ReadyMade: How did you get your f*&%ing awesome job? - Brad Bird. "BB: Well, they were the ones who were best at animation. My parents always said, "Might as well send it to the people you admire most, and then work your way down." Maybe there's only a one in a hundred chance that they'll like it or respond or whatever, but don't go to someone within easy reach; go to somebody who you respect. Shoot as high as you can shoot.

BB: TV animation with really tight budgets and deadlines-I mean really tight. Way more tight than at Disney. I elected to do really quick animation of really good ideas. I'd written two episodes for Steven Spielberg's Amazing Stories, and one of them-"Family Dog"-I got to direct. That brought me to the attention of the people on The Simpsons, and I worked on the first eight seasons.

BB: It was. A lot of people didn't think there was a possibility of an animated show aimed at adults competing in prime time. [Simpsons executive producer] Jim Brooks basically acts as a titanium shield that a lot of bad decision making bounces off of. Pixar has the same thing. There is this force field over this place held up by its success-it's a very protected environment to grow a movie in. All of the best experiences I've had have been in the shadow of 800-pound gorillas like Jim, with the exception of Iron Giant, where I didn't have any gorillas to protect me.

BB: It was a project that Warner Bros. was developing but not getting anywhere, and I pitched setting the book in 1957, the height of Sputnik and all the paranoia. That was an instance where I had freedom only because they weren't paying attention. They were shutting down the division as I was making the film, so as long as we stayed on budget, they didn't interfere. But when it got the highest test scores that Warner Bros. had had in 20 years, they had laid no groundwork for anyone to know about it.

BB: Show business is basically designed to discourage anyone who dares attempt to enter it. You have to just keep going with it. You have to ignore any kind of rational thinking, like the odds. Don't look at the odds. Don't look at theory. You can teach yourself how to draw. There are more ways to learn animation now than there ever were before, because you can buy DVDs and run them one frame at a time, and they're cheap. When I was a kid you had to go to the movies and watch it straight through and hope that you could pick stuff up on the run.

BB: Yeah, the small-minded managers. Oftentimes the people at the top are really fun and the people on your way up are really fun, but there's something about a lot of middle managers-people that don't have the power to say yes but do have the power to say no. The ones who are just sitting there and making sure the paper clips are clipped on at a certain angle." The Incredibles is my current bible on how to produce an action/drama film.

Joel on Software: Documentary Filmmaker Wanted. "This summer, Fog Creek Software has hired four summer interns from Yale, Duke, and Rose-Hulman. Our selection process was extremely competitive, with over 800 kids applying for only four positions.

This project would be an excellent opportunity for a documentary filmmaker to create a film about the software development process, in the spirit of Code Rush, Triumph of the Nerds, Startup.com, etc. We've been thinking of it as a kind of serious Apprentice-meets-Real-World. Unlike The Apprentice, our business challenge will be a serious ten week project that becomes a real product, not four hours of wrapping chocolate bars disguised as a "business challenge." And we don't have a crazy boss with a bad combover firing people every week." Interested? Sign up now. This could be your ticket. (I got my projects rolling as of the moment and I'm not much of a documentary filmmaker...)

Apple: Wallace And Gromit Featurette. Must see movie of this fall. With Corpse Bride, it looks like this year is set out be another good year for animation fans.

thinking machinima...: Machinima Wiki and finally, a music video... HL2 Machinima Video - "I'm Still Seeing Breen" is a preview what Half-Life 2 machinima is capable of. There's no FRESH, NEW material except for the showcase the exceptional production quality work by the Valve art and animation staff, but it shows what's possible and raises the bar for other machinimas. I'm also excited because it also offers a small glimpse of SR-75 in my limited imagination.

I am little disappointed by the performance of Valve's FacePoser offered with this engine. Can't the face be more expressive and more emotive?

Fast Company: The 25 Top Jobs for 2005 - Producer and Director. "Why the job is hot: They make a lot of decisions and the best ones are innovative ones. There are more media outlets than ever, and it is going to take more directors and producers to fill the airtime. So job prospects are solid. There are no education requirements, although most producers and directors have completed some college coursework. A business degree is a plus for a producer, while a director would probably benefit from some time in film school. Salaries depend on how much work you get, so earnings are uneven." Emphasis is mine.

SR-75 website is now live!

I thought I could spend a weekend building this 'little' site, but it took more time and effort than I realized. (I also realized my web authoring skill is seriously out of date but that's another story.) The project is officially a go from my little dream to full fledging venture.

I am moving onto aggressively courting talents to make this happen. Feel free to contact me regarding this project and how you can contribute to its success.

This is my official debut film. As Eminem eloquently put, "success is my only mofo option!"