Creative Endeavors
Posts tagged with "Creative"
This page contains a collection of my "creative endeavors" – short films and animations I've put together over the years.
Reindeers are better than people
After seeing Disney's Frozen last week, I can't stop singing all of the songs from the soundtrack. So I decided to learn one of them on guitar and do a quick cover song! Enjoy.
I also figured out how to do simultaneous multitrack recording on my Mac, and so this is the first song I've recorded utilizing multitrack recording. And I have to say: multitrack recording is amazing! I don't know how I ever lived without it! Now I just need to figure out how to get my video editing software to actually retain the HD quality that my camera records in.
Programming
I program to create
To express intelligence and beauty in a way that no one understands
Not no one, but those who do understand are too busy creating their own works of art to ever stop and admire the grace and form and color of others
But that's OK
Programming isn't a major sporting event
It doesn't lend itself well to advertising agencies, interrupting every 20 seconds to break for commercial
Good programming is quiet
Good programming doesn't boast
It is intelligence and a reward in itself
Applause and fame aren't needed
Programming is like building the greatest and most elaborate Lego fortress you ever dreamt up as a kid, with slightly more interactive Legos
And you don't have to scream every time you step on one
Programming is the same thrill an extrovert gets from exploring good conversation in a brand new language
Programming languages are new worlds to explore,
each one tracing the footsteps of those who came before and what brought them there
Programming is having a constant fight with someone who refuses to listen
But actually coming out on top for once
It is kicking and screaming and gnashing and gnawing until the damn thing finally works
Maybe it is like stepping on a Lego
But what you don't realize is that what really yields in the process is always you,
leaving you better equipped for the next challenge
Programming is growth
Programming is problem-solving art in worlds that the world doesn't see
Programming is an escape from the world
Programming is an avoidance of society because programming is better than society
Programming is controlled and stable;
you only get out what you put in and if anything goes wrong there's a stack trace subpoena to show you who's the culprit and how to convict him
Programming doesn't believe in the random or unexplained
Programming is safe
Programming is reliable
Programming lets you explore the depths of art and soul
But it doesn't get you laid like art students
Does pay the bills though, unlike art students
But the kind of programming that is truly thrilling is always off the clock
Programming is an addiction in the best sort of way
Programming is staying up till 4:00 because you want to, because you can't put it down, because you have to make it perfect, absolutely beautiful
Programming is learning, learning, learning, learning; you never stop learning
Programming is lust for knowledge and structure and purity
Programming is expression in a way the world never sees quite right
And so I keep programming
Who needs the world anyway
That's not a very good ending
I'll fix it in the next release
Stick Figure Scriptures
One year ago, I had an idea while on a camping trip. I wanted to re-tell my #1 favorite story from the Bible in a fun and relevant way. I had a blank notebook and a pen, so I started making a bunch of different stick figure drawings. Normally I don't bring notebooks with me on camping trips, but this time I had felt impelled to. It's a little strange when I think about it in retrospect -- while I was drawing, I didn't really feel like I was creating anything. I felt like I was discovering something that was already there, and that it was the most natural thing in the world.
This idea progressed and unfolded over the next several months. I carefully digitized each of the drawings and made tweaks to them. I spoke with an editor about shortening the script. And I even composed a score of background music and roped some of my students into recording different parts for me. 
Without further ado, I now present to you the finished product: Episode 1 of Stick Figure Scriptures:
And in case you'd like to hear the background music I wrote for this, I've made that available on my SoundCloud page. Enjoy!
