There has been a lot to unpack over the course of the year, It's hard to go into any real specifics or detail without also jumping into one rant or another, so I'll spare you the read and me the write. It's easy to say that a lot of shitty stuff has happened in 2016, on a personal level, and on a national or world stage. However, a lot of exciting happenings and new "my favorite things" ( maybe also a little rediscovering of old things) have popped up last year as well, so nothing is ever wholly negative or entirely positive. A lot has changed in my life, being my first full year without any family (not counting dogs) at my side. I finished my long-running comic and other projects to move forward in other areas, laying the groundwork for new and different things to come.

I can already see 2017 will be its own challenge. Like everyone on Earth, I wonder "What the hell is going to happen next?" and "What the hell will I do about it?". Uncertainty and fear of the unknown is a part of life, but it can help you stay on your toes while you pursue your goals.Best wishes to the lot of you in 2017, and remember that things will rarely ever be as bad as your imagination tells you.

"Here's to the new year. May she be a damn sight better than the old one" - Colonel Potter. 'M*A*S*H'

OK, it's probably obvious I'm referring to "Sing" from Universal/Illumination (the 'Minions' people), but if not for a few things (visual style and the use of anthro primates/birds/reptiles/fish/invertebrates) I'd easily believe it if you told me this was actually a side-story from somewhere in Zootopia. As the second film in the same year with an anthropomorphic animal populated urban setting, it's hard not to compare "Sing" and "Zootopia". Where Zootopia is a partial deconstruction of the antro animal world concept for the purpose of a Star Trekkish abstracted examination of prejudice, Sing follows more in the mold of 'Robin Hood', using an all-animal cast to tell a familiar story. The "failing theater owner's last-ditch effort" story has been done a million times, as have most of the other characters' arcs, each of which can be summed up in a sentence or two, boiling down to overcoming personal obstacles to chase their dreams and gain the respect of their peers. There are several though, and they weave together rather well. The sparse storylines are the framework that the humor, character moments, and musical sequences are hung upon, and this is where I think the film shines, and where I wish a little more time was spent in the 'back and forth' and compromise between the various performers and Buster Moon. Aside from a couple rather uncomfortable attempts at jokes, the film has a charm and heart to it. It's not groundbreaking or something to make you think, but I still found it entertaining as all hell.

(potential spoilers)

- So with all the recognizable music, are they by 'animal equivalent' versions of Katy Perry, Frank Sinatra, and so on in this world?

- In a curious parallel with Zootopia, some 'heavies' are hoofed animals, such as Eddie the sheep's rich and powerful family, and a llama (alpaca?) banker.

- Rosita manages to jerry-rig machines to care for her huge family in her absence. First off, she's a frikkin' genius, Second, that's a call from protective services just waiting to happen.

- Mike the mouse is a straight-up jerk, and pretty much his own worst enemy.

- I like Ash.

Merry Christmas.




(an' Happy Chinookah.)

Long - careered VFX artist/designer and producer/supervisor, co-founder of Foundation Imaging.

http://gerryanderson.co.uk/cg-vfx-p.....thornton-died/

http://www.startrek.com/article/rem.....r-ron-thornton

What put him on my radar was his (Foundation Imaging's) on Babylon 5, He was a major pioneer in CG visual effects. especially in using consumer computer equipment in a professional capacity, making film-quality CG effects possible for television budgets and production schedules.

Huh, I didn't know he worked on Spaceballs.


For me using many of the same tools his people did at various points in their career, I'll direct you to my previous journal, and the video links contained within.
http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/7935739/

It's just a little animation project I've been working on (off and on) for the past year and a half, making my Amiga music videos into a trilogy of sorts.

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x4.....-song_creation

(or)

https://vimeo.com/187923824


It's on YouTube too, but that one doesn't need help getting views.

https://youtu.be/-onWNxvSLVk

The US Presidential election, ladies & gentlemen.

If your time is valuable, skip about 40 seconds in, as the video share may not have.

https://youtu.be/zPHdZoU9OR4

For the uninitiated, this is a comedy re-dub by Freddery of the animated online series "Combiner Wars" (it was like eight five-minute episodes of bad-fanfic-tier storytelling). This version jumps around between clever jokes, stupid jokes, and random memes, but I found it frequently laugh-worthy.

Awwww...
http://io9.gizmodo.com/rip-c-martin.....ast-1786820984

Animator, Voice guy, Zorak.



...


On a more pleasant note, I recently learned that Mayor Dewey of Steven Universe is voiced by Joel Hodgson, AKA Joel of Mystery Science Theater 3000.

I'll give you time to drop by http://sabrina-online.com if you don't already know what this journal is about.

...

...

...

OK? Good.

So, I have finished the Sabrina Online monthly strip 20 years to the day after posting the very first strips to my personal web page. I actually made this decision years ago, knowing that I've done my fair share of wheel-spinning and scraping for ideas at times. Setting an 'end goal' gave me the go ahead to tell the stories and address the ideas I was previously 'saving' for the right opportunity, and the rest fell into place from there.

I'll say right now that while the monthly strip is no longer monthly, Sabrina and crew are not done by a long shot. There will still be the occasional special comic or story - There are still stories yet to tell, what with R.C. and Sabrina apparently starting a family of their own. Perhaps I'll even get back to my old flame of animation. In any case, big thanks to all the readers and fans out there, long-term or recent. I appreciate your appreciation.

- about five, to be honest. Came to my mind with the news that Sept. 8 marks the 50th anniversary of the show's debut. I've been more of a "Trek" guy than a "Wars" guy for a long time, despite "Wars" being my first major sci-fi influence as a young'un. Still haven't seen "ST: Beyond" yet, having been lukewarm to the JJ Trek films so far. I've heard good things though.


On an entirely separate note, Sabrina Online fans should probably drop by the site again.

Sometimes you run across a combination of elements that you struggle to comprehend that fact that it even exists. I can't say I'm displeased for finding it though.

https://youtu.be/DRPbKIXoEsI

As expected, they cover a lot of Transformers-related music, but this was the song that triggered the "WAT" mechanism.

Saddened to learn about the recent passing of Gene Wilder. He was the anchor of several of my favorite movies, and a big part of cultural memory for a lot of people.

Screw Johnny Depp. Gene was MY Willy Wonka!

What with the whole wedding deal in-progress, there are going to be more strips than usually seen for this month and next. Instead of slamming them all into the beginning of the month as I might normally, they will be spread out a bit.

What this means for you folks in the short term - is that you might wanna drop by Sabrina-Online.com again around Monday the 8th.



'kay?

No matter what you think of the candidate or his policies, THIS is the kind of advertising I think EVERYONE should do!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbM6WbUw7Bs

(heh, a Hillary ad popped up before the vid played for me.)



BTW, thanx for the shirt shop recommendations.

First off, My condolences go out to those slain and injured at the Pulse club in Orlando, their families and friends and loved ones. I can't begin to fully understand all the motivations behind it and the pain that results, and everyone heaping their own opinions and agendas and prejudices on top doesn't help, so I'll leave it at "mean violent people suck" for the time being. On a contrasting note, I've seen foxes in my back yard again, two this time. Somehow I'm getting a fox yard. It's an unsettling and wondrous time to be alive.

On to the subject, I used to have an online T-shirts-and-stuff shop through Printfection, but they no longer offer that service, so (finally) I'm looking to rebuild somewhere else. Some of you out there have undoubtedly either used online printers like CafePress or RedBubble or whatever to sell your own wares, or purchased products through one or more of them, and I'm looking for your opinions on which service(s) are your favorites to use or buy from. A few things I'm looking for are:

* Automated storefront (as in you design the products, they handle the printing/production, sales, shipping, and all, then give you money)

* Quality production - good materials and printing quality, not flimsy crud that fades out or disintegrates after being worn and washed a couple times.

* Full color printing as opposed to just single or limited color silkscreens

* Ability to print white or light colored graphics on dark colored shirts

* Hopefully reasonable pricing for end customers. Most of these services seem to have a 'base price', and let the seller add their own price/profit on that.

* Other printed items, like cups/glasses/bags/prints/posters/whatever, would be nice options to have too.

If you know a shirt printing & web store service that's awesome, or have other options I hadn't considered, feel free to speak up!

Thanx, Eric S.

If anyone is STILL avoiding Zootopia spoilers (srsly?) you might wanna avoid this too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOIjmLw0iQc


(This is more of the 'fun' type of Honest Trailer, as opposed to the 'merciless' type.)



On a strange personal note, the nest of baby bunnies in my yard (mention lost in the great FA flop-purge of 2016) has since grown up enough to fly the coop, so the 'wildlife reserve' fence has been taken down. If that's not enough, I've seen a fox pass though my yard and a neighbor's yard. (first live fox I've ever seen outside of a zoo or preserve). It ain't gonna happen, but I really wanna see them all team up and start solving crimes.

Twenty years ago today, a new syndicated CG TV cartoon debuted, dated-looking today, but impressing and pioneering then (kinda like the first Toy Story)

http://news.tfw2005.com/2016/04/22/.....16#more-314516

It's only March, dude! At this rate there will be no celebrities left by December!
(odds aren't looking so good on Harrison Ford finishing another Indiana Jones movie with this in mind)

https://youtu.be/zMaYeRUSfoc

Based on the early trailers and ads, I was expecting a basic adventure peppered with lots of animal jokes. The early teasers that looked like they were selling anthropomorphism like it was some totally new concept didn't help either. Still. it's hard to stay away from a film like this.

IMO, it's damn near the best film Disney has put out in the last decade, I don't know how it will hold up historically, given its contemporary setting which may make it dated in he long run, but it deserves any and all accolades it gets. Given the over-arching theme of the movie, I'll admit to some probable bias on my part here toward the film's 'furry-ness'.

What I enjoyed the most about this film is the maturity it showed despite ostensibly being a kids' film. I'm not talking about jokes or references that go over a youngsters' head, but the story and themes themselves. It's a story that could more-or-less work in any live cop/detective movie, but without the gunplay and body count you'd find in those. It's also an allegory and examination of prejudice and racism (and other -isms as well), exploring the human condition by draping an animal skin over it, much like good Star Trek shows might do with alien species. Thankfully, they (mostly) avoid being overly heavy-handed or preachy with it. Bit players casually mix animal sterotypes with playing against type. No character is a prefect paragon of open-mindedness, whether they aspire to it or not. It's less about them being good 'people', but more about acknowledging their mistakes and shortcomings and bettering themselves from there, which has a genuine feel, at least for me.

I can't talk up a Disney film without mention of the visuals, and that's pretty top-notch as well. The last few Disney films have been killing it with their environments and world building, and it's fun to see a city designed around the idea of accommodating animals of all sizes and shapes, not to mention the different zones of the city with vastly different climates (the energy budget of Zootopia must be astro-fudgin'-nomical!) I enjoy how the different sizes of characters, props, and environs are played up over the course of the film as well. Character designs, animated acting, and voice work are excellent too. The humor is good, but not as heavy as some animated films. I still loved the slow-burn sequence at the sloth-run DMV, even if that scene was entirely given away in trailers. The film could easily spawn a sequel or even a series, and I could see it working well. For me, the whole film was an enjoyable ride that was unafraid of its thematic elements and more thought-provoking than you'd probably expect a kids' animated cartoon to be. Thumbs up.

And by the way, who's third in line to run that city? ... It's kinda important.

After taking my dogs to see the vet recently, one of them got a prescription. Since the dog antibiotics were the same as human antibiotics, at least in this case, I was able to take my dog prescription to my regular pharmacy, which seemed like a strange process to me, even if it wasn't really. I didn't give it much thought afterward, until I glimpsed at the pharmacy receipt, which combined the doggie's name with mine, written out to...

Dash Schwartz

I liked the sound out it. It comes off like the protagonist of a budget video game. Dash likes his pills fine (I don't - they're those nasty eggy-smelling antibiotics) 'cause he gets them wrapped in a piece of lunchmeat or cheese.

Just learned about the passing of comedian / actor / voice artist / author Joe Alaskey, adding on to the 2016 non-stop celebrity death train. He shall be missed.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Alaskey
http://www.joealaskey.com/

Apparently that's January 20th.

I'll use it to be pleased one of my favorite things has returned to the world (again).

http://www.gocomics.com/bloom-county/2016/01/19

...


(No, I didn't mean Bowie)

Went to Thanksgiving dinner with  shoulung and  centius . A good time and a good dinner despite the turkey looking kinda pink and tasting a lot like ham.

I suppose I'm thankful for having good friends nowadays.


Reminder of my terrible old Turkey Day pic - http://www.furaffinity.net/view/12146035/

(First off, my heartfelt condolences go out to those killed or injured in the Paris attacks, as well as their families, friends, and all others affected by these tragic events.)

(far) Closer to home, I am sad to report the passing of my father, Ronald Schwartz, who died Wednesday at age 77 from complications related to a bacterial infection in his lungs. He was many things to many different people, but to me he was just Dad. He worked as an aerospace engineer in cockpit/crew station design, contributing to several Air Force aircraft, including two of the greatest known to man, the F-15 Eagle and A-10 'Warthog'. After retiring, he volunteered with the Boy Scouts and other organizations.

He will be greatly missed.

http://obits.dignitymemorial.com/dignity-memorial/obituary.aspx?n=Ronald-Schwartz&lc=6930&pid=176472611&mid=6672462&cid=em.legacy.dm.6930.6672462&eid=sp_sciobitposted

I know several people have ideas and theories about the comic and everyone in it.

You're ALL right.

OK wait, not everyone is right. Several people are wrong. So correcting my earlier statement - some people are correct, others aren't. Stay tuned in the coming months to find out who!