Global Warming on Jupiter

I just read this article on CNN.com that talked about the fact that Jupiter's stripes are changing due to climate shifts on that enormous planet. It was very interesting, you should read it.

I had to laugh, though at the fact that Jupiter's climate shift and warming trend is based on the shift in the sun's temperature, while our weather troubles here on planet Earth are solely the result of carbon emissions and deforestation.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not one of those political ostriches with my head in the sand, denying that there is atmospheric trouble run amuck. But I also know there is more to the picture than the stories they sell magazines with.

I just get a little peeved when journalists overlook the possibility that our woes might be affected by something other than my family minivan. Why is it that public service announcements remind me to keep my thermostat above 70 in the summer, and say nothing about the huge office complexes that freeze their inhabitants at 68? I have worked in places where I had to have a space heater by my desk! In the summer! (By the way, I keep my thermostat at between 78 & 80). You think that urban high rises that run their air conditioning night and day at temperatures that would give Admiral Perry pause might might also contribute to the problem?

Now we've got to do something to figure out how to control the sun getting warmer, too. Hey, but it might be a boon to the Solar Power industry!

Okay, that's a short rant for today. Seriously, everyone ... go get a hybrid and carpool when possible. And recycle for Pete's sake! It's not that hard! (Read Michael Cricton's "State of Fear". He puts a lot of perspective on the whole Global Warming media blitz... but read it with a grain of salt. It is fiction after all.)

Something to do this Weekend

Well, lots of movies are opening this weekend. For instance, "Evan Almighty".

I plan to go see this film, one reason is that the trailer for the upcoming Veggietales movie, "The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything" is attached to it. Both films are released through Universal, so I figure they must think that they will attract a similar audience.
Can't you just hear the marketing meeting on that one: "Hey! Evan Almighty has God in it, and these veggies talk a lot about God. I've got a great idea!"
Actually, I think it's pretty cool that this little film I worked on is getting exposure with one of the hot releases of the summer. I hope it gives our movie a push.

So go see the trailer and tell me what you thought of it. You won't hurt my feelings.

I'd post some of my storyboards, but I signed a pretty scary contract. So just enjoy the trailer for now.

And to add some more credit where credit is due... I was joined with some other great storyboard artists as well. Namely Tod Carter, Eddie Pittman and the guys over at Funny Pages, Tom Bancroft & Rob Corley.

More Drawing in church

My pal Keith Lango and his family passed through town this past weekend. They're in the States taking care of some visa stuff for their work in Brazil.
Anyway, it was great to catch up with him. They joined us for church on Sunday and Keith and I doodled like I did when I was in 5th grade, making each other laugh during the sermon. Keith's drawings were funnier.
These are some of the folks who sat nearby:

Later, Keith pulled out his laptop and hooked it up to my Cintiq and showed me a very cool UI he developed for animating in MAYA. Using the stylus, he poses his figure like a stop motion animator does a puppet. And all of his controls were right there on the screen rather than on a side menu, or hidden somewhere that he had to hunt down all the time.
He has also developed some great deformers to make CG act more like drawn animation, that is, like a cartoon. Like me, he's not as concerned with perfect f-curves and blend shapes. We're after creating things that make us laugh. Not because they say something funny, but because they look funny, and act funny. We talked about working on a short film together to explore some of these tools he's developed. (I told him he should patent them.)
Oh, this is the cover of the church bulletin. I couldn't resist: