family get together up at my parent’s cottage:

The place.

The people.

My Dad prepping the boat for an outing.

The nieces and nephew – Jennifer, Justin and Angela.

Jimbo.

That’s it. More on Exalted #1 and hopefully artwork updates next time I post.

Quick updates:

– Exalted #1 is off to the printers. It hits stands at the end of the month!
Two teaser pages – one is HERE (opening with a bang) and HERE (Back Up story about the Scarlet Empress).

– Today I realized a strange difference between my morning lectures and my afternoon ones of the exact same class. The morning ones I’m doing all I can to get going that early and so I pile on the energy. The drawings I do on the board are a little rusty, but I’ve got extra enthusiasm and *zing* to my step. The students laugh quite a bit and I joke with them more. The afternoon lecture is more controlled and refined… the things I’ve said in the morning and the missteps I took are evened out and the lecture as a whole is more polished, but it’s not as spontaneous or zingy. There’s less laughter but more skill shown. Both classes seem to be picking up the meterial just fine, which is good in both cases.

– The drawing roll I’ve been on continues with artwork for Exalted 2nd Edition. I’m sinking my teeth into designing the look and feel of weapons and armor for the new edition. Using the ref material from the books but not being afraid to rework something if Brian and I decide that it looked wonky before or can be more consistent. Cool. I think you guys will be very pleased with the results. It’s a step forward for me.

– Lost episode 4 knocked me on my ass it was so good. 5 and 6 are good as well, but 4 really kicked butt. Not sure when I’ll have a chance to watch more just yet.

– I paid my income tax before the summer started… the government later sent me a notice that I had to pay more. Then they later sent another one asking for even more. Today they sent me a refund that covers pretty much what I paid them for the second request. I’m not begrudging getting money back, but the efficiency on that whole thing just seems messed up somehow.

Serenity was sharp. One review I read after I came back from seeing the film called it “the best season finale ever” which it kind of is. A big budget blow out of a season ender. As always, fun dialogue and good character dynamics.

As I expected the stakes are higher and plot threads from the TV show are wrapped up, which is gratifying and sad at the same time. I would’ve loved to have watched the story unfold bit by bit in episodes with more character time and that amazing mixture of fun and adventure they had in the series. Here we ratchet the whole thing up a few notches and darken the atmosphere of the show, which totally makes sense but does leave the Fun-Western-Sci-Fi elements a bit behind. I wanted more time to see the cast in their ‘prime’ on TV… and now with some characters dead and others changed forever, it’s not the same. I left the theatre excited and sad at the same time because of that. But if they don’t make any more movies or head back to TV (which is unbelievably unlikely) then Serenity is a decent ending to a show that deserved more.

Without the TV series to build from, the average movie goer may not get a chance to tap into the emotional core of who these characters are. There’s a lot of ground for them to cover and they spare little time before they dig into it. For a fan of the TV series, it’s a dynamic whirlwind of cool stuff and character evolutions… for someone coming in cold to it all, I’m not sure.

The show’s underdog quality and resurrection from TV cancellation is amazing, where ever it goes from here. I don’t want to go all fanboy crazy and over hype it because it is worth seeing, but not worship worthy. It’s not perfect, but it is entertaining and delivers where it counts.

I’ll be curious to see what the box office numbers are like for this weekend.

Well, following up on my previous post:

3 episodes in and Lost is excellent! Compelling characters, interesting plot threads along with little and big mysterious to unravel.

So I went and bought the Season One box set just like I said I would.

Also, episode 3 has an emotional little song that grabbed me:

Wash Away Joe Purdy I got troubles, lord, but not today ‘Cause they’re gonna wash away They’re gonna wash away And I have sins, lord, but not today ‘Cause they’re gonna wash away They’re gonna wash away And I have friends, lord, but not today ‘Cause they done washed away They done washed away Lord, I’ve been crying alone I’ve been crying alone No, no more crying alone no, no more crying here. We get lonely, lord, but not today Cause we’re gonna wash away We’re gonna wash away I got troubles, lord, but not today Cause they’re gonna wash away This old river’s gonna take them away.

The episodic format works very well with an ensemble cast like this. Little stories interwoven as the personalities of the characters emerge and conflict rears its head. People stripped down to their survival selves and the core emotions they have to confront get delved in to. Fantastic.

See, not all my entertainment related rants are negative ones. 🙂

TV executives, take note (not that any of them frequent this livejournal, but hey… it’s worth a shot).

If you want people to watch a new season of your show and you believe in the quality of what you’ve produced, make a legal good quality bit torrent video of the first three episodes available. People are digitizing the hell out of your shows anyways, so why not be proactive and make those first three crucial episodes available to hook people at the source. If it’s good, people will seek it out… seriously. They’ll buy your DVD box sets. They’ll proliferate the link and content to their friends. Viral advertising working in your favor.

I watched 3 episodes of Firefly on the web through said dubious means and went out to buy the DVDs a few days after. I just watched the first episode of Lost after many friends told me how much it kicked ass – and now I see that it does kick ass. If the next couple are as sharp as episode 1, I’ll buy the first season set no problem. The quality of the content will have won me over.

I gave up TV 3 and half years ago and have never looked back. No antenna, no cable. DVD or online is the only way I’m going to interact with TV content this side of flipping through the channels in my hotel room when I’m traveling. Mind you, watching TV on the road only serves to remind me why I gave it up in the first place.

The pirate happy people who are ripping your shows, not watching the ads and not buying the content are the sort of people who wouldn’t have spent the moolah for your DVDs anyways. You’re not losing money if they were never serious potential purchasers in the first place. If a college student with no money is watching your show and getting hooked on your brand for free but has no money to buy the DVD box set, at least you’ve potentially created a fan who will buy your content once they grow up and become financial capable of doing so.

Does that mean that I think people should pirate the heck out of everything? No.

Do I think that spreading a decent teaser is a valuable marketing tool? Hell, yes.

2-3 free episodes out of 20+ is not money lost… it’s viewers gained.

Video game demos, comic book teasers, RPG core rules… everyone else is starting to understand the potential of near-instant content delivery controlled by the consumer.

The market evolves to changing social trends and desires. Ride the wave of it or be crushed by its undertow.

In Ottawa now… getting to the plane was pretty hairy stuff. I was originally told that my flight was leaving mid-afternoon. I casually looked at my itinerary and I could’ve sworn that it said my flight was headed out at 2:30pm. So I spent yesterday morning doing some work, packing and hitting the post office to ship off packages and contracts.

Then just after noon I double checked my itinerary: Flight leaves at 1:15pm and ARRIVES in Ottawa at 2:30… oh, shit! I slammed my luggage closed, dashed out the door and probably broke the law driving to the airport. Dropping off my car at the long term parking, I sprinted into the Terminal with my heart pounding until it felt like it would explode and my back screaming at me to slow down.

But I made the flight.

All I wanted last night was to chill out. Thankfully that’s exactly what happened. A patio, a couple pints and some good company. The hotel seems pretty good and ideally I’ll have some time to explore a bit of the city. There’s a bunch of things to juggle, but I think it’ll be okay. Even this morning after JoAnn and I set up the booth, I sat and drilled out a couple quality drawings already, so that’s a good start. After learning to ignore distractions while life drawing at the Zoo in Calgary a few years ago, I’m getting pretty good at just drawing where ever I need to.

Anyways, that’s the update. This afternoon I’m hoping to take some nice photos of the area, do some more drawing and have a nice dinner. As long as I can do those three things, I’ll be pleased.

The Good: The college asked me to go to Ottawa this weekend for the Animation Festival to respresent the school, on their dime.

The Bad: They booked the airfare and hotel for me before clarifying that I was actually able to juggle going with the crazy amount of work Udon has crushing down on us… and the flight leaves tomorrow afternoon.

The Ugly: The breakneck pace of the next 24 hours making sure everyone knows what needs to be done while I’m gone while my boss Erik moves his house at the same time.

PS: DAMONK and MEGS (or anyone who knows them and can poke them to see this)! E-mail me at jimzub(at symbol)gmail.com to let me know your new contact info and phone number-age so we can hook up while I’m in Ottawa!

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The Good 2: I busted out some artwork for a client and it’s some of the best stuff I’ve ever done. Good confidence booster and reminds me that I can put out some good stuff when I push. I wish I could show everyone but it’s under wraps for now.

The Bad 2: The client likes it and wants more.

The Ugly: Me, after I get all this stuff done.

I have no idea why this stupid little Flash game is so amusing:

It’s in Japanese but the site above has translations on how to play. It’s very strange and oddly entertaining as you send some poor schmuck sailing through the air and keep his body crashing along to maximise the distance.

My current record:

I don’t know who “Mr. Goring” is or why a Polish lady leaves answering machine messages for me sometimes… who ever used to have my phone number apparently didn’t tell a lot of people what their new number was and/or got his number on a pile of call-lists. When I came back from Indianapolis there were 3 messages from that lady babbling away about something like she was having a full blown conversation with my recorder.

I know the ad agencies can’t read this, but maybe they can feel it through osmosis –

I don’t want the things you’re selling. Not newspaper subscriptions, aluminum siding, water filtration systems, grocery delivery services, free samples or anything else. I like my phone number. It’s easy to remember and it rolls off the tongue. Clients know to call it and I don’t want to change it. Don’t pollute my phone line with early Saturday morning phone calls that wake me up asking for a guy who hasn’t had this number for at least a year while you try to sell me stuff no one cares about.

If you have ever bought something through unsolicited phone call advertising – I place a tiny hex on you. You have helped keep these people in business. Tell your lonely grandparents who just want to talk to somebody (because their family ignores them now that they’re old) that buying from call center people is not the alternative. They’re just prolonging the gasping lifeline for a useless form of advertising created by heartless bastards.

This groggy public service message brought to you by Zub.

I went home to visit my parents for an evening on Wednesday. It was quiet, simple and way too short. I could tell they were really happy to see me and sad that I could only stay the night and dash off early the next day.

It’s cool watching them settled in to retirement. Worrying about little things around the house instead of job stuff or money problems. Dad puttering doing stuff he’s said he would do since I was a kid. Their bookshelves have years worth of momenetos and photographs… my brother and I growing up, trips they’ve been on and people they’ve known. Parts of the house feel very much the same while other parts get overhauled or changed. The dishwasher is still there for now – 1960’s green with chrome edging – but the rest of the kitchen is almost all updated. Old cups and mugs are now mixed in with new glasses and things.

The backetball net and backboard on the driveway are still standing. The pole is rotting slightly and the paint is flaking off the back of it but Dad’s still got it there for now. We used to play 21 against each other at least once a week. The 3-point line we made created a little worn spot in the lawn that used to drive my Mom nuts… it’s grown over now but I bet Dad still knows where he’s stored the ball and air pump.

Dad’s office is still piled high with books and papers, his old desk covered in knick knacks and school supplies. The Commodore 64 in the corner has a bit of dust on it, but I bet it still works… Load “*”,8,1… heh. He’s got a shelf where he puts a copy of each published thing I’ve done that I give him a copy of. He’s bookmarked the pages with my artwork on it so he can show people who come to visit. I don’t have my published stuff even remotely as organized. There’s a Makeshift Miracle mug on top of their mircowave too. Heh.

They’re planning trips now. They go some place new about once a year. Cruises, bus trips, car trips… the occasional resort. Dad’s keeping the promise he made to my mother while they went through hard times raising two kids: once we retire we’ll really travel and enjoy life.

And they are. Sometimes I didn’t think it would happen, but it is.

It’s not perfect. They both have their “isms”. Stubborn in their patterns and their ways. Some of it would drive me nuts if I still lived with them. They’ll both do their thing and the other one will look at me out of the corner of their eye with a “Did you see that? He/she is ALWAYS like that!” look. But it’s tinged with a grin and they both know it. Sometimes a mess and sometimes screwing up big time, but getting through each day and enjoying what they have as well.

It’s nostalgic, strange, whimsical, sad and wonderful all at the same time.