video game design - 2010

haven't mentioned this project in a while, because it came to my attention only after i began getting study halls again. Noah Sebastian Alan and I began re-working on this after midterms under Sebastian's basic concept. i volunteered to be the art dept. and thus far, this is what ive contributed.

basic individuals; Sebastian's design, my fruition. legs go on later, but torsos can be mirrored to provide 8 directions of possible movement.

terrain: my choice of neutral colors which subtly make the characters pop. good news is that most features can be interactive, or independent, but look amazing either way. creates atmosphere. i like

early design for weapons. just to get basic shape imagined.

Hiking club – Blackstone Gorge

Hiking club – Blackstone Gorge

March 20^th – (a little more than) 7 miles – three locations

Surprise, my leg is better!!!

, Miles and myself, anxious to begin ( note the lack of slapstick)

So we piled into Mister Patterson’s car at the meet location… and took 2.5 hours to get to the first location, and then to find bathrooms… but no worries, we found them and then walked to a lock!

You know the concept, giant stone things changing the level of the water so streams don’t flood onto the land and boats don’t crash into the riverbed. It was pretty smart stuff. We walked around to get better looks from both ends of the construct, which was maybe 35 feet long, and we peered around the now unusable masonry... I bit miles and we called it a day.

The next location was the gorge itself, pretty deep, pretty spectacular… I have vertigo, and so climbing down for a better view took a lot. Not a lot, like drawn out, huffing puffing, trying to psyche yourself out for something stupid. But just letting go and plunging into the action… I only went about ten feet down and didn’t trust myself on the cliff ledge, but still, I was descending well aware of the rushing waters that could turn me into a ragdoll and bash me into thousands of sharp rocks without consideration for my future…

Risk taking… yup.

We hiked through the woods and then a field and back to the dam where we started. I ate my pb&j and the guys their own food, and then piled back into the car

Then we visited goat hill, climbed that summit, walked thru puddles etc. no bushwhacking like before, but still was good. Elevation, I know nothing about, but we were a while up. It was a gradual slope, and there were fewer traumas than the first hike so it wasn’t as exciting, but still cool. I think that this is the most I’ve hiked since the accident, but it’s given me the want to try further. We’ll see. The year isn’t over yet.

miles on the edge of a thing... maybe the dam... im betting the farm that its dam.

everything that i havent posted until now!

Creative writing club and Sturgeon Production
I’ve spent a number of hours working to cut the booklet sized pages in half so that they may be bound by the spiral binder thingy{a technical term, by your dear droog truly} with the bells and the whistles awaiting Allie Pendergast’s and my finishing this initial step of production. I have spent after school, study halls and lunch breaks working on an enormous box of papers organized 1, 32, 31, 2, so that the double sided pages fit together. Id not realized how similar this was to the production of my own publications which are hand drawn and so to see this device of organization used in such an unfamiliar setting was very comforting to me. As much as I call the work to eliminate that dreadful stack taxing, I can hardly take credit from my phantom partner who alternates with me in duties due to our conveniently coordinated schedule.
The creative writing venture on this matter, hasn’t actually occurred in quite some time, due to absences, acts of god and other phenomenon beyond Mr. Arcenas’ control. Oh well, fancy that. This upcoming Thursday though, he hopes to meet, and maybe even discuss my piece.
Sequential Art Club
This thread has been quiet for a while. That is because I learned this powerful technique recently from a dying breed of ninja monks in Tibet who coincidently invented the waffle iron. It is called strategizing. Ive been getting my ducks in a row and reaching out to people and peeps alike in order to estimate my number of active club members. So far, ive a few seniors, some sophomores and maybe a girl… freshman I mean. Its funny, because of the stereotyped reader…
…tough crowd. Mhm
Okay, so we’ve got that down packed, there is a need for me to get these folks to know eachother so that they can coordinate if their projects are collaborative and because its fun. I want to do this little notesheet thing with folks they like, statements, things like that just to make some folks smile, and so that they can bond in this stage. Some of the more cynical ones I know better, and it might be a stretch getting them to play along. Oh well.
I talked it over with Mrs. Klaiber and on Monday the first we will attempt another meet. This time I really hope she doesn’t bring brownies… that would just kill me, emotionally, and then from the sugar.
Like I said before, address the goals, the resources and the comic-con in May? Is it in May? I think it’s in May… we can call it may. Sigh. We’re getting somewhere though.
Hiking club
I seriously have need to talk to Mr. Patterson, as I have not yet paid my membership fee of 11 dollars, and have not yet gotten approval from my doctor to commit to ten mile hikes, on or off road. It is a shame because I enjoyed it so much, but I cannot say how long my injury will keep me from this
Bull crew
I managed to participate in the set up of the church basement for the junior class’s MEFA presentation on Tuesday aft and dismantled it on Wednesday morning. Financial Aid is crucial into college attendance, and without it, I could not go. This I know. This I trust.

creative writing club feb 4, 2010

yesterday after my absence the previous week (i was ill last thursday) and we read a short poem by one of the underclassmen, which was more of a treat than anything because of her knowledgable use of sound (alliteration and such) and similie, which gave the poem a very rhythmic and esoterical composition. it was trisected into 3 stanzas and the tone shifts, which coincides with the nautical imagery which gave me the impression of being rocked by the waves. i may have mentioned its aptitude for being a tom waites song, but that is insignificant... it was a learning experience because i can see how it might behoove me to pay more attention to my sounds when i write...

SEQUENTIAL ART CLUB 1

so on monday, mrs. klaiber and i were all ready to rumble... she came in on her day off and brought brownies to help with the atmosphere of the introductory meeting... and nobody came. the formality was scattered to the winds and we spent lunch talking to my friend pike who joined me for support.
however, informally i have been addressed by six individuals interested with the club, and so i have been considering my options for how to approach the topics of the april comicon and initiating projects and an analysis of texts. i have at my disposal a 1981 copy of the smithsonian book of comic book comics, which i think has some really excellant examples of the origins of american comics.
on the other hand, i'd really like to hear about what people want to do, and so i should address that the next time we meet. i still have yet to discuss this with mrs. klaiber.

sequential art club initiation

Activity: sturgis sequential art club initiation Date Received: 1/25/2010 14:43:12 Dates of Activity: jan 26 may 2010Category: Creativity First Learning Outcome: 3. Plan and initiate activitiesSecond Learning Outcome: 2. Undertake new challenges Sponsoring Organization: sturgis library Adult Supervisor: ms weeks and ms klaiberContact Info: sturgis library Why is this particular activity being chosen? sequential art is my own passion, and i am uncertain as to how many other people might have similar interests as myself. as the leader of this club, organization, field trips, sessions and educational aspects of this group will be my duties. these are not things that i have done to much length in my own past, and i am uncertain as to how well i could provide this group with the energy it needs to exist. i look forward to the experience, as i hope that it will perhaps reassure me about the quality of my preformance, helpful to my future were i ever to be a production team or organization group. What are a few personal goals to be achieved? How will you measure progress toward these goals? How will you know you've reached these goals?Goals – create an organization of similarly interested people as a social network, discussion group, information resource and even peer education and guidance in the field of Sequential Art. My background is sufficient to be giving instruction on the matter, and this club has the potential for people to socialize and interact with like minded folks. How will this activity meet the two learning outcomes you've selected?i will be the leader of this club, organizing the dates, field trips, sessions and educational aspects of this group, taking on a role i am unfamiliar with. What is the value of this activity to you and others? And, if applicable, how will this activity benefit others?this club's objective is to create an organization of similarly interested people as a social network, discussion group, information resource and even peer education and guidance in the field of Sequential Art

sturgeon submission - the ventrilloquist

Crash
Four tires rotate on their axels, paired off in a dance in memory of the pavement’s reassuring touch. They spin with a haggard gait, limping almost; they peddle feebly at the falling snow. The car lies on its back with its final breath escaping the hood in a puff of magician’s smoke, its life extinguished forever in the dissipation of gases.
No.
In the cab, a man stirs, his eyes opening and closing in rhythm with the creaks the cab makes as it begins to buckle. He is the color of ashes, wet with rain or tears, and long past their lives as embers. He lets escape a groan as he watches his friends leak from their brown paper bag onto the ceiling-floor and suddenly his priorities change.
His arm finds the seat belt clasp easily enough, but he is not prepared for gravity’s embrace. He lands on his back in a pile of wet glass, and for a moment lays there in silence. The dead beer churns under his coat as he turns to reach past the driver’s seat, pulling with strength not for one with such a sluggish heart. Through the passenger-side window he drags his prize; a case the size of a child’s coffin with worn leather straps, and painted black for a funeral.
Looking up, he can see the pines from the inside out; a perspective he is not used to, but is oddly comfortable with. He seats himself atop a fallen tree with the trunk beside him, watching the smoldering truck as the temperature steadily drops.
Childhood
He was grey, the present was not.
He tore the paper off the box,
Its ribbon fell red, as curiosity
Became the primary motive.
It came with everything a little boy should have.
Glass marbles for eyes ,
A smile white as pearls
And lips painted red like a fire truck.
It was the solution to the problem
Of apathy in a child.
Cold
Man: “I hate you.”
The doll glares at him, lusty fire dancing behind its eyes, licking the inside of its wooden skull. If it didn’t share a set of lungs, it’d scream at the oaf for driving off the side of a cliff, rant about not having been born into a more satisfying profession, like firewood.
Man: “it’s so cold out here. At least you have your box.”
To this the dummy acknowledges the frost creeping around his open lid. Perhaps he kicks a clump of it away with his miniature dress shoes, brushing off the shoulder of his black tuxedo with a fluid movement of his hand. He watches the man for a while, as with his face in his hands a muffled sobbing pries a path through frostbitten fingers.
Man: “Go to hell, little wooden man.”
The creature in the casket smiles; showing off every one of his hungry wooden teeth.
Career
From the ventriloquist’s scrapbook:

Collapse

Conclusion
Cold, he turns decided, there is no fight.
A match is found, the doll gasps, Hot.
Conflagration

Cas Journal Entry – Excuse

Recently I have been incapacitated due to an injury I incurred auditioning for a play, and the extent of this wound has limited my activities as of January 13th, and before that a cold virus that disallowed me from attending the latest hiking trip. I regret not being able to continue my duties, as they were as much responsibility as they were pleasurable; however I am forced to prioritize due to the manner in which my ailment could affect the rest of my life, and will not be able to participate in the ACTION activities that my CAS duties require while my ankle recovers over the next several weeks. It is no enjoyment for me either, and I will miss it, but as soon as I heal I shall return to my activities as per usual.

Cas Journal Entry – Sturgeon

In the weeks of late I have worked closely with Ms. Fenny in preparation of my latest literary construct as a feature in my school’s literary journal titled “the sturgeon.” My tale involved a mixture of communicative techniques as a way of blending mediums for the advancement of multimedia projects as literature. In free verse poetry, prose, scripted dialogue, cartoon and sequential art formats, I made a seven part device for communicating the importance of being able to differentiate life from autopilot mode, actually sniffing flowers or just passing through their general area. Revolving around a ventriloquist, I give him this confusion and despair after his wife leaves him to his lifelong companion “the dummy,” and in freezing weather I give him the decision of what is more important being alive or living for something. People should have more depth to their lives than surviving from day to day, and I think that is important to remind my fellow humans of every now and again. Sometimes I feel myself going through the motions to pass the days and do my work, and there is nothing fulfilling in that to me. I want my days to mean something, and I see this as a goal that all people should have
In addition to that, I have agreed that under her supervision, I will be helping to assemble the actual sturgeon copies using a small press binding machine, which will be an useful skill to have for someone determined to be published someday. I plan to ask Ms. Fenny if she would assume the role of my supervisor for the creative writing that I do in the club. This is not because I feel Mr. Arcenas is not capable or comfortable to work with, but I have a good working relationship with Ms. Fenny and that level of communication and familiarity from our previous interactions I feel is crucial to achieving my goals in this activity.

new hike schedualed

Fellow Hikers,
Our next hike is this Saturday, January 9, 2010. It is a 10-mile loop hike in Falmouth. A number of you have hiked the Sandwich Moraine region of The Cape as part of our Canal-to-P'Town series. Saturday's hike will include trails through the southern part of the Buzzard's Bay Moraine region. It will pass by the recently commissioned municipal wind turbine, and return to our starting point via the recently completed hike-and-bike path which passes through salt marshes and old growth woods. So, please join us. If you are like me, I need to burn off some extra calories due to my holiday diet.
Please note, everyone must pay a $15.00 participant fee by January 31, 2010 to continue the supplemental accident insurance. Payment of the this fee is required to participate in any club outings between February 1, 2010 and January 31, 2011. Please make checks payable to: Sturgis Charter Public School. Submit this fee to Mr. Patterson for processing.
Happy New Year! Don't forget to turn in your permission slip for Saturday's hike by Wednesday! See me if you have any questions.
Mr. P.

i just recieved this today, cant wait for something new to do!