nate is smrt!

Sounds Good to Me: Remastering The Sting.

2009-08-26T23:47:00.001-07:00

Funniest thing I've seen in days.

Peters. A Comic.

2009-08-12T23:33:00.001-07:00

Peters is a new 5 min comic that I thought would be fun to make. The jokes arent much but I hope you get a kick out of it.

Hot Wheels Trailer

2009-07-29T17:52:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure how long this has been out, but heres the trailer for the show Im currently working on: Hot Wheels-Battle Force Five.

I think Ive only got one shot in this trailer, right near the end there's a shot of the big metal guy jumping off the railings and landing near the camera. Yeehaw!

Amazing.

2009-07-22T14:26:00.000-07:00

LIGHTNING REVIEW - The Brothers Bloom!

2009-07-13T14:34:00.001-07:00

The Brothers Bloom, the latest movie by Rian Johnson, (whos last film was the underrated "Brick")

I really dug this film! I won't give too much of a summary because I knew very little going into this movie, and I found myself pleasantly surprised!

Anyways, heres what was awesome about this flick and why you should see it!
-Soundtrack- Nathan Johnson composed an elegant and lively score. I will be buying it asap!
-Characters- Some critics are saying there isn't much to like in the characters in this film, but I disagree. Penelope & Bang Bang were lots of fun to watch!
-Amazing writing- I must give some mad props to Rian Johnson, he's constructed a script with dialogue so elegant it was like fine silk linen for your ears!
-Cinematogrpahy- Was effin dope!
-Chainsaw juggling!- nuff said!

So, if you like all of those things- check out this flick!! I'm saddened that it didn't get a wider release!

(I've embedded the trailer, but it does give away a bit too much, in my opinon. so watch at your own risk!)

Reno 5669-4

2009-07-08T22:27:00.000-07:00

I thought it would be fun to do a portrait of an old mugshot. I found a lot of scanned mugshots on google, dating back to the 1920s! I wasn't trying to replicate the image, but just use it as a springboard to get me in the right direction. Theres a lot that I still have to learn, and I think I'll do a few more and see what pops up.

(this photo is cropped- I'll take another photo later!)

Whoops

2009-07-04T00:52:00.000-07:00

Kinda forgot I had a blog. Sorry I've been so distant! Lots is going on and I'll post more soon. For the 4 of you that may be interested, Ive really gotten obsessed with twitter and I try to post funny stuff on there. In the mean time - heres a pic I took! Hope everyones having a good summer!

Box Throw Animation

2009-06-12T16:24:00.000-07:00

Just did a quick little box throw the other day. Took like 25 min, and was fun to be animating in 2d again! I need to brush up!

gone fishin'

2009-06-03T16:46:00.000-07:00

Went camping last week. I was very fortuante and got to:
a) fish
b) canoe
c) ride an ATV through mud puddles
d) get sun burnt
e) explore a secret marsh

I had a blast and I want to do it again!

LIGHTNING REVIEW - Twitter

2009-05-29T13:35:00.001-07:00

In this lightning review, we here at Nate is Smrt have chosen to review Twitter - the popular social networking website.

What is Twitter? You ask.
Twitter is an index full of geniuses spouting usefull information that will change the way you view the world. Like for example, I learned that Ashton Kutcher's favorite emoticon is this- :-S

Is it Easy?
Sure is! If it lets you login! And then, once you have logged in by resetting your password 4 times, the site will usually crash around 40 times an hour.

Final Verdic?
Crap. Don't waste your time

And with all that said, I just signed up. Click here to follow me on Twitter.

Alien

2009-05-19T23:16:00.000-07:00

Heres a little doodle I did in class during break.

Its an alien that floats around and can eat people. I kinda slapped the little spaceman on there quickly because I wanted to show that hes translucent, and he needs more work. I'll finish it later!

lemme know if you like!

Best Film of Our Age!

2009-05-12T11:33:00.001-07:00

I can't wait to see this!

Review: Wolverine

2009-05-07T13:15:00.000-07:00

Wolverine was awful!
Heres a few problems I had with the film:

A) Canadians are backwater hicks who'd rather fight than move their trucks off the road.

-Hah! Everytime I've kindly asked a fellow Canuck to move out of the way, I get an apology and a donut. No need to bare the claws there wolvey! You're doing it all wrong!

B) 1979

-This film is set in 1979. They didn't show any new cars or anything, BUT they somehow had 3d renderings of Wolverines skeleton up on their lcd computer screens.

C) Its a Huge turd

-If you like good movies, dont go see this one.

Beeker Rules

2009-04-23T17:58:00.000-07:00

Ive watched this video multiple times today, I just can't get enough!

As an animator, its my job to turn lifeless computer puppets into living, breathing characters, and I've always loved how much personality can be expressed through the muppets. The muppeteers do so much with so little!

Beaker is effing great! This video is some great animation reference. Its amazing how such a subtle head tilt and hand pose can convey so much character!

Anyways, watch and enjoy! I hope they bring the muppets back to television soon.

Billy Bob is an Ass

2009-04-08T16:07:00.000-07:00

Billy Bob Thorton on CBC radio, being a jerk.

Flying Blue Death Monster

2009-04-02T11:28:00.000-07:00

Not to sure if I'm done with it yet. I might add some clouds and stuff. sorry this picture kinda stinks!

Some photos from last weekend

2009-03-26T13:35:00.001-07:00

It was really nice in vancouver last weekend!

I asked the fellah stacking these rocks, "Hey, how did you do this?"
I immediately regretted asking that question because the answer was very obvious. He responded
"I put on rock on top of the next..."

This is Awesome

2009-03-24T10:56:00.000-07:00

Magic Towels!

2009-03-16T23:29:00.001-07:00

Ever wanted a towel but never wanted to bother with the folding, unfolding, and storing that towels require? Well hoo-doggy, then Magic Towels are for you!!!

All you need to have this awesome towel is a cup of water!!

Then Drop the towel capsule into the glass!Wait a few moments... Then pull that sucker out!

TADA!!!! A towel! Its wet so its not very good for drying things, but its great for scrubbing and throwing at people.

Best part is, we got 8 for a buck! High five for the recession!

League of Super Evil Launches!!

2009-03-05T10:56:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone!
Nerdcorps latest show, the League of Super Evil launches on YTV this weekend! It's also airing on Cartoon Network tonight at 9!

I had the pleasure of working on this show for just shy of a year, and it was a blast! I'm very happy with how it turned out, and I think the entire crew should be proud of their work! Good job guys!

I think my favorite episode is "Escape From Skullosis", its friggin hilarious. Watch it!

LOSE airs on Saturday, March 7th, on YTV at 10:30 am and 6pm!
Check out the site!

Who Is Nathan Thomas??

2009-03-01T14:50:00.000-08:00

I decided that its time to do some deep soul searching.

I started on my journey by asking myself, "Who is Nathan Thomas?"
And I took my journey to the one who knows all - Google.

Turns out Nathan Thomas is a pretty cool dude!!

Nathan Thomas is:
a) A well known and respected interior designer
b) A talented musician
c) Dead

d) A hardcore sports fan

e) and my personal fave....

Mel Gibson is BACK

2009-02-23T19:26:00.001-08:00

his greatest work in years!

Hidden Fortress Photo Shoot

2009-02-19T11:23:00.000-08:00

I was approached by a friend to take some photos for his band, Hidden Fortess. It was a lot of fun but I still have much to learn.

As per usual, these are pretty desaturated. I should quit doing that.

Interesting Project

2009-02-12T13:55:00.000-08:00

My co-worker Wade Cross recently discovered that his short film had been copied shot for shot by a Student in Saudi Arabia.

Wades film is in the top left.

He states that he is simply trying to improve his animation by copying Wades, but what do you guys think? Is this a form of flattery or straight up plagiarism?

David Bazan Does Anacortes

2009-02-09T23:07:00.000-08:00

Last weekend I got to check out David Bazan (formerly of Pedro the Lion) in the little city of Anacortes, Washington. He's got to be my favorite musician. Right now hes flying solo, and frankly I think he really needs a band. But with that said , hes still rockin! He's a great songwriter! Check out his myspace.

Anacortes is a fun little city just on the coast, and about an hour and a half from Vancouver! Look at all this fun stuff we found!

I met my hero

We watched a boat being built!

I read a book in Jail!

Nate is Rich?

2009-02-09T10:43:00.000-08:00

Check out Stimator, a website that calculates how much your website is worth.
I don't know why my blog is worth 5 million, but if its on the internet - its gotta be
true!!

nate is famous!

2009-02-06T09:26:00.000-08:00

Nate isn't really famous. But check it out! Radbot has been featured on "Your Dress Would Look Better on Me". Or YDWLBOM. Pronounced "Yedwulbomb." Or "Yeddlebomb". Okay I made those up.

Check it out!
Thanks for the link Yeddlebomb!

Supermonster.

2009-02-03T15:03:00.000-08:00

Just a lil doodle I did yesterday.

New Sufjan Stevens!

2009-01-30T10:01:00.000-08:00

Sufjan Stevens rocks. Heres his latest sampling from the new album due out Feb 16! I'm not to sure what to make of it, its a bit odd, but listen and decide for yourself!

Adrenaline Kid

2009-01-21T22:22:00.001-08:00

Pop-punk band, Adrenaline Kid, found my work online and contracted me to create a CD cover for them. Heres what I have so far, I think its the final, there might be a few tweaks but we shall see. Click here to listen to Adrenaline Kid!

Photos from NYC/Montreal

2009-01-07T15:02:00.000-08:00

My bro and I wandered around New york and Montreal over the holiday. Here's a few of the photos, click here to see the rest!

2008 in review!

2009-01-06T21:54:00.000-08:00

Every blogger seems to do one of these, so I figured I'd take a stab at it! Plus it marks the one year anniversary of Nate is smrt! (which he isn't, by the way)

Top Ten Movies:

10- In Bruges - This one caught me by surprise, its a fun dark little comedy. If anything, its worth a watch to see Colin Ferrel's reaction to the midget character.

9-Role models - Freakin funny. Falls apart at the end a bit, but a hell of a lot of fun!

8-Tropic Thunder - Kirk Lazarus. Nuff said.

7-The Curious Case of Benjamin Button- Everyone wants to see a senile baby!

6-The Fall- this movie kicks so much ass. Its my understanding that the script was mostly improvised over the 7 year shoot, so the story isnt really concrete. What drew me into this film was the gorgeous cinematography. A must see for any aspiring cinematographers/photographers/filmmakers!

5- Son of Rambow - a cute little movie about a kid who decides to re-shoot his own version of rambo. The french exchange student was hilarious

4-Kung Fu Panda - awesome animation, great story, and it was funny as stink!

3- The Dark Knight - its no "batman and robin" but I guess it will do..

2- Wall-E - When I first saw this film I thought the plot was too "small", given the epic scale of the film. But after another viewing, the simplistic love story set against a grand backdrop is what drew me in. Again, Pixar knocks it out of the park.

1- The Wrestler - Easily one of the best films I've seen in a long time. A much smaller story compared to "The Fountain", but its just as heartbreaking and consuming. Its a simple tale, but made up of so many great moments and a tender sense of humor. Go see this.

Top Albums of 08

Vampire Weekend, Mogwai- The Hawk is Howling, Beck - Modern Guilt, m83 - Saturdays=youth, The Notwist - The devil, you, and me, Coldplays new one, Sigur Ros's new one, Kings of Leon - Only by the Night, Ben Folds - way to normal.

Overall, 2008 was a great year! I got back into painting, I introduced a new member into our family (my niece Rachel) and I hung out a lot with my close friends and family.

Happy new year to all those who read this! Heres to a prosperous 2009! wee!

Ren and Stimpy

2008-12-20T18:17:00.000-08:00

Finally finished these fellers. I started Ren about a year ago I think, then forgot to go in and finish Stimpy.

anyways, here ya go!

LIGHTNING REVIEW!! - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

2008-12-18T16:24:00.001-08:00

My pal Kevin won some tickets to an advance screening of Benjamin Button, David Finchers latest film! I love Finchers work, he's one of my favorite directors, and this time around he does not disappoint.

The movie is somewhere around 3 hours long, but I never noticed because I was too into the story. It completely sucked me in.

Everyone delivers a great performance, but what I found shocking was the slow physical transformation of each character. Its the brilliant combination of CG, makeup, and body doubles that firmly planted this fairy tale into reality. Brad Pitts makeup aside, Cate Blanchett looked amazing! I always thought she was pretty, but I'm pretty sure their makeup team had wizards and shamans on the crew to make her look 20 years old again.

David Fincher kicks a whole lot of ass, even though this film is a lot more subdued from his other work, (Fight Club, Seven, Zodiac), but its a nice change of material for the director.

I don't know if Button will win any oscars, but I think it deserves to be in the running.

Go see it, suckas!

super bot

2008-12-13T17:45:00.000-08:00

So I've been working on this painting for awhile, Didn't turnout as well as I was hoping, but I learned a few things!!

Wall decal

2008-12-13T17:28:00.001-08:00

I ordered this feather decal from Bliks, and just threw it up today!

It was pretty painless, even though there's about 40,000 little pieces.
Check out their site if you'd like a non-destructive piece of sticky art!

cow aliens are taking over

2008-12-07T22:41:00.000-08:00

watchout, hes gonna getcha.

LIGHTNING REVIEW!! - Bolt

2008-12-04T14:29:00.000-08:00

Today I will give my review of Disney's Bolt.

Judging by the early trailers for this flick, I really wasn't looking forward to seeing Bolt. But as the good reviews started coming in, it caught my attention.

Bolt is a pretty fun kids movie, There's some great laughs in there, some good tender moments that pluck the ol' heartstrings, but overall, I think it just felt too vanilla.

The animation was amazing, Right up there with Pixar and Blue Sky, the pigeons were very well done and they stole each scene they were in.

The design was a bit strange though. The characters were sooooo well done, very cartoony and dynamic. But the rest of the world was rendered very realisiticly, which made these cartoony characters stand out of place. I wish they took the principles of exaduration and distortion from the human characters, and implimented it to the rest of the world.

The story was, as I said earlier, nothing terribly new. It felt like it borrowed a bit from Toy Story, (Bolt is convinced he has superpowers, much like Buzz Lightyear believes he can fly, etc) but aside from a few nitpicks, this movie should please most people with a heart.

Tim Johnsons talk at Krazy

2008-11-24T18:51:00.001-08:00

This past summer, Tim Johnson, director of Antz and Over the Hedge - spoke on animation and its place in the world as a part of the Krazy exhibit at the Vancouver Art Gallery.

I got a chance to check him out, and I thought he was a very well spoken lecturer and delivered some good points! Check it out now on YouTube. (I had to pay 20 bucks).

Extreme Ironing

2008-11-19T10:26:00.001-08:00

My South African friend Melt told me about this new extreme sport that is taking the universe by storm!

Extreme Ironing combines "the thrills of an extreme outdoor activity with the satisfaction of a well-pressed shirt."

Two of my favorite things in life!
Check out the wiki entry for more on this extreme sport. Anyone want to start up a league?

old batman

2008-11-13T23:37:00.000-08:00

I doodled on a Cintiq for the first time today! It was really fun!

this drawing turned out kind of crap, But it's just a silly little test.

New Metric Song

2008-11-06T10:08:00.000-08:00

New Metric out today, and frankly I think it sounds great!

Parade of the Lost Souls

2008-10-26T20:43:00.001-07:00

I rented a lens for the weekend, a Canon 2.8 70-200mm! Its one of the best lenses one can find, and using it was quite a joy. I Never want to go back to the glass that I own.

Anyways, heres a few pics from the parade of the lost souls that went down this weekend, and a few others I took while wandering around town.

Click here to see the rest of the set on flickr!

Monster Guy

2008-10-20T16:01:00.000-07:00

Heres a painting I'm working on, I might add a bit more to it, we'll see how it goes!
let me know what ya think, I'm always looking to improve!

Thanksgivin!

2008-10-14T22:59:00.000-07:00

Lots of stuff has been happening lately, sorry for the lack of posts!
I went to kelowna for thanksgiving last weekend, it was a blast!

Here are a few of the pics I took!I have no head

some dolphins

Porblems

2008-10-09T16:20:00.000-07:00

I got a message a few weeks ago from a young gent at work:

Nils
[16:35] he always bugs me about this shit and i'm like figure it out it's not my porblem!

Nathan Thomas
[16:35] yeah porblems suck
[16:36] arnt porblems from outerspace?

Nils Lundmark-Searing
[16:36] yeah they're some crazy shit man

Nathan Thomas
[16:36] i just drew you a porblem

I then sent Nils this file:
..and now, everyones making their own porblems!

Check out our collection...
http://porblems.deviantart.com/

P Diddy tells McCain what he thinks

2008-09-27T11:49:00.000-07:00

This is just a hunch. But I think P. Diddy does a lot of drugs.

Supes

2008-09-22T10:09:00.000-07:00

I finally finished this painting of superman.
lemme know what y'all think!
Its not the greatest photo in the world, and I'm unhappy with the hands, but it was fun!

out of meet

2008-09-20T11:09:00.000-07:00

This made me crack up

new car!

2008-09-15T22:05:00.000-07:00

Well, with the help of my dads hunting skills, I finally got to buy the car I've always wanted since I was a kid.

wahoo!!

my dad, crusin

Bale is Kermit

2008-09-10T10:28:00.000-07:00

this is no coincidence ladies and gents

greatest joke in the world

2008-09-09T15:59:00.001-07:00

The Science of Fly Swatting

2008-09-03T13:55:00.001-07:00

I love watching anything in super slow mo, and watching flies escape death is quite interesting!

Human Powered Gym

2008-08-28T12:02:00.001-07:00

For a number of years, I've had this idea to create a Human Powered Gym, only to have my friends and family laugh in my face!

Well, looks like someone is crazy enough to actual try it.

Right now, the cycles are only powering about 25% of the gym- but if they ever figure out how to get energy from douche bags flexing in front of girls, they could power the entire planet!

Shapoopey!

New Family Member

2008-08-25T17:43:00.000-07:00

I forgot to post these,
But I went to vancouver island a few weeks ago and here are some of the pics!

The Fam

The Sisters
the new family member

Radiohead Live in Vancouver

2008-08-20T13:38:00.000-07:00

Ahhh what a great show.
Even though it was pouring rain and it took us about an hour and a half to get out of there, it was so worth it.
They played for about 2 hours! Great value fer yer dollar.

heres some pics that I took on my friend Petes camera.

Absurd Fat Chicken

2008-08-19T09:59:00.001-07:00

Thanks to mr. webb for this

Yahoo Answers is awesome

2008-08-10T15:44:00.000-07:00

My brother stumbled across this little ditty of a Yahoo Question.

Genius. Simply genius.

Computers That Work Like a Brain

2008-08-08T17:49:00.001-07:00

thanks phogan!

Feist Rocks Deer Lake!

2008-08-06T13:08:00.001-07:00

I got to see Feist last night at Deer Lake Park here in Vancouver.

What a great show!! The slower songs were a bit too slow, I felt, but the more upbeat ones were so good my face frigging melted.

Check out Fiest's myspace!

Con- Pictures!

2008-07-30T20:49:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone.

Had a lot of fun at the comic con. I met so many artists and animators, it was really inspiring to see he huge quantity of amazing work.

My highlights:

-Meeting Chris Sanders. (director of lilo and Stitch)
-Meeting Bill Plympton, (he gave me a free drawing!)
-Meeting John Musker (director of Aladdin, the Little Mermaid, etc).
-Meeting a few animators from Kung Fu Panda
-2 dollar beers.

me and my boy jabba

nerds
This guys costume is amazing.

Comic-con 08!

2008-07-22T10:13:00.000-07:00

I'm headed to good ol Saint Diego tomorrow for comic-con! (aka, nerdfest 08).

My friends short film has been featured in the festivals there, and I get to tag along! Should be a good time and I'll come back with loads of pictures of nerds.

See ya later!

The Weekend

2008-07-16T17:23:00.001-07:00

I took a few shots last weekend, let me know what ya think!

We watched the sun set on the roof at work.
My triplet brothers came to help with this shot.

Esso! There were flowers in the tank.
I wish my car could run on flowers.

Ad for Pabst.
They paid me for it.

(thats a lie).

Radiohead- House of Cards Video and Viewer.

2008-07-14T11:53:00.000-07:00

This is the coolest thing I've seen in awhile.

Radiohead released a new video today, which was filmed entirely with lasers. No cameras were used. Its pretty nerdy, but it creates a really cool effect.

Google lets you view the data, it takes a bit to load, but totally worth it. check out the link above!

Crazy Iranian Missles

2008-07-11T15:51:00.000-07:00

Theres a bit of controversy surrounding this photo pictured in many American newspapers today.

Its because its been digitally altered. Here is the original.
The truth is scary.

Baman Piderman

2008-07-10T13:32:00.000-07:00

Best short film I've ever seen.

Gotham Knight

2008-07-09T23:42:00.000-07:00

The Gotham Knight came out on dvd this week, it apparently bridges Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, and allows 6 different directors to interpret Batman in their own way.

For the most part, I really can't get into anime. A lot of it feels like its just one step up from a comic book, and unfortunately, some of the films in this compilation fall into that category.

I really liked a couple of the stories though, Primarily "Have I Got A Story For You", and "Working Through Pain". Both have some amazing imagery and are undoubtedly worth watching.

However, the art direction in "Crossfire" and "Deadshot"made my eyes fall out, and at times the animation is so limited it made me cringe.

I'd love to see what some other studios woulda whipped up, its wierd they chose all Anime directors. How about some Baxter? Maybe some Williams?

Whyte Cliff

2008-07-01T23:02:00.001-07:00

Went to WhyteCliff park this weekend, and it was awesome!
Great views, pretty quiet beach, and great company!

Here are a few picsOh and this on for fun too.

Wall-E

2008-06-29T00:01:00.000-07:00

Well, being the big animation nerd I am, Its no surprise that I was one of the first in line to see Wall-E, pixars latest film.

I'm going to sound like a broken record here, but its beautiful. Wall-E currently has a 97% at rotten tomatoes, and I can really say much more than whats already been said. So, I'll just highlight a few of my favorite reviews.

"Some day, there will be college courses devoted to this movie" -Lou Lumenic, New York Post

"I must drop my inhibitions about dropping the M word -- especially since I've already used magnificent -- and call WALL-E the masterpiece that it is." -Joe Moregenson Wall Street Journal

So yeah, I can't really put it any better than these guys.

Go see Wall-E.

A couple of times.

Chips Not Dead Photos!

2008-06-26T13:01:00.000-07:00

What a Nerd!

Hey y'all,

Last friday, me and some fellow nerds got together and ran for charity! My friend Peter Hogan took some photos. It was a blast, thanks for all the fund raising support!

Epic Jump!

Epic Glasses!

Epic Punch!

Epic Cross dresser!

Epic Moby!

Epic Turn out!

LIGHTNING REVIEW!! - Morning Tea

2008-06-25T17:12:00.000-07:00

Its a little slow at the Corps today as I'm waiting for feedback from a director, so I thought I'd do a review of my cup of tea this morning. And if theres one thing I know, its that bloggers effin' love reviews.

So lets go!!!

First thing, "Why Lightning Review, Nate?" Well, to be frank. Its a quick widdle review. I'm not made outta free time ya know!

So today on the Lighting Review, we have: MY MORNING CUP OF TEA

Yes, that is a huge pile of kleenex's on my desk. Yes I have severe allergies. It sux.

Anyways, my first reaction to this mornings cup of tea was, "EFF, TOO HOT!" And about 3 minutes later, I thought it tasted pretty good. Or maybe that was because my taste buds melted off and I couldn't taste a thing. Either way, I enjoyed this cup of tea. It filled my empty heart with joy and harmony.

I suggest you all buy it and drink it.

9.5/10

This has been another...

Where the Hell is Matt?

2008-06-22T16:08:00.001-07:00

This put a smile on my face. What a great idea!

Where the Hell is Matt? (2008) from Matthew Harding on Vimeo.

Aliens on Mars!

2008-06-20T15:03:00.000-07:00

Yep its true.
Here are a few images that the Mars rover captured

Ok fine, maybe they are dirt devils, and not aliens. Shame!

Thanks Phogan!

Beans Dad

2008-06-16T22:50:00.000-07:00

I've blogged about The String Bean Detective in the past, its just a little idea for a series I have!

A friend and I are working hard on a few scripts. Expect to see more soon!
Here is Beans Dad, let me know what you think.

He's one of the best scientists to have ever lived! And he's a huge dork.

Car Free Festival

2008-06-16T21:38:00.000-07:00

Every year on commercial drive theres a "car-free" festival. They block of the whole drive, have heaps of music, food, and culture. Its really fun, and quite an impressive site to see.

Here are a few of the pictures I took.

You can check out the rest of my photos from this set HERE.

office meltdown video is a FAKE!

2008-06-11T15:38:00.000-07:00

Turns out that video I posted a few days ago is actually a huge fake.
Masterminded by director Timur Bekmambetov, (the guy whos directing Wanted with Angelina Jolie), Timur mocks us gullible westerners on his own personal blog, which you can check out here. (If you read Russian).

Great Radiohead "Remix"

2008-06-09T09:34:00.000-07:00

Check it out! Fast forward about 2 min in to get to the fancy stuff!

Big Ideas (don't get any) from James Houston on Vimeo.

Fun With Scammers!

2008-06-06T13:50:00.000-07:00

I've been looking for a new place to move, and I found one guy whos
clearly a scammer. Heres a few of the emails we've sent back and forth.

hey there, I just ran across your ad on craigslist and Im very interested in taking a look at your suite. is there a time I can come by? Thanks -Nathan

His response:
I am Engineer Francis the owner of the apartment at 789 Drake St Vancouver, BC . I appreciate your interest in my apartment, i am very glad. At the moment i am presently in China on a transfer,I really need someone that can take good care of the apartment while i am away, i want a very clean and tidy tenant.See picture below. Hope to read from you soon.

At this point its clear that hes a scammer, so I started to mess around
and have some fun. My typing gets lazier and my responses are starting to get a little crazy.

Wow! I are very impressed!!
I want to take this condo RIGHT AWAY!!!!1!!
I will pay you a deposit right away, whats the easiest way to send you money!?

Just one minor thing, I have a lil red panda as pet, do you allow small animals?

THANKYOU
-Nathan

his response:

Dear Nathan,
I am happy you want to take the apartment now, i really
want it to be in a very safe hand, because i love
cleaniness. The keys are here with me and as soon as we
reach agreement i will send it to you via DHL. kindly
send us your details as below.

NAME
ADDRESS(WHERE KEYS WILL BE SENT)
CITY
DATE OF BIRTH
PLACE OF BIRTH
RELIGION
OCCUPATION
DATE RENT START
DATE RENT END
REASON FOR RENT APARTMENT
PHONE NUMBER
Concerning the I will want it to be sent via Western Union Money transfer,
upon reply i will give you the information for the payment.

And my reply:

Dearest Francis:
Im so happy to hear that. Im also glad to hear that you love cleanliness. Who doesn't, right?! Its a shame that I can't see the place before I rent it, but this opportunity is so great! Throw caution into the wind!! Carpe Diem!

NAME: Nathan
ADDRESS: 789 Drake st (Im currently living in the same building!!)
CITY: Vancouver
DATE OF BIRTH: dec 1, 1973
PLACE OF BIRTH: Jerusalem, Israel
RELIGION: Jedi
OCCUPATION: coal miner
DATE RENT START:asap
DATE RENT END: 5 years from now
REASON FOR RENT APARTMENT: beautiful palace

And thats where I'm at now. If you have any crazy suggestions, please let me know. Screw you scammer!

Whats wrong with what we eat?

2008-06-05T14:44:00.001-07:00

Office Meltdown

2008-06-03T17:07:00.000-07:00

Having a rough day at the ol' office?

Can't be nearly as rough as this:

Office Worker Goes Absolutely Insane - Watch more free videos

What do you guys think? Real? Fake?
Personally, I'm leaning towards real- but ya never know these days!

More photos

2008-05-29T17:58:00.000-07:00

Went campin. Heres proof!

Pictures from the weekend

2008-05-23T13:35:00.000-07:00

I went to Vancouver Island this last long weekend. Here are some pictures!

Epic News!

2008-05-20T16:12:00.000-07:00

Apple store is opening in Vancouver!!

Bears Eat Brains?

2008-05-20T11:29:00.000-07:00

A recent Bear attack survivor can be quoted saying:

"he's gnawing on my head, I said, 'he's eating my brains and I can feel it, I know it's happening,'"

Yipes! Bear zombies are roaming the forests. Beware!
Read the rest of the article Here.

No News Today

2008-05-14T23:03:00.001-07:00

Thanks Dev!

Surf Ninjas!

2008-05-14T22:21:00.000-07:00

I remember seeing this movie as a kid, and even then I knew it was absolutely dreadful.

Chips Not dead yet!

2008-05-13T15:28:00.001-07:00

So me, and a few other peeps from work are participating in Chips Not Dead Yet: The funnest charity race EVER!

please help support my fundraising effort! 100% of the proceeds go to the BC childrends hospital, and Chip himself (the lululemon founder) will match whatever we fundraise!!

Click here if you wish to donate!

Lucky Comics

2008-05-11T22:49:00.000-07:00

I went to a really cool comic shop today. I didnt see one mainstream title in there at all! Lots of great art, for sure. They also had some neat masks hanging. Check it out!

oh yeah, and since its mothers day, I snapped some flowers for my ma.

crazy spammers!

2008-05-05T21:18:00.000-07:00

Spamming is becoming pretty clever these days. Check out this email I got today!

"I liked your blog, it was really cool. Got to be honest, those bottom two Dark Knight posters scare me. The trailers look unreal and I'm sure the movie is going to be on par with Batman Begins but those posters look like the old Batman movies (which scares me). Hopefully they are just trying to do as much pr as possible.

Anyways, my name is Jamie and I work for Matchstick, a word of mouth marketing agency in Toronto and we're looking for people in Vancouver to try out a new charger for their ipod. If you own an ipod and are interested then you can check out (URL removed) you can shoot me an email back if you have any questions.

Alright man, keep up the blog, take care,

Jamie"

Crazy!! Jamie, if you're reading this- thanks for at least feigning interest in my blog! Its nice to know that some people are enjoying it!

More Photo Goodies

2008-04-29T23:49:00.000-07:00

So I took some pictures this weekend.
Have a look and let me know what you think!

check out the rest of the set here!

New Batman Posters

2008-04-28T21:58:00.000-07:00

So theres a few new Batman posters out. Cool Eh!

Thennnnnn they throw you a curve ball and make a poster that looks like this:

Woah! What a lame poster. Batman is ripping up tonnes of shiznat in the first 2, why'd they go gay him up? This poster is almost as nipple-tastic as that whole batman and robin fiasco.

But whatever! The Dark Knight looks great and I cant wait to see it.
(I'll shut up now)

Sun Run!

2008-04-27T23:10:00.000-07:00

Thats me to the right of the crazy woman.

Last weekend I ran the Sun Run (10k) with my brother.
These are possibly the worst photos ever taken, but heres me crossing the finish line!

John Maeda: Simplicity Patterns

2008-04-24T16:30:00.000-07:00

Check out this brief lecture by John Maeda! I got a chance to see his show at moma that he touches on briefly, he has some very memorable things to say about life.
Heres the writeup from TEDs website:
" The MIT Media Lab's John Maeda lives at the intersection of technology and art -- a place that can get very complicated. Here, he talks about paring down to basics, and how he creates clean, elegant art, websites and web tools. In his book Laws of Simplicity, he offers 10 rules and 3 keys for simple living and working -- but in this talk, he boils it down to one simply delightful way to be."

Orgesticulanismus!

2008-04-17T11:22:00.000-07:00

Yikes, I can't even begin to pronounce the name of this short film by Mathieu Labaye.
Orgesticulanismus is a tribute to Benoit Labaye, which I can only assume is the artists Father.

Sure, The beginning of the film is kinda slow, (plus its in french), and the end of the film gets kinda weird when everything abstracts into simple shapes and colors- but it features some of the finest animation these eyes have ever seen!

If you're an animation fan, or a fan of short films, then do yourself a favor and check out Orgesticulanismus! Click Here!

Movie Review: The Story Of Ricky

2008-04-14T21:27:00.000-07:00

Just look at how awesome the poster for Ricky Oh: The Story of Ricky is. It alone is testimony for the quality of film you are about to take in.

Upon renting The story of Ricky, the video store clerk said to my friend; "You know, this movie is notoriously awful, right?". Boy, was he wrong! The story of Ricky blew my mind! No wait, Better than that, The Story of Ricky CLAPPED MY HEAD RIGHT OFF MY BODY. (click here for head exploding. Kinda NSFW)

Ricky is some kind of super powered ninja warrior guy, sent to prison for manslaughter. While in prison, Ricky discovers that they are growing all types of bad drugs there! So what does he do? Unleashes all fury onto the evil Hook-Handed Warden!

This movie is easily one of the goriest action movies I've ever seen. Ricky gets cut on his arm. How does ricky stop the bleeding? By tying his own veins into a knot. Clever guy that Ricky!

I give this movie an awesome out of five stars!

Blossoms and Junk

2008-04-12T23:22:00.000-07:00

Walked around downtown for a bit today and snapped a few shots.
Dragon boating looks like fun.

I look like a poop

Wheres Waldo??

2008-04-08T22:39:00.000-07:00

click to see the high res version

My friend and art student Melanie Coles has received international acclaim with her latest installment; "Where on Earth is Waldo".
And I must admit, I think its incredibly clever! Waldo will appear on google earth, so you and all your friends can play a worldwide version of Wheres Waldo.

Feel free to check out behind the scenes at Mel's blog for the project.

Congrats Mel!

More pics!

2008-04-01T22:16:00.000-07:00

So I ran down to stanley park tonight, Thought I'd try out my camera in some low light settings.

I really need a wider lens for this kind of photography (and an effin tripod!!), But hey, I'm just learnin the ropes!
Let me know what you think! Any tips are greatly appreciated!

You can see the rest Here!

New camera!

2008-03-30T10:40:00.001-07:00

badasses
Originally uploaded by animatedthomas

So I purchased a new camera yesterday.
I'm still very much learning how to use it.

expect lots of photos!

vern fonk

2008-03-25T15:51:00.000-07:00

I saw this ad on late night tv during the long weekend.

It is the most glorious ad ever created.