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Can't believe how longit has been since I updated this. The usual excuses -- back to school and all. A needed computer upgrade/replacement sidelined all things online for a while, too.

As I type this it is 7:30 am and there is a fire alarm shrieking in the hallway. Not to worry -- there isn't a fire. The thing has been on the fritz for a while, and out cheesy landlord hasn't fixed it. So now it has finally given up the ghost and is chirping like an enormous, very cross cricket.

I haven't had a whole hell of a lot to report, but here's a rundown of the most interesting things:

Baby: G quite suddenly "popped" out and actually looked, well, classically pregnant. It's quite something -- generally you don't realize steady, incremental changes in the appearance of someone you see all the time, but in this case, it definitely felt like it was almost overnight -- voila! there is obviously a baby there. The doctor reports all is proceeding exactly as it should wihout cause for even the mildest concern. Little Jack is constantly moving about. He seems to respond most to bass vibrations -- for example, music or a movie with a heavy low end gets him wiggling around. The other night G and I decided to try something. She laid on the bed and I pressed my ear against the lower part of her tummy. I started humming at the deepest tone I could. Well, Jack immediately responded! I could feel a little amr or foot kicking at me from in there! I sprang back delighted. We tried it again and again and every time, as soon as I hummed for a second, there was a little kick or push. It was very fun and exciting. We tried this again last night withsimilar, but less spectacular results -- he ahd been kicking away already for quite a while, G said. Perhaps he was just tuckered out.

Apartment: we were debating moving from this apartment to a larger one before Jack's arrival -- I felt we should stay put, G felt otherwise -- but the debate was rendered moot by the usurious fees our building would charge us to break our lease. So we are staying put in West Hollywood for now.

School: will be a challenge. I will be cutting four films this term as well as writing, directing, producing, and editing a fourth 3-minute special effects piece. There are classes on top of the production/editing schedule but fortunately not a lot of them, so I'll be able to help out at home when I'm not in school. Decided to try a lot harder to stay on a healthy diet while editing. Last cycle I fell too easily into a habit of fast food breakfasts and such -- the schedule is quite brutal and demanding and yu tend to grab what you can, when you can. So I am trying to do some better planning to make sure diet and exercise don't get short shrift.

Speaking of which -- have got back on a few bandwagons -- the daily exercise, low fat/portion control, and no smoking ones, to be precise. Never perfect, but giving it an honest shot.

Odds & ends: one of the more exciting thing I got to do over the last month was visit the Walt Disney Studios. Longtime readers will know what an admirer I am of Walt and his many works. This month there was a screening section for members of ASIFA, the international animated film association so its members (like me) can view clips from all the films nominated for the Annie Awards, the animation equivalent of the Oscars. I joined ASIFA when we moved out here, so I got to go. It was a 7:00 screening. I parked the car and walked onto the lot, and I couldn't really believe it. Here were the ink & paint and special effects buildings, the bungalow moved from the studio's old Hyperion Drive location, the street sign with Mickey Mouse pointing your way down Dopey Drive at the main intersection on the campus -- all these things I had only seen in books or sneaked a glance at through the studio gates, I was just strolling along, taking in with a great sense of delight. The screening was in the Frank Wells building, where the Disney Archives are, which is across from the Team Disney buisling which integrates the Seven Dwarfs, on whose backs the studio as it is know today was founded, into the arhcitecture in an amusing fashion.


The Team Disney building.



The Hyperion Bungalow

I left the screening a little early and got "lost" on the back lot, where sets and soundstages for Disney and ABC movies and shows were in various states of use, marvelling that I was walking around 100% alone, at night, down the "streets" of this studio lot, this incredibly progressive (for its time) production environment where Walt spent so much of his time. It was quite a treat. Those interested can find out all about the studios and see more cool pictures by visiting this link.

Other news: built a new computer to save money. My old machine was 5 years old this year, and due to fail in addition to not being able to adequately run programs I need to use for my line of work. I also needed a laptop for school, and needed to get a Mac so i could teach myself Final Cut Pro, so I built my own P4 3Ghz with a gig of RAM and 200 gig of SATA storage and purchased a medium-level iBook G4 at an educational discount. Rather pleased, we struck a good balance between savings and effciency. I tend to be very parsimonious woth such things -- I really don't like spending top dollar for new and unproven technology, so I usually save money and get something just behind the te curve a tiny bit. I have an advantage in having the technical know-how to push something aslong for more years than one would expect.

Both are great machines. I have never been one of these Mac vs. PC zealots. They each have their strengths. However, for elegance of design, both hardware and software, you really have to hand it to Apple. The only problem is, people often end up spending thousands more than they need to buying something just because it looks cool. That said, the new sub-$500 MacMinis are a good idea for the entry-level user.

Whew. Well that's all for now. Will try to be better about this next month. Hvae to go for my morning walk now . . .