Dear Bryan Fuller,

I wanted to thank you for your work in television, both in creating and writing for shows. A short time ago I finished watching the aired episodes of Pushing Daisies. That show truly is something special. Less than twenty minutes into the first episode, I knew I loved it. It didn’t take much longer with Wonderfalls and Dead Like Me, although I like those in very different ways.

Pushing Daisies always leaves me feeling good after watching it. It has warmth and a sweetness to it that’s contagious. It’s interesting because in every episode someone dies, and yet the show doesn’t dwell on it. With this formula, the show could easily go to a more depressing place. Dead Like Me is an example of that sometimes, but the magic sprinkled into Pushing Daisies keeps it safe.

Every episode of Pushing Daisies is a work of art on its own. Like a story book, every word carefully chosen, every shade of paint picked with a purpose and every small detail attended to, down to the foil on the cover. The end result is something unique and beautiful, often times fantastical and larger than life.

I realize that putting it all together is very much a team effort, but to have steered all those people in the right direction to create the feel of the show is an accomplishment on its own.

Thank you very much for sharing your creativity and for adding depth to all the characters you write for.

I’m looking forward to seeing what else you might be creating for TV in the future and I can’t wait to see what you’ll do to help fix Heroes. Company Man rocked by the way.

I wish you the best of luck.

Sarah
April 5, 2009

feeling: good
listening to: The Beatles - Girl

It's been a while and a half. Squared. I was browsing some old entries and realized that I miss writing. And drawing.

But hey, icons! Most are from various movies & tv shows.

Teasers:





( 131 total ranging from Angel and Firefly to Muppets and Veronica Mars behind the cut )

You may use any of the icons, just comment and credit in keywords.

feeling: unwell
listening to: Billy Joel - Vienna

"I really do believe that all of you are at the beginning of a wonderful journey. As you start traveling down that road of life, remember this: There are never enough comfort stops. The places you're going are never on the map. And once you get that map out, you won't be able to refold it no matter how smart you are.

So forget the map, roll down the windows, and whenever you can, pull over and have a picnic with a pig. And if you can help it, never fly as cargo."

- Kermit the Frog

My thoughts on life in a nutshell. Except maybe the part about the pig.

feeling: tired

The pages of the calendar
Are flyin' off faster as I get old
And if I had a second take
I'd wanna make the same mistakes
Except for the clothes
- Smash Mouth, "Right Side, Wrong Bed"

I realized something today. Emo haircuts? They kind of make me laugh.

It's not that I find it ugly (unless you count the unwashed nerdy-goth look of My Chemical Romance), it's just that 10 years from now we'll look back on them and realise that it was a typical haircut of our decade. And by then we'll probably have come to our senses and realized that emo haircuts were in fact pretty stupid looking.

The 60s had what? Mop-tops? The 70s had afros, 80s had Farrah-hair, 90s had "The Rachel" and the [whatever we're calling this decade] will have emo haircuts.

It's kind of funny to see the evolution.

Can't imagine looking back on the clothes though *shudders at the thought*

feeling: observant
listening to: Lifehouse - Somebody Else's Song

I'm being spoiled this month with new music, it's great. The Servant has How to Destroy a Relationship coming out on the 26th. They're the guys whose song was played in the Sin City trailer and in the background of the DVD menu. The title track from their new album totally rocks.

There's also this new band I discovered this week: Orson. I listened to a song and a half from this group and I said "I must own their album right now." I challenge you to check them out. My favourite songs are No Tomorrow, Artificial, Saving the World and well, I could just about name everything on their album. They're just the perfect mix of rock and pop, the singer has a great voice and they even have a sense of humor in their lyrics. When you listen to these guys, it'll just wash away your bad mood. It's fantastic.

I found out about them thanks to a little Dutch radio station on iTunes that I listen to while I'm at work. The great thing about listening to a European radio station is that it's almost completely different from what's playing over here. Thus, not the same old overplayed crap you're sick of hearing. I don't know what the one I listen to is called, but it starts with a "Z" and is the last one in iTunes' list of alternative rock stations.

On top of this new music, there's Smash Mouth's new album coming out a week from Tuesday. It's been 3 years since the last one. Say what you will about this band, but I love them. Lots of people say they've sold out over the years to movies, commercials, etc., but I say that they always stayed true to themselves, kept the same energy and sense of humor in their music and lyrics. Their guitarist, Greg Camp, is actually one of my favourite songwriters. If these guys made a polka album I'd buy it. Seriously, that's how far my dedication goes.

It's quite refreshing to have new music to listen to. It gives you a good feeling in your gut. Well, in mine anyway. It feels almost like their was a part of me missing before, as ridiculous as that may sound. I used to live and breathe music. I used to come home from school and sit in front of the TV watching MuchMusic all afternoon. I used to be in the loop about all the local bands.

Times have changed. 3 years ago I got a special deal on a subscription to Chart, Canada's music magazine. Now I read it and I've hardly heard of 90% of the artists featured in there, never mind even listen to them. Needless to say, I won't be renewing my subscription in October. Instead I'll be opting for Premiere.

I've bought far more DVDs than CDs in the past year. In fact most of the music I've bought has been film scores. Not that that's a bad thing. It's just so nice to have something with lyrics, a good beat and an overall more positive vibe going on. It's a well needed breath of fresh air, as silly as that sounds.

---

On a completely different note, I feel that I should talk about one of my latest obsessions: V for Vendetta. Bought the movie the day it came out on DVD and watched it 4 times in the first week I had it. I kind of loved it.

I was a little disappointed to find out that my 2-disc collectors edition didn't even have a commentary to show for it though. There's so much symbolism in both the movie and the original graphic novel, I would've loved to hear the director's or someone else's comments on that. Plus knowing why they chose to adapt the movie from the novel the way they did would've been great.

As a consolation prize, I think I just bought one of the coolest movie companion books ever, V for Vendetta: From Script to Film. It contains the entire script with pencil annotations on nearly every page. There are tons and tons of gorgeous production photos throughout the book. It has storyboards compared to concept and production artwork and the actual shots in the film, pages filled with all the variations of the movie's posters. In a nutshell, it's 10 shades of awesome.

I've only skimmed through the book so far, but let me tell you it was worth every penny. Even the layout and paper finish is gorgeous (yes, that's the graphic artist in me speaking). If you're a fan of V, this book is a must-have.

---

Oh, and here's something of interest in case you didn't know about it. Amazon.com has a lot of DVD season sets on special: comedy, drama and scifi. There's not a ton of stuff that interests me (that I don't already have), but I have been eying Greg the Bunny for a while. I've never seen the show, but I've heard good things. Plus, at 16 bucks you can't really go wrong.

When am I going to stop spending so much? I just bought two season sets which I haven't even started watching yet and already I want more... I really need to make a list of stuff I'll be needing for my apartment. It'll put things into perspective. A detailed spreadsheet including prices, prospective pieces of furniture and places to buy. Yeah, I'm sort of nerdy that way. I know I've said this before, but I think it bears repeating: I can't wait to have a place of my own.

feeling: happy
listening to: Orson - Artificial

Heath Ledger is going to play the Joker in the next Batman movie. I swear that I did not just make that up.

I really like Heath as an actor, but WTF?

And on another note, Flixster's Never-Ending Movie Quiz is ridiculously addictive. You must try it now.

Ah, look at the time. As Mason would say, "I need to be unconscious."

feeling: confused

Hearing covers of songs I know sort of make me start to feel old. Not just songs that I know, but I mean, songs that were originally released in the last, say, 10 years or so I guess.

My mom recently bought Jacksoul's new album, "mySOUL." It's an album that consists almost entirely of covers. The fact that I know most of these songs -- while my mother, music genious extraordinaire, doesn't -- sort of wierds me out.

Stranger still, these covers are actually pretty good. This guy's (or band's, I'm not quite sure) goal was to prove that you can still make great soul music today without always singing the old classics. My opinion? That's a pretty damn cool mission statement. Props for going through with it.

Covers are pulled from an odd range and include Blue Rodeo's "Try" and The Guess Who's "These Eyes." These, although nice, I might have heard too much of, thus less appealing to me. But that's nothing. Try listening to soul versions of David Bowie's "Ashes to Ashes," the Smashing Pumpkins' "1979" (which really isn't all that hard to beat because Billy Corgan probably has THE worse voice in rock & roll history) and Jane’s Addiction's "Been Caught Stealing." Jane's Addiction?! What was this guy thinking?

The wierdest one by far on this CD is Ashlee Simpson's "Pieces of Me." Everytime I hear it, I think "wait, don't I know this song..." only to come to the painful realisation "oh! ewwww!" -- Ew to the thought of the original. Jacksoul's version isn't too bad.

My favourite on the album is the cover of Radiohead's "High & Dry." I'm not entirely convinced yet, but I'd almost go so far as to say that it's better than the orginal. I haven't decided yet. It would be saying a lot, because I love the original. Which is actually saying a lot on its own, because I loathe Radiohead...

This guy must've taken one nasty blow to the head to have come up with the idea for this album (or his hairstyle is numbing his brain**), but overall it works out nicely. It's reccommend checking it out.

** Seriously, Marge Simpson has a better hairdo. Someone needs to sneak up on him during the night and shave it off. He'll thank them later. Really, that hair is clouding his judgement.

Also, the guy is Canadian and managed to put in a few songs from the mother country on his album. Extra karma points for that.

feeling: tired
listening to: Radiohead - High & Dry

"Did you think to kill me? There's no flesh or blood within this cloak to kill. There's only an idea. Ideas are bullet-proof."
-- V

Awesome quote. I'm re-reading Alan Moore's V for Vendetta. I'd only read it once before and I'm really enjoying it more the second time around. I'm unsure how I feel about the story in the first part, but just a bit before the part where Evey gets her head shaved, I think it really hits its stride.

I'm noticing a lot of tiny details I had missed in my first reading. The subway station sign's shadow on the ground, The Salt Flats poster V picks up and the connection to Valerie, the chapter titles and how Book 3, Chapter 5 is written with a roman numeral. I like picking up on the little things.

I'm also appreciating the artwork a little bit more. I've never been a fan of the artists Moore has worked with. For example, I loved The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, but hated the drawings. When it comes to comic art, Joss Whedon & Karl Moline's Fray is my absolute favourite. While reading V again, I haven't so much gotten into the drawings, but the colours are pretty nice. Particularly when anything is happening at the Kitty Kat Keller.

I really have to check the movie out when it comes to DVD.

On another note, last night I discovered the score of Requiem for a Dream. I've never even seen the film (although I've heard it's awesome and has the reputation of being a "mindf*ck" movie), but this music is bloody amazing. I can't tell you how many times in a row I listened to "Lux Aeterna" last night. It's that awesome.

The guy who did this score will also be doing the one for the upcoming movie The Fountain with Hugh Jackman. Now I have another reason to look forward to that film. October is so very far away though.

feeling: hot
listening to: Clint Mansell - Lux Aeterna (Requiem For A Dream OST)

Has anyone else noticed how the people who were involved in the making of Brokeback Mountain are really sore losers?

Crash won this year's Academy Award for Best Picture and ever since they did, people have been saying that Brokeback Mountain was robbed of what was rightfully theirs.

I saw both movies. Crash was better. I know, blasphemy to the fangirls! But I stand by that statement. I liked both films. They left me with this strange feeling after watching them. Like, "hey, that was good, but was there a point or a moral to this story?" It's hard to describe, but it was kind of nice. Overall though, I felt that Crash was far more interesting and had more to say about people than a movie about gay cowboys.

I know that the Oscars are somewhat old news, but I bring it up now because I just read this article.

First you get Jake Gyllenhaal, who's a littler bitter about not getting the Best Actor nomination (to be fair, Heath Ledger had more to work with in the movie). Then Heath didn't win. Take it easy boys, you're young. Your moment will come sooner or later. After Oscar night, just about everyone was shocked and apalled by the Best Picture loss. It's not like the Academy is going to change its mind if you complain about it. Now the author is pissed and ranting the whole "scandal" in a newspaper.

Seriously, Brokeback Mountain is an acclaimed film and has received several awards (including a few Oscars). That's something to be proud about. You can't win them all guys. Not to mention that wanting it all is a little greedy. Show a little grace and move on.

I'll say it again in case you missed it the first time: Crash was better.

Although Brokeback Mountain had better music. I just about squeed when I heard Rufus in the end credits :D

feeling: happy to not have to work today
listening to: Third Eye Blind - Knife in the Water

A pack of 15 DVD+Rs for $10. Another, a pack of 100 for $30. Same store, and both reputable brands. Does that seem right to you?

I bought the 100-disc spindle. Sure they'll last me until the cows come home, but that's ok. I love my new burner.

feeling: confused
listening to: Rufus Wainwright - Poses

(btw, thanks to everyone who recommended a bunch Rufus songs to me a while back :)

So this is just an update to let you know that I've updated my journal.

...

To quote Sharon Tyler: "Are you people high?"

Allow me to explain before you start to question my sanity. I'm shuffling around the contents of my portfolio and I had this section called "writing" which was basically a bunch of blog-entry-rant-things pretending not to be. Since I post entries here once in a while and the stuff on my site is quickly getting outdated, I figured I'd backdate them over here.

You can find them starting in 2002 all the way to mid-2004 if it's of interest to you. It's only about a dozen entries. There's nothing terribly interesting, it's mostly just an archive for myself. I enjoy writing and it seemed a waste to just delete them.

Other than that, my montage project is coming along slowly. We had some sunshine last week, so I was able to take pictures of things, but not so much of people. My family keeps running away from my camera like it has cooties or something.

And on another note, I'm working on a big icon post. I really am. Really, really.

feeling: somewhat productive
listening to: Remy Zero - Prophecy (live)

Have you ever noticed how almost every movie or TV show which has a night scene shows a full moon? Never do they show any of the other phases. It's actually kind of pathetic. Not to mention cliché.

I know the full moon is pretty and all, but a crescent moon can be just as much. Variety is the spice of life.

The only place I can remember not seeing a moon that is full is in Sin City. It could just be one of the few exceptions that confirms the rule though. Oh well.

feeling: sick
listening to: Smash Mouth - Getaway Car

"Adds" is not the same thing as "ads." Nor is "to" the same as "too."

Saying "ATM machine" and/or "PIN number" is lame, redundant and makes you look like an idiot.

"Unthaw" and "dethaw" are not words. If they were, they would mean "to freeze."

"I didn't do/see nothing." No. Just no.

"Le [adjective]" (for example, "le awesome") is hardly as cool as "à la [noun]" (for example, "à la Star Wars").

"Your" and "you're" do not mean the same thing. Furthermore, people who spell either of the afformentioned "ur" -- under any circumstances -- should be caught and shot right now.

Using "teh" instead of "the" on purpose should also be punishable by death.


Have a gramatically correct New Year :)

feeling: tired
listening to: Stretch Princess - Sugar

Dear Joss,

I can't remember if it started with reruns of Angel on Space, or that summer that they kept airing the Buffy movie, but I fell in love with your work. The combination of your humour and the twists and turns you'd bring to the action in a story and to your characters' lives amazed me and quickly had me hooked.

I kept beeing pleasantly surprised when I'd find out something I watched that was particularly good, had your name on it (Toy Story, Atlantis, etc...)

And so it became that I sought out and looked forward to anything new you had to offer.

In September 2002, I sat down in front of my TV to watch the premiere of Firefly. I have to admit that after this first episode, The Train Job, I had lukewarm feelings for it. I realise now that it's because it was a different tone than what I was used to seeing from you. But something about it kept me watching. I'm glad I did. By the time December came and I had seen your original pilot, Serenity, I understood what the show was all about. I loved it.

I won't say anything about the cancellation and the shame that it was, because it's all been done before. I think it's pretty obvious what I think about it.

Last night I saw Serenity, the movie that is. I have three words to decribe it: Holy. Freakin'. Wow.

I don't think that I have ever enjoyed a movie this much. Ever. My head is still buzzing and I could hardly even sleep last night.

The concensus in the theater was pretty unanimous, fans and non-fans. There was this kid who passed by me on the way out, he was hardly even 12. His words? "That was... wow."

Skip the ceremonies, someone needs to put an Oscar in your hands right this second.

But Joss, you made me mad. I think you know why. Not that. Yes, that one.

It's going to take me a while to forgive you.

Sincerely,
Sarah

(more details comming September 30th)

feeling: angry
listening to: nothing

look at me, I still exist! I realise that I'm the worst LJ-er on the face of the planet and I should probably quit while I'm ahead, but I made some art and felt like posting.

I figured I'd say "hi" to everyone while I'm at it. hi guys, miss me?

school is done for me. hopefully forever, or at least for a while. after 15 years of it, I figure that I deserve a break. I'm looking for work right now. something in the field of graphic design. I just finished an internship at an insurance company and I really didn't like it. it wasn't a total loss though, because it made me realise what I needed out of my work. I need to be challenged. without a challenge, I feel like I'm not getting anywhere or acomplishing anything.

there are job postings out there, but none that I can really benefit from. maybe I'm just too picky. I should just choose one and go with it. bend over for destiny as they say...

in the meantime, I'm enjoying this thing I had only heard rumours about. it's called "free time." yes, ladies and gents, there is such a thing. but I'm afraid that it only exists when you're unemployed.

as I search, I work on my graphic skills by making icons. pretty lame, huh?

teasers:





( 9 more icons + 2 wallpapers follow )

so when can you expect another entry from me? I'm thinking in less that 8 months this time around ;)

my apologies for not being around very much. take care of yourselves.

feeling: not scared, terrified
listening to: Dashboard Confessional - Shirts and Gloves

I'm afraid that there are no icons today. wait! don't go away just yet! I was wondering if you'd be so kind as to help me. just two little minutes is all.

ok, here's the deal. I've just made an intense new layout for my site and I just wanted to get some folks to test it out on their computer. I'd like to make sure it isn't all funky on different browsers or platforms. all I ask is that you look at it and tell me if it pretty much matches the screencaps I made on my computer.

( obviously, scrollbar colours vary, my computer's are orange )

just let me know if stuff looks aligned correctly, no extra scrollbars, no overlapping text or anything. you just have to look at the layout and tell me if you see any problems, no need to browse around (but if you want to, then by all means, do!)

thankyouthankyouthankyou! :D

ok, I wanted to see if I could get some help with something else if possible. not for everyone obviously...

( know anything about CGI or installing tagboards? )

thank you for any help you can give me.

and on another note, whew! I can't believe I got all that done this summer. just call me the little engine that could from now on.

feeling: busy
listening to: Letters To Cleo - I Got Time

over the past three days I went on an icon making rampage. this is the result. it was great because I got a ton of Photoshop practice, trying new things and all. brushes, textures, creating borders, experimenting with blending modes and combining caps. it was a learning experience :D

they are mostly Firefly and Wonderfalls (hey, I have to feed my obsession!), but there are a few other random things such as Angel, Garfield and Muppets. please note that the Wonderfalls ones might contain mild spoilers to unaired episodes (Crime Dog, Muffin Buffalo, Lovesick Ass, Lying Pig, Cocktail Bunny and Totem Mole). I put them at the bottom of the cut.

teasers:





( 26 more icons follow )

if you have any questions ("how the heck did you do that?"), feel free to ask, I will answer. and you may use any of the icons, just comment and credit in keywords.

feeling: accomplished
listening to: Jem - They

I'd just like to mention that it is quite challenging to create animations that are under 40k, which is the LJ limit for the size of icons. quite challenging...

first one here is insprired by _eb. she is an amazing artist with Photoshop and I never cease to be awed by her work. seriously, she could be making movie posters for a living or something. anyway, her journal title kept sticking in my mind, "there are days that catch the light. days like diamonds." and I have no idea where that comes from, but it just created an image in my mind (Eb tends to do that with a lot of her stuff). so I looked through my pictures and chose one I had taken on campus (believe it or not) and made this icon, which I am very proud of :D



also, I got my Josie and the Pussycats DVD in the mail the other day (ok, I know the movie was pretty stupid, but I liked it!), so I made pretty screencaps and played with them a bit. hooray, 3 more animated icons!

last but not least, I finally saw Shrek 2 yesterday. it wasn't all that I had hoped for, but it was still good. besides, I couldn't resist this picture. I doubt you could either ;P

and I really wanted to make more Firefly icons, but it's getting late... maybe in my next post. I really should do something more productive with my time, but this is so much fun :D

( follow me to see the 4 other icons )
(today I learned how to use an LJ cut tag!)

oh, and as a sidenote: if you're a fan of Garfield like I am, go see the movie, it's great!

feeling: wet
listening to: surprisingly, nothing at all.

I must say, they turned out not as horrible as I had expected. I think I actually like them :D

I'm starting to think that I spend waaay too much time on these things...

ah, but I love Firefly. more of my friends should watch it! actually, nobody does at all. you guys really don't know what you're missing. the show's a real hoot.

that's it for now. perhaps it'll be Wonderfalls' turn next time.

feeling: satisfied
listening to: Faithless - Injected

stoopid LiveJournal won't even let me add a style sheet in the customise section. stoopid, stoopid, stoopid. see, this is one of the many reasons why I hate it. and I'm definetly not going to cough up the money for a paid account, I don't even use it enough. is it so much to ask to have your LJ look pretty?

on a lighter note, I got my smooshed-face lion in the mail today! hooray!
(you had to be there)

feeling: annoyed
listening to: Letters to Cleo - Cruel to be Kind