Babies! Weddings!

A population explosion, yes, a veritable baby boom amongst some very dear friends and family recently. I've included their pictures where available and inserted photos of Tom Hanks as Forrest Gump where not available.

So...

	Congratulations to Josh and Monica Erikson! Little Grace Marie was born on Friday, January 16. As you can plainly see, she's the ideal profile for any newborn: healthy and hairy. (Josh is an accomplished magician and I'm certain it's only a matter of time before he perfects a"disappearing daughter" routine. I hear it's all done with mirrors. Make daddy a star, Grace!)
	Congratulations to Kris and Misty Fowler! Dear young Haven Fowler peeped her precious fontanelle outside mama's nurturing womb on Monday, January 26. Sad but true: I'd joked with Kris three days earlier, "boy, good luck with the birth and all. So much can go wrong, but you probably don't think about that, do you?" There were a couple of reported complications with Haven's breathing and position during the birth, but it turned out all right in the end. Kris told me later, "they were trying to turn Haven around the right way and things were looking dire and, Jer, your words kept buzzing through my brain. I was a wreck." Sheesh. At what point am I going to learn my lesson? Babies in peril = so not funny.
	And, yahoo, congratulations to my Aunt Suzette and Uncle Joe Wolfe! My newest cousin, the young master Jacob Wolfe, was also born on Monday, January 26. This is number 6 for Aunt Sue and Uncle Joe (and the 5th boy, to boot). Mom tells me he's big and healthy. The Wolfes claim that this one "really is it," but come on. Why stop at six? Keep kickin' it Old Testament-style, that's what I say.

...

Speaking of the Wolfe pack.

Common sense and popular opinion will tell you that 19 is far too young an age to be making marital decisions. But one young man, and I'm talking about my dear cousin Joshua Wolfe here, isn't afraid to stand up and say, "NO! I defy these time-tested conventions! I know my own mind, damn you, and my mind tells me that wedding bells will ring! I've found the love of my life, though 17 she may be, and death to he who saith otherwise!"

And, with that, Josh popped the question around Christmastime to his girlfriend Samantha. She's reportedly accepted and... hey, that's that.

In all seriousness, Josh is a very intelligent fellow and Samantha a very cheerful and cool-headed lass. They've wisely agreed to suspend any sort of wedding plans for the time being. My advice? Nothing to lose by waiting, you young lovers, you. You're young. Live a little. Plenty of time for la-dee-dah and etc. etc. You know the drill.

Nonetheless, congratulations to both. May all your reception halls be free and and all your cake samples moist.
...

Who is Richard Rancie? A friend? A relative? A wolf in sheep's clothing? When he sees a box marked "title suggestion", what would drive him to simply type his own name before submitting?

Your guess is as good as mine, but his is the latest title suggestion-turned-script on JeremyBear.com. It's been a long, long hiatus, but it seems I've managed another and... I don't know. It makes me laugh. So, without further ado, look! Look upon MR. Rancie, ye mighty, and despair!
...

Oh, and, here's a website I recently discovered: Augenblick Studios. Perhaps the finest Flash animator I believe I've ever seen, particularly the stuff in his "Penny Arcade". Truly inspiring stuff. Dang it, now I want to be an animator.

Quick, stupid, how old are you?

CAREY: Hey, Jer, some math help: how old was I 14 years ago?

JER: Uh, 14.

CAREY: Okay. Thanks. Wait. 27 minus 14 isn't 14, is it?

JER: You're 28.

CAREY: I'm 27.

JER: No, you're the same age as me and I'm 28.

CAREY: Are you being serious? You're 27. We're both 27.

JER: No, I'm... wait, I was born in '76... uh...

CAREY: I can't believe you don't know how old you are.

JER: No no no, it's... ah, I guess that does make 27. Jeez, where did I get 28 from?

CAREY: You've forgotten your own age!!

JER: I guess I just... whuh.

CAREY: Ridiculous!
...

My wife is sporting a new look. I promised I'd upload a pic, so have a gander.
...

I've been enjoying an absolute wealth of great reading material lately. I'm sure at least a couple of these will make it onto the Recommended Reading on the homepage, when I get around to it. In the meantime...

Blankets - One of the finest graphic novels I've had the pleasure to read. Beware, though, it will challenge every notion you have about love, sex, faith, God, and art. And isn't that the point of great literature? 582 pages, and it was captivating enough to devour in less than 3 days.

The Portable Arthur Miller - Very possibly my all-time favorite playwright. Genius on the level of Death of a Salesman (arguably the 20th century's finest play) rarely repeats itself, but Miller also managed to produce The Crucible and other perennials. A collection of his best material.

The Acme Novelty Datebook - A 10-year sampling of sketchbook pages from the inimitable Chris Ware. More on that below.

It's a Good Life if You Don't Weaken - A bit slow-going in the story department, but the mood and pacing of this graphic novel is rarely accomplished in this medium. Not quite the caliber of Blankets, but, like Blankets, a lovingly rendered piece of autobiography.


...

I've been meaning to post this for several weeks, but... oops. Anyhow, as always, a new year, a new sketchbook. It's an awkward drawing, yes, but you don't always get to knock a homer for your first sketch of the year. (Not sure why I drew it, either... I'm having some sort of recent Christ fixation).

Anyhow, when I posted my first sketch of the year with my "Sketchbook Manifesto" a year ago, a few friends and family members made it a point to mention to me how much they appreciated it. One particular buddy even printed it out, bought a new sketchpad, and taped it to the first page, which made me very, very happy.

But, I've been realizing lately that I'm not very good at heeding my own advice. Chris Ware's Acme Novelty Datebook is the snapshot of how I'd like my sketchbooks to be: gut-wrenchingly honest. It's ugly, it's depraved, it's colorful, it's honest, it's mundane, it's gorgeous... just like my mind. Ware isn't afraid to draw a woman he saw on the subway next to his grocery list or an illustration of himself masturbating next to a comic strip showcasing God in a Superman outfit.

Ware draws without fear because he draws what's on his mind, frightening bits and all. Why can't I do that?
...

Finally, the Academy Award nominations are out. Those who know me know what a ridiculous freak I am for the Oscars. I can't help it, it's my Super Bowl.

It looks as if Return of the King is going to be this year's "Titanic" (and I don't mean that metaphorically), deservedly so. I hope it wins every category in which it was nominated (with the exception of Best Original Song... I'd love to see A Mighty Wind's "A Kiss at the End of the Rainbow" grab that one). Frankly, I don't think anyone else has a chance.

Snubs: thankfully, the Matrixes were ignored, but it's a shame that neither managed an Effects nomination. Confessions of a Dangerous Mind came way too early in the year for anyone to remember Sam Rockwell's brilliant performance and, durn it, if Kill Bill's cinematics weren't good enough for Oscar attention, I can't imagine what is.

REALLY hoping Bill Murray takes home Best Actor.

REALLY hoping Capturing the Friedmans takes Best Documentary.

REALLY glad the Academy didn't hand Nicole Kidman her obligatory nomination this year.

Anyhow, 2003 was the greatest movie year in recent memory, so this should be an interesting show.

I guess this means I'm in the club

I have, at long last, a cell phone.

With cell phones, see, you just have to do it. You grit your teeth, you pick a carrier, and you go. Everybody's got some corner on the cell phone market. Verizon has the most coverage. T-mobile has lots of features. Cingular uses "rollover minutes". AT&T is the most affordable (or, at least, they like to promise that they're the most affordable).

Since we use them for everything else (including our regular phone and our internet connection), since my whole family uses them (which makes for cheaper mobile-to-mobile), and since, despite their slightly higher price, we've never heard a complaint about the service, we heeded the voice of Darth Vader and went with Verizon. We picked out our phones: mine's a moderately-priced, medium-sized flip. Carey's is a pricier, itty-bitty flip. We picked our plan: an 800 minute family. We paid. We left.

So, I guess, I've now joined the masses. Oh, and my number listed on this site (562-432-8370) will now go to the cell phone, rather than my business line at home. This will insure that I don't miss any calls, which is a frustration for clients.

Um, and for the moment I can't get incoming calls on the cell... not until the switchover is complete (which is getting more and more frustrating, as I've had this friggin' phone for nearly two weeks now). Should only be a couple more days, though.

But, hey. Drop me a line.
...

It's a go. The art was approved (in probably the most painless approval process I've ever experienced actually: "Looks good, Jeremy, thanks. Oh, could you maybe add some lines here? To make it look more like an explosion. Yeah, like that. Exactly. Good. Thanks. Let's go to print."). Even my logo design was chosen (which will be featured in the actual game, too). It's on.

I've illustrated the cover to a Sony Playstation 2 game.

And, as I recently discovered, it gets better: Crave Entertainment is making it available on other platforms. So, it will also be an X-Box game. And a GameCube game. AND they've decided to launch a marketing program centering around the artwork. AND they're considering adding another ten bucks to the retail price because "this is starting to feel more like a premium title."

And, yahoo, the best of all... there's a very good chance I'll be doing at least two more games this year.

Tentative ship date is March 30, so look for (can I say the title? Too early? Anh, what the hell...) Future Tactics: The Uprising wherever games are sold in early April.