Luis' Illustrated Blog

Simpsons Storyboard artist. Artist and storyteller. Exploring how to make a living, by being creative.
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Monthly Archives: August 2009

Religious Simpson’s show. Munchkin and Dante are Spirited Away. Free tabletop Role playing games. Qwirkle goes mainstream

August 27, 2009 in FAMILY, MOVIES, THE SIMPSONS NEWS

THE SIMPSONS NEWS

Finished up my work with the last crew and started up on a new one. Religion is the theme of this show. Surprisingly not very  insulting.  I’ve seen a show this season that does have a very anti Christian joke in it (actually making fun of Jesus. I hope they cut that joke out). Yet this one, which is all about religion, gets away with the topic by only making fun of the people rather than the religions (or it’s founders). Wonder if anyone will care for it?

FAMILY/MOVIES

So I decided to see what Munchkin’s reaction would be to the movie Spirited Away by Hayao Miyazaki.  Keep in mind that she’s only three years old and the movie is REALLY intense.  Why would I even attempt to show her this movie? Well, I’ve tried showing her other dubbed version of Miyazaki movies that I own. I showed her My neighbor Totoro.

http://bjanepr.files.wordpress.com/2009/08/anime-my-neighbor-totoro.jpg?resize=581%2C435

It didn’t keep her attention at all. I then tried showing her my personal favorite Miyazaki movie (if it’s in the original Japanese) Kiki’s Delivery Service and, again, she didn’t really care for it (I don’t own Castle in the Sky Laputa dubbed, so I couldn’t show her that).

https://i0.wp.com/www.northarc.com/images/kiki/kikic1024x768.jpg?resize=583%2C450

So I pretty much gave up showing her Miyazaki movies.  Then, one day while going over my DVDs, she saw Howl’s Moving Castle and asked me if she could watch it. So I thought, why not?  It’s intense but I doubt it will keep her attention for long.  I mean, it’s about a young woman who turns into a old lady, for goodness sake. What could she possibly like about it?

https://i0.wp.com/freenet-homepage.de/kettensaegenpiraten/HowlsMovingCastle_by_cls.jpg?resize=585%2C365

Well, apparently, just about everything but the end.  She sat through most of the movie. In fact, she loves seeing the part where the main character turns old.  Why in the world does that movie keep her attention while Totoro doesn’t, is beyond me. So since she liked Howl’s Moving Castle, I thought perhaps I’d show her Spirited Away.

Both Munchkin and DANTE where glued to their seats! Dante too. He’s only a year and a half years old. They couldn’t get enough of the movie.  They watched the whole thing. From the moment they saw it, they barely blinked.

spirited-away.jpg

When it ended, Munchkin asked me to play it again. WHY?!

Here’s my theory: From the moment the movie begins, there is a sense of conflict to the situation the protagonist (a young girl) is in. Within the first five minutes of the movie, she is faced with having to choose between one fear and another (follow her parents into the scary tunnel or stay behind in the car alone with the creepy statue).

https://i0.wp.com/images.fanpop.com/images/image_uploads/Spirited-Away-wallpaper-spirited-away-400845_1024_768.jpg?resize=589%2C441

Her choices go from bad to worse as the story develops and she is confronted with one frighten thing after another.

https://i0.wp.com/hirvine.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2006/08/spirited_away_05.png?resize=585%2C327

This movie puts the young girl in the most perilous and dangerous situations a little kid could possibly be in, and yet, she faces all the situations, fear and all, and not only begins to conquer her fears, but also begins to thrive.  The scary things, the dangerous things,  she faces them all in a believable way and becomes strong.  All those things, become less scary, less weird and she comes out ahead in the end.

http://stevenhartsite.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/yubaba.jpg?resize=585%2C316

I think both Munchkin and Dante related to a character that was confronting very scary things.  To them, everything must seem as scary as the monsters in the movie. Maybe to them, the world is full of giants and weird new magical scary things.  They must have empathized with the protagonist’s predicament from the start.  But then seeing her “handle it”, get used to it all and thrive must have really been the thing that kept them riveted.

Miyazaki captured the true essence of the old fairy tales in this movie. The type of story that isn’t watered down by making the perils a person faces so weak that it’s hardly a threat and therefore, not really worth telling. This movie is like a classic fairy tales that puts a character in a true life and death struggle where you either succeed and become a stronger, better person in the end, or die trying.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqXHPHhvU9w&feature=related

OR…maybe I just have weird kids. After all, Munchkin LOVES Batman, which I don’t understand because Superman is WAY cooler. I blame it on her mother.


ROLE PLAYING GAMES

For those of us who are broke, getting free games is awesome, so I thought I’d put up some Free Rpgs or board games that I’ve found on the net.  This week I’ll put this one up:

Risus: The Anything Rpg

Risus (Latin for laughter) is an extremely rules lite rpg.  You can download the pdf of the game off the site and the rules are six pages long. It was designed as a comedy rpg but as far a I can tell, most people use the game for more “serious” games.  It’s very versatile and has a very clever conflict resolution mechanic.  It’s also very easily modified to you own needs. It has a  fairly involved community that has made quite a few mods to the game already. Check it out.

BOARD GAMES

(Photos taken from www.boardgamegeek.com)

I’ve mentioned the game Qwirkle before in two posts a loooong time ago. I’ve been meaning to write a review of the game and I will the next chance I get.

The reason I’m bringing it up though is because, up until now,  the game has been difficult to find in stores. You could get it online but, often, that is just a pain (especially with the shipping cost) and some people don’t feel comfortable buying online (like my mom).  Nothing beats going over to a store, seeing a game, picking it up, examining it, buying it and playing it a few minutes later.

Well, now you can do just that.  Qwirkle is now being sold at Target stores in the U.S..  I discovered this on Tuesday when I stopped off at one to buy some diapers.  I always go the toy section to check out the toys and board games. You can imagine my surprise when I came across the game. It’s always exciting when a good “hobby board game” makes it’s way to the mainstream retailers.

Congrats!


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Hurray for overtime. Reading through Alesha’s story. Raul, superstar. Green Lantern: First Flight

August 20, 2009 in BLOGS, FAMILY, MOVIES, PODCASTS, THE SIMPSONS NEWS

THE SIMPSONS NEWS

This is the second time I’m writing this since I lost my original version somehow.  I have to make sure to make a back up. This post is the MUCH ABRIDGED version of the original.

I’ve gotten permission to do overtime at work.  This is good since I need the money.  It’s bad because I don’t get much time to do anything else (like re-write my lost blog post).

FAMILY

Alesha finished the first draft of her story. I’ve been reading it and giving her my two cents.  It starts off really well and then it begins to get a bit rushed.  She needs to double her word count so it’s not a big deal.  She just needs to slow the story down a bit by adding more.  It’s fun to read.  We’ve been bouncing ideas back and forth on it. Once it’s done, maybe I’ll put up a chapter or two on the blog.

reading.gif

BLOG/PODCAST

Raul is at it again. Making himself a multimedia superstar. Check this out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a72BKO2JwMo

MOVIES

Alesha and I saw, Green Lantern: First Flight on Monday.  I rented it late last week.  I really enjoyed it. Not for the kiddies.  This is rate PG-13.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4h1yAArJe8c

I’m also looking forward to the next animated movie DC is coming out with. It’s based on a great comic I own called Public Enemies. Take a look:


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Writing this blog is almost a part time job for me. Tips are most welcome.


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Our fifth wedding anniversary, Munchkin’s Birthday. Rosaries and Deaths in the family. Raul’s new blog and podcast

August 13, 2009 in BLOGS, BOARD GAMES, BOOKS, FAMILY, PODCASTS

THE SIMPSONS NEWS

Not much to tell. Just plugging away at the scenes I need to finish.

FAMILY

This weekend was a very eventful one.  It began Friday. Alesha and I celebrated five years of marriage.  Well…we technically didn’t celebrate it until Saturday.  We gave each other presents on Friday.  I got her some “hair goop” that she wanted and a book I thought she would enjoy (Here There be Dragons by James A. Owen). She gave me a board game. A very cool one I wanted. It had won the German Game of the Year this year.  Big honor in the board game community.  It’s called Dominion.

Friday, instead of going out for our anniversary, we ended up NOT spending the day together at all.  I got home and went to a Rosary that was being held at my Cousin Carolina’s house. Alesha was planning to go too but Dante decided he reealllly wanted to go to bed for the night.  We kinda didn’t have a choice.  One of us had to stay home with him so Munchkin and I went to the Rosary together.  Munchkin had a blast playing with her cousin Eduardito.  They played pretty hard.  It looked like an awful lot of work to be playing as hard as they were.  I was very happy to see them enjoying themselves as much as they did.  I was really tired myself.  Problem is, when I’m really tired or stressed or emotional, I tend to want to be by myself.  Being around people and attempting to socialize just about kills every ounce of energy I have.  I spent most of the time playing a video game on my DS while listening to conversations other people around me were having.  I tend to isolate myself so much I don’t really have anything relevant to say to anyone about any subjects people bring up at parties so I end up listening and, by default, learning a few things.

Praying the Rosary in a group is very enjoyable to me.  I always feel happier after it’s over.  It always brings home what’s important in life.

We left at about nine o’clock and of course, Munchkin didn’t want to leave.

Saturday was spent, mostly, with the kids, but we had made arrangements with my mom to take care of the kids at four so Alesha and I could go on a date. Our date was a simple dinner and a movie.  It had been a long time since we had eaten Japanese.  I was desperate for some sushi.  I love that stuff. So we went to a Japanese restaurant near us that has a really good reputation.  It was great.   We had a very enjoyable dinner.  We then went to go see the GI Joe movie.  It was a highly entertaining, ridiculously stupid and silly movie.  We had a fantastic time watching it and we had just as much fun laughing at how cheesy it was afterward. I’d so buy that movie when it comes out on DVD.  It’s that lame and fun.

We then picked up the kids, who were asleep by then, but who had just as good a time with my parents as Alesha and I had on our date. After we put them to bed, we opened up a bottle of the wine we always open on our anniversary and watched The Princess Bride in bed until we fell asleep.  It was a great date night.

The next day was Munchkin’s birthday.   The kids must have had a really tiring day the day before because they didn’t wake up at seven on their own the way they usually do.  By a quarter till eight, they were still asleep  and it didn’t seem like they were going to wake up anytime soon. I woke Munchkin up and told her it was her birthday. She acted as though the whole idea was surreal to her. She was given a special birthday breakfast of pancakes with sprinkle on it.  Afterward we all got ready for church.  Alesha and I made the huge mistake of going to a ten o’clock Mass with the kids.  It was a mistake because that was Dante’s nap time.  He was sleepy and cried pretty much the whole time.  Alesha missed most of the Mass because she had to take him out the church. When we got back we put both kids down for a nap.  They had both fallen asleep in the car.

I took this time to go get Munchkin a present.  I had an idea of what I wanted to get her but the store that had what I wanted was closed. I ended up getting her something else. Alesha was desperate for me to get back home.  Dante had woken up crying and there was no consoling him.  I had to stop and get some things Alesha wanted at the store and then I hurried home as fast as I could.  We needed to get to my parents as soon as possible so Alesha could help my mom with the food.  Dante cried the whole way.   We suspect that, since he is teething, it had to do with that.  We had given him something for the pain but it didn’t stop him from crying. He had been crying for about an hour and half when we pulled up to my parent’s house. Then, when Dante saw my dad, he stopped.  We’re still not sure what it was all about.

Munchkin had a blast at her party.  She played with her cousins and had a great time. She opened presents and got lots of nice gifts.  The last gift she got was a plastic princess crown and jewelry.  The party ended around eight.  We really needed to leave so the kids could be put to bed. They had to wake up early to go to daycare the next day.

lollipop.jpg

…figures.

FAMILY

My cousin Tony passed away early Monday morning. He had neuro muscular dystrophy. I want to write more but I can’t…except to say that my one regret is that I wish I would have spent some time with him while he was still alive…but was too much of a coward to do so. I spent no time with him at all, either healthy or sick. Please pray for him and the family. Especially his widow.

BLOGS/PODCASTS

Raul has decided to go multimedia. He now has a blog and a podcast.  You can find them at: http://manvsart.com/. He’s got two episodes up. An intro episode and a second episode.  The second one is darn entertaining and he made me laugh.  Go check it out.

Self portrait


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Paul and Comic Con. Played Tichu with my parents. Munchkin’s reaction to my cartoons. RpgGeek is up

August 6, 2009 in BOARD GAMES, FAMILY, ROLE PLAYING GAMES, THE SIMPSONS NEWS

THE SIMPSONS NEWS

I was taken off the crew I was on and put on yet another crew.  I was told at lunch about it Tuesday.  I don’t really mind though. Especially since the scenes I’m working on involve BOARD GAMES. Woo Hoo!

In other news…Paul finally got his sketchbook out:

Paul’s Sketchbook Cover

Most of the people in that crowd are based on real geeks Paul know or took pictures of. I’m in the back cover.

The sketchbook is great.  If you want to buy a copy you can order one from STUART NG BOOKS. He printed it for Comic Con and sold it there. He told me one of the people that bought a copy was none other than Disney Animator Glen Keane. Glen Keane was the head animator on such Disney characters as Ariel, The Beast, Aladdin, Pocahontas, Tarzan, and Long John Silver. He told Paul that it was his first time at Comic Con and that Paul‘s sketchbook and Ronnie Del Carmen‘s sketchbook were the only things he had bought at the Con. Paul was very honored.

He also told me that, since he was a Dealer, he was able to walk around the show floor before it officially opened.  As he walked by a booth and saw a bunch of pictures of Edward James Olmos on a table.

“Oh wow, Edward James Olmos.” He turned to the guy in the booth, “Is he here?”.  The guy in the booth didn’t say a word, he merely pointed next to were Paul was standing.  He turned his head only to come face to face with Mr. Olmos himself.  Paul nearly jumped out of his skin and stood dumbfounded not able to speak.  After a few moments he was able recover and asked Mr. Olmos for an autograph, shook his hand and got a picture taken with him.  Paul is a huge Battlestar Galactica fan.  Later on during the Con he got to meet other cast members, such as James Callis.

Sounds like the had a fun time.

Oh…and I also heard from from him and quite a few of my co-workers that they saw Leonard Nimoy  walking around the show floor, enjoying the chaos.

BOARD GAMES

I invited my parents over Saturday for a game night.  I definitely took out “family games” this time around, or at least I thought they were all family games. Something fun and lite with a little bit of strategy.  To this end, I brought out Ticket to Ride: Europe, Modern Art , Vegas Showdown, and Tichu . I would have brought out Ingenious but I wasn’t in the mood to play that game.

I asked everyone what they wanted to play after I explained the gist of how  each game played.  My mom wanted to play Tichu so that’s what we played.  It was the first time I’d ever played it.  I wasn’t sure what to expect but it didn’t really seem too complicated when I read the rules.  Then we started playing it. Woah, for such a simple game it sure forces you to make difficult decisions from the get go. Everyone was a bit overwhelmed by how deep the game was.

It’s a bit of a partnership trick taking game. You win a trick by trying to put down higher combos of cards than the other players on the table. Thing is, there is some really nice nuances in the game that dictate when you WANT to win the trick,  when it’s a good time to play certain cards and when you want to be the first player to play all your cards. We all had a good time but, man, it was really shocking to discover how deep the game was.  I recommend it.

FAMILY

So Munchkin was on my lap this weekend as I looked some stuff up on my computer.  She notice my Avatar in one of my file folders so I clicked on it so she could take a better look.  My Avatar animates so she likes it.  It isn’t the first time she’s seen it and often asks me if she could see the “funny face”. This time though it suddenly dawned on her that the avatar was suppose to be me and she sat up, pointed at it and exclaimed:

funny-daddy.jpg

She started laughing, “That’s a very funny daddy”.  Now she calls it, “funny daddy”.  I showed her the other drawings on my blog and she thought they were very funny too. It still hasn’t dawned on her that the little girl in all those blog drawings is her. I tried to tell her but she didn’t get it. She’ll figure it out eventually.

ROLE PLAYING GAMES

I write a lot about the Board Game Geek Website (BGG).  It’s a fantastic resource for discovering every kind of tactile game you can play with friends and family.  Well, the creator of  BGG, Scott Alden (Aldie),  has decided that he was going to branch out to other types of games.  To that end he has created Geek DÓ, the brand under which, BGG will now reside.  His newest Geek game site is Role Playing Game Geek (RPGG).  It’s just like BGG for table top role playing games, only a tad bit more complicated.  Mostly because of the subcategories that many table top role playing games need to be placed under.  For example, Dungeons and Dragons, alone, has four editions and each edition has tons of books under it.

It’s a fantastic site and a much needed site.  It’s a pain to try to find info on many role playing games.  Up until know when I wanted to read a review for an rpg I went to Rpg.net, but I’ve never really liked that site.  It’s very clunky and difficult to find things in, and the colors  on the site are a  bit off putting .  Now with RPGG it’s going to be so much easier and it’s a nicer brighter atmosphere.  I’ve already started helping out the data base by putting up pictures and things for the site.  There are a few thousand role playing games up on the site already and it’s growing by the minute.  It’s fantastic, it was love at first site (pause for the “boos”) .  I’ve already started to make a wish list and uploading all the games I own.

If you’re a gamer but aren’t a board gamer or an rpger, don’t worry. The next Geek database site Aldie is going to work on, will be Video Game Geek. You will soon be assimilated.



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Hi, Welcome!

This blog is your window into the daily life of a Simpsons artist. See what it's like work on a hit TV show!

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My e-mail is: luis(at)luisescobarblog(dot)com

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