Don't Wear a Red Shirt On Star Trek...

...unless you have a Scottish accent or a miniskirt/headset combo.

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Thanks, Science Teachers

I'm building a new place to show you my comics 
and cartoons - In in the meantime, enjoy these
icons as miniature illustration samples!

Thanks for visiting!

5 Pixar Success Secrets .. That Might Have Saved 'Cars 2'

Pixar has an astonishing track record for producing critically successful movies, so 'Cars 2' caught everyone off guard: With sparkling visuals but an unsatisfying story, 'Cars 2' may be Pixar's lowest rated film, with only a 38% approval rating on the film critic site RottenTomatoes.com.

What went wrong?

Dev Patniak of Jump Associates interviewed Oren Jacob, former chief technical officer of Pixar on FastCoDesign. From the discussion he pulled five secrets to Pixar's Success:
1. If it sucks, say so.
2. Defend your opinion, then 'Hit Play Quickly.'
3. Look upstream for the source of the problem.
4. Match the medium to the message
5. Hire for excellence.

I think Rules 1 and 3 are what saved 'Toy Story 2:'
Pixar rewrote and rebuilt the whole movie in eight months because someone had the guts to speak up and say the story didn't work, and the someone listened. 'Toy Story 2' went on to become a huge success, earning an astonishing 100% approval rating.

Why didn't Pixar repeat this strategy and save 'Cars 2?'
I think three things happened:
1. Not enough story team members admitted the plot didn't work,
2. The project got too far down the pipeline before anyone admitted the story was mediocre, and
3. This film's visuals were much so more complex than 'Toy Story 2' that a similar rewrite and rebuild would be impossible this time. Rather than push the release date back and hold out for a higher-quality story, Pixar tried to wrap the existing plot in dazzling visuals and hope for the best.

Unfortunately, now we've seen the results: Pixar has its first dud, and a blemish on its previously spotless record.

We're looking forward to great films from Pixar in the years to come. They can make excellent movies; Following their own best practices will help assure that they do.

Why Are the Arts Important?

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Bob Cassilly Lives On

I'm building a new place to show you my comics 
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