Saw Avatar: 3D with my family tonight. First non-IMAX 3D movie I've seen, and it was pretty neat. The animation was gorgeous, but the added depth from the glasses was subtle enough most of the time that I wouldn't notice the difference if it were just 2D. Cameron still played with depth of field adjustments to do the whole emphasize specific areas, which works great in standard display but absolutely wrecks the 3D immersion, since it doesn't let me focus on anything I choose. He also included some of the 3D elements that stick out of the screen, but even those threw me off because most of the time, they were only partially showing at the edges of the screen, so the protruding images had flat sides.

The story wasn't anything extraordinary, just some pretty standard writing, but it was still very enjoyable. I think most of the effort was put into the visuals, and it definitely shows. Very worth watching, and even the credits were interesting to read, thanks to the way the roll was formatted. Instead of each position getting its own line (or possibly sharing with one other position), each department listed after the cast got clumped into a block of its own with different jobs separated by dots. Even though that made it harder to read while it was scrolling, it was the first time I'd seen credits shaped like that, so it kept my attention despite the interesting discussion some other audience members were holding about interpretations and whatnot.

Just got done with revision 5. Still not in screenplay form, but definitely fleshed out and starting to feel smooth. Even started writing some rudimentary dialogue, whatever came to mind. Things to do still:

- check for details I might have missed that I wanted to include/could find a reason for
- expand upon a few situations
- seed more of the town legends into the story
- work on the post-ending resolution
- begin writing it as a screenplay

I would like to get in another round of critique, but at this point I'd rather wait until I have screenplay 1.0 to do that. I was frankly surprised at how well most people liked what I had written before, I was expecting far worse. I'm confident I have a winner, I just need to DO it. While I certainly do appreciate feedback and have found it to be extremely helpful, I also need to quit nitpicking and second guessing myself. So, I'll keep everyone informed when I get around to screenplay 1.0.

So I'd kinda wanted to have a big fun party for my golden birthday (Turning 25 on the 25th of March) and I realized that I'm in Vegas now, and not Chicago. After talking to a few people, it seems that the idea of coming to Vegas and partying on the strip is appealing. If that's what I did, anyone have an interest in coming out? Or should I just go to Chicago? I'd kind of like to take advantage of Vegas-type fun times while I'm here (I'll be able to do Chicago-type fun times whenever I want), but if no one wanted to or could come out, then it wouldn't be too much fun anyway. Thoughts? Concerns? Gropes?

2 weeks ._.

I was going to check out this local concert with Jazmine tonight since she wasn't scheduled, and I was all excited to finally get another chance to spend some alone with her. Perfect chance to ask her to be my girlfriend, right? Well, turns out one of our coworkers is sick and asked Jazmine to cover her shift tonight, and Jazmine apparently "can't say no to people in need."

I really hope I can grab some chance to talk to her about us before 2010...

In case you read my post last night, you know I got a signed copy of the PFSC book that didn't look signed. A quick scan of recent newsposts on the PFSC site showed me this: "if you are getting a signed book be aware that my signature and doodle sometimes look like they have been printed in the front cover but they have not it is just the way that i draw, very carefully, it has confused some people i think".

So yeah, things are figured out. On the plus side, I found my local Popeye's again. Best biscuits anywhere.

A week or so ago I ordered the Pictures For Sad Children compilation, and since it was only a little more expensive to get John Campbell to sign it, I paid for a signed copy. It arrived today, and I can't find an autograph anywhere. It's too late to contact him about it tonight (because I'm about to go to bed), but if he can't point me to something that I can believe is his signature, he'd better refund me the difference.

Other than the whole ripping-me-off thing though, it's a very nice book. Really fits the comic's style.