Below are the 13 most recent journal entries recorded in pencil_mig_in's LiveJournal:

Friday, May 18th, 2007
9:21 am	The Book Pimp One of my former co-workers from Nelvana and Monster by Mistake has opened a bookstore here in town.  His name's Dan.  He's my Book Pimp. Dan is something of an oddity in the industry I work in.  Animation is kind of a time-intensive, energy-sapping, creativity-specific endeavor.  Hence, most of the folks I've met tend to do nothing else when they quit for the day.  I'm not counting raising families or paying off the mortgage.  That transcends the notion of "free time", you need to do this.  No, this is more like trying to find time to draw, or animate your own films, and things like that.  Most folks just turn off at 5, or 6, or whenever they sign off for the night. Not Dan. Dan spends his weekends going to comic cons and artist shows.  Not as a fan, though.  No, he rents a table and sells books.  Good books, art books, animation books.  Books that collect art, books that teach art, books that provide inspiration.  And he does this while working full time for Nelvana, and taking care of his family. He's an excellent salesman, I'll admit.  While we were working together in Nelvana, he got to know my tastes and what I spent money on.  So he naturally goes through his stock, picks stuff that looks cool to me, and shows 'em to me.  He got so good at this, all he needed to do was just drop off a pile of books on my desk ... ... and just walk away. Here's the part that fascinates me and tickles the hell out of him.  Later in the day, I'll find him and just say "So what do I owe you?" Does this guy have his sales technique down, or what? Anyway, after years of doing the Animation Road Show, travelling to various cons, studios, campuses, and such, he's got a permanent new store.  Here's the address. THE LABYRINTH 386 Bloor Street West (2 blocks west from Spadina Subway Station)416 840-4506 or email:info@thelabyrinthstore.com Tell Dan, his lovely wife Jessica, and their baby boy Nathan that Miguel says hi.  Give Nathan a cookie. (Comment on this)
Sunday, May 13th, 2007
10:10 pm	Dusty in here, ain't it? Man, I haven't used this thing in way too long.  Is anyone still reading this? (5 Comments |Comment on this)
Monday, January 16th, 2006
10:02 am	Twirlin' Sticks and Demo Teams I had a Valhalla Saturday this past weekend. Friday night, as I was leaving Jeet Kune Do class, I passed my teacher having a break outside with some other folks I'd been trading punches with that night. And no, it was just focus pad drills, not fist-on-skull contact. The rubber knife-fighting, however ... At any rate, I bade them goodnight, and Shawn (my JKD sifu) invites me to play in their demonstration at the morning's Open House at the salle. Now keep in mind that I've been playing with the JKD folks on and off for just a little while, supplementing my normal (if sporadic) training with AEMMA. The only thing I was planning to do that day was bring some pop and some antacid tablets for the chili cook-off. So I wasn't expecting to hear, "Hey, if you wanna show up for class tomorrow morning, you can be part of the demo." I was honored, and took up the challenge. So, braving the sudden dip in temperature and the less-than-timely busses in my neighborhood on a Saturday morning, I arrived at the salle at the bottom of the ninth hour of the day. I had my stick-bag slung over a shoulder, and secured my donated Coca-cola and Tums in the "kitchen" area, and took in some preparation time for the Jeet demo of the Fighting Arts Cooperative Toronto's 5th Annual Open House. Shawn asked me what I wanted to demonstrate, and I replied I felt comfortable with the Siniwali Pattern, so I paired off with Brett (a gentleman and schollar in his own right) and later Si-chung (I hope I spelled that right) who would be my partner in the demo. Let me clarify what Siniwali is. Siniwali is a pattern of double stick training, where two partners practice cutting/striking angles with two sticks or machetes. So you have two sticks in your hands, and you cut diagonally from your shoulder at your partner. He's cutting/striking as well, so your sticks or swords meet between the pair of you in a loud "clack-clack-clack, clack-clack-clack, clack-clack-clack" that's very impressive to an audience. Now, when I said I felt comfortable with Siniwali, what I meant was that I was comfortable with one pattern, called Heaven Six. The cutting/striking angles are at the shoulders, diagonally going down from shoulder to hip, forehand and backhand, left and right handed. What I ultimately wound up doing were three patterns: Heaven Six, Standard Six (cutting to the shoulder and to the hip) and Earth Six (cutting to the knee). I have *briefly* done Standard Six many months ago, and had absolutely never done Earth Six with a partner. It was a good thing I had a class to rehearse this, because I would be demonstrating in three hours' time. The pressure's on, so ... "Clack-clack-clack, clack-clack-clack, clack-clack-clack!" Other demonstrations were being rehearsed behind Si-chung and I, but we did break off our whacking sticks to run through a Self-Defence Semi-circle exercise to round off the demos. Picture a half circle of folks with one person in the center. A random person enters the circle, initiates an improvised attack, and the person in the middle defends themselves using anything they wish. The attacker could have empty hands, or a displayed weapon, or a hidden weapon. In any case, he's doing something, so the "victim" defends, disarms, throws him down, and concludes the engagement. And yes, I would be one of the "attackers" and the "victim". Dang, it's 12:30 already? Oh well, time to go to work. Shawn, the JKD instructor, leads off and explains his area of study and teaching, and brings up one pair at a time to demonstrate punching/kicking drills, grappling while standing, grappling while on the ground, use of weapons, and finally some full-contact, non-choreographed combat with sticks, gloves and fencing masks. During the weapons portion, I stepped out with Si-chung and applied my newly learned patterns. "Clack-clack-clack, clack-clack-clack, clack-clack-clack!" We only messed up once, breaking off to swing randomly and come back to the established patterns. Whew! That was fun. And now, the Self-Defence Semi Circle! I think I acquitted myself rather well, dealing with random attacks and pretty much making up defences as I went along. I did get taken down rather spectacularly with a shoulder lock, by Si-chung no less, and shocked folks that don't normally train with me. The AEMMA boys are very familiar with the grotesque, yet amusing, noises and facial expressions I make when my arms/legs/spine/head are bent into interesting positions. But to an audience, it looks like "Holy Crap! That looked painful!" Heh heh heh heh heh ... So how does one follow up a successful Jeet Kune Do demonstration? Well, there are demos from the other represented schools of the Fighting Arts Cooperative. The assmbled throng of friends and family were awed by Wing Chun kung fu, AEMMA's Armizare freefencing and armoured combat, Russian Systema, and Crossfit's fightin' trim exercise routines. And how do you follow such varied and thrilling demonstrations? Why, with a few hours of cutting straw mats with razor-sharp swords! And how does one follow up cutting with swords? Try shooting! Yes, shooting with airsoft pistols, courtesy of TTAC3! And after the shooting and sword-swinging? With gobs of hot chili! And following the chili? Ribs! And wash it all down with beer and rum! Seeing as how alcohol really doesn't like me, I opted for pop. But still, tons of fightin' and eatin' and drinkin' and friendly folks also fightin', eatin' and drinkin' makes for one heck of a day! If I had Viking ancestors, they'd be very proud, but my ancestors come from the Phillipines. Still, I have a few uncles and grandfathers who would be very amused. Current Mood: accomplished Current Music: The Klingon Fight Theme (5 Comments |Comment on this)
Friday, January 13th, 2006
11:37 am	Adopt a Pirate, today! Here's an interesting link: http://www.adoptapirate.com/aap.asp (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Wednesday, June 15th, 2005
10:27 am	Hmmm ... interesting. Your Brain is 60.00% Female, 40.00% Male Your brain is a healthy mix of male and female You are both sensitive and savvy Rational and reasonable, you tend to keep level headed But you also tend to wear your heart on your sleeve What Gender Is Your Brain? So, in this day and age where the term "metrosexual" has come into vogue, what does that make me? Part of the crowd? (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Monday, May 9th, 2005
7:58 am	Birthday MeMe Your Birthdate: August 30 Your birthday on the 30th day of the month shows individual self-expression is necessary for your happiness. You tend to have a good way of expressing yourself with words, certainly in a manner that is clear and understandable. You have a good chance of success in fields requiring skill with words. You can be very dramatic in your presentation and you may be a good actor or a natural mimic. You have a vivid imagination that can assist you in becoming a good writer or story-teller. Strong in your opinions, you always tend to think you are on the right side of an issue. There may be a tendency to scatter your energies and have a lot of loose ends in your work. You may have significant artistic talent and be very creative. What Does Your Birth Date Mean? (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Tuesday, September 21st, 2004
9:49 am	Moving bugs, ew! So Sunday I was helping my friend Barry move. Now, Barry is a very good friend of mine. We've been working together in the same places for about 5 or 6 years now, and I did help him move last time. It's not like it was even a very big move, since his new place is quite literally *around the corner* from his old place. I even came prepared with steel-toed boots and work gloves. The thing is that moving kicks up a lot of dust. And cat hair. Oooh, the cat hair. Gave my antihistemines a run for their money. And oh yes, at least 3 three people there had colds. And I didn't use my common sense and put on my sweatshirt because I was too hot and it was a cool, cool evening. Thus, I came down with a 24hour cold. Stayed home all yesterday resting. Turns out I wasn't the only one. At least 2 others from work (and who weren't present at Barry's move) were out sick, and my workmate in The Fishbowl (yes, I work in a fishbowl) is out sick *today*. Right, more chicken soup and vitamin C for me. (Comment on this)
Friday, September 17th, 2004
3:03 pm	The Sorting Hat shouted .... "I know - HUFFLEPUFF!" The sorting hat says that I belong in Hufflepuff! Said Hufflepuff, "I'll teach the lot and treat them just the same." Hufflepuff students are friendly, fair-minded, modest, and hard-working. A well-known member was Cedric Digory, who represented Hogwarts in the most recent Triwizard Tournament. Take the most scientific Harry Potter Quiz ever created. Get Sorted Now! So I took this little personality test, and this just really confirms what I've thought. I'm 92% Hufflepuff. I'd like to think there's room there for a flair for the absurd, as well. Oh, my next closest house was Ravenclaw (78%), Gryffindor (68%), and Slytherin (12%). On a similar note, my good buddy </a></b></a>anchat was sorted into Ravenclaw, just like he felt he should. (Comment on this)
Monday, September 13th, 2004
10:21 am	It's Back to School again ... ooh la la! You can tell the school year's back up in force when morning rush hour on the transit is crammed with students. Since I'm not working in the fashionable districts of downtown Toronto anymore, my route is filled with high school kids rather than college/university students. Interesting fashion notes: Unless said high school kids are in a catholic or otherwise uniformed school, the kids are dressing remarkably provocative. Or should I say, the girls are. I've seen more belly shirts and miniskirts this morning than I have all summer (Drooool!). Even my beloved catholic schoolgirl uniforms seem to have adopted stretchy lycra pants as acceptable uniform code. Needless to say, I spent a lot of time wandering behind clusters of luscious Lolita legs. Sadly, depending on your personal orientation, the male students have flunked their fahion sense exams. They continue to schlump about this year in oversized, formless shirts, ball caps twisted the wrong way, and their grandpa's droopy crotch pants. And yes, no one has taught these greaseballs-in-training how to shave. (3 Comments |Comment on this)
12:22 am	One Long, Long Story I've had the text version of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix for over a year, but I've just recently gotten the audio book version of the same. Now I know JK Rowling has written "Tolstoy for kids", but I didn't realize just how much material is present. There's 27 hours worth of dialogue in the audio version. Over a gig's worth of data when compressed in .wma format. That's a lot of talking. I'll say this much. The audio version makes for a nice companion on long road trips. (3 Comments |Comment on this)
Saturday, September 11th, 2004
4:28 pm	TV is my friend ... sometimes I actually must clarify the above statement. Video is my friend, as I tend to watch more of my (slowly expanding) collection of dvd's and tapes as opposed to network programming. Mind you, I did tune in to K. Branagh's HENRY V on History Television, but I don't really count that, as I have that on dvd as well. I was in Princeton NJ for the long weekend, and splurged some birthday present cash on (oddly enough) a few dvd's. I've currently got GSC (Gunsmith Cats) playing. Following that is a short stack including Naked Killer (starring classic HK cutie Chingmy Yau), Taste the Blood of Dracula (*the* definitive Christopher Lee/Hammer classic), Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe (the complete Buster Crabbe serial), and The Masque of the Red Death (starring Vincent Price). Yep. A much better alternative to the hell that is Reality Tv. (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Friday, September 10th, 2004
2:06 pm	Interesting Reading I came across this extremely funny story last night, and stayed up 'til the wee hours laughing my head off. http://daisygrrl.com/quidditch/index.html As with all good parodies, suspension of disbelief is paramount. With that in mind, I invite all to the hilarities and festivities. And be sure to tell the author if you liked the tale. (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Thursday, September 9th, 2004
10:57 am	Starting all over again. Criminy, I haven't used this thing in ages. It's been months since I updated. I looked over the posts and said to myself, "It's time for a change." The beauty of this journal is that you can wipe all your previous entries. So, here I am, starting from scratch. It may not be conpletely coherent at times, but I will be making this consistent. Now, if I can just figure out how to post pictures on here. That'd be super. (2 Comments |Comment on this)