On this episode, Nora and I talk about such diverse topics as powdered milk, problems with cable TV and our quest to interview Ke$ha. Thanks for listening!

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A little late to the party here, (literally). Fans of Paul and Storm have probably seen this already, but I was fortunate to be asked to be in Paul's 40th birthday greeting video. You'll see me, along with some much more notable geeks in the video. And don't forget to stick around for the Kevin Murphy portion at the very end. (NSFW because of language, just letting you know). Enjoy!

Paul's 40th Birthday Video from Paul and Storm on Vimeo.

Labels: paul and storm

On tonight's show, we record the show twice, something we haven't done in quite a while. But I think the show came out better the second time anyway. Thanks to all those in the chatroom who actually got two shows for the price of one. Tonight we talk about auto-tuning, geeks, and much, much more. If you like the show, subscribe!

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Auto Tune The News | Turtles

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For those of you who aren't following me on Twitter or Facebook, I have started a new art project called Geek A Week. Not only that, I started a brand new blog to document it! You can check it out here. Enjoy!

Labels: site news

On tonight's show, we chat about the lunch I had today, Inflatable beavers and much more. Plus, great music from MC Frontalot. Enjoy the show!

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MC Frontalot | Goth Girls

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A short show paying tribute to one of my favorite podcasts, gone forever, ExtraLife Radio.

Music:
Greg Benson | Welcome To The Jungle 2005

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Tonight, as we start our SIXTH YEAR OF PODCASTING, our son Patrick joins us for a show where we chat about guitars, bad haristyles and texting to automatons. Thanks for listening and if you dig the show, please subscribe!

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On tonight's show, we welcome our old friend Neil back to the new Nobby annex. We discuss Avatar, the Oscars, The Big Game on Sunday and so texting while driving. Thanks for listening and if you like the show, please subscribe.

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Enough has been written about Avatar in the past two months that I don't need to go and give my review for it. One, I'm too late to the game for anyone to give a crap. And two, regardless of what I think of it, it's already the highest grossing movie of all time making a cah-chillion dollars at the box office. So it would seem that people have made up their mind about it already. But I can't help but throw my voice into the discussion, if for no other reason than to get under James Cameron's thick and weird blue alien skin.

At one point in Avatar, the main character Jake Sully goes to a Navi prayer tree to ask for some sort of divine intervention from their goddess Eywa with the crazy CGI battle they are about to fight. During his prayer, he says something to the effect of "Where I come from, they have destroyed all green. Please help us battle the people who hate green."

For me, that's when the mask slipped off. When Avatar went from just a story with some eco-friendly message to an agendized piece of garbage that I feel is truly anti-human.

Let me back up here. I went to see Avatar with an open mind. I had read enough about it online to now what the basic story was about and I knew there were some political overtones to the story that were causing a stir. I can usually look past that stuff and what I told myself was that perhaps some conservative critics were just overreacting. That they were making connections with the story that really didn't need to be made. That if they really took the story at face value, it was just a simple story of good vs. evil and underneath, the movie and its story could stand on it own. Before we went into the theatre, I told my eldest son that we needed to watch for a few things. One, to view the story as just a movie on its own. Was the story good? Or were the visual effects the only thing that kept the movie afloat. Also, could the movie be a good movie if it weren't in 3D or did it rely on it as a crutch to bad storytelling.

I'm here to tell you that the story of Avatar is so thin, my two year old daughter could have punched holes through it. While wearing her mittens. While taking her night night nap. The characters were simply drawn and incredibly one-dimensional. Ironic for a movie that visually has such depth. (The humans are mining for "unobtanium". Did you catch that? UNOBTAINIUM. UNOBTAINABLE. Pretty heavy stuff, I know.) And the takeaway, for me at least, is that I'm a terrible person. I live on earth, and all I want to do is find beautiful things and then stomp on them. I felt like Frankenstein leaving the theatre waving my oversized arms at the townspeople's pitchforks and torches. Don't you get it? I am bad for being human. The more I thought about it. The angrier I got. I was just forced to watch nearly three hours of a movie that essentially was anti-humanity.

At another point of the film the main bad guy, Col. Quaritch makes an impassioned speech to his crew about the Navi who have drummed up their forces to combat the humans and their dull, brutish ways. Quaritch sneers and tells his crew that the Navi believe that their hometree is protected by some "deity". Everyone, and i mean EVERYONE in the briefing room laughs in disgust. As if everyone in the world thinks that because the Navi's have some sort of religion they are goofy and stupid. You mean to tell me that there is no one on that task force that believes in a higher power? That may even have some sort of inkling or this thing called religion and spirituality? Maybe one of them accidentally walked into a church? Maybe walked by one? Ugh. It's a total straw man scenario. It's that kind of vapid insight that Cameron forces upon us for the whole movie. Human = stupid and clumsy. Human see pretty thing. Human must kill pretty thing. Blah blah blah.

What kills me is that that scene was Cameron's way of showing cultural ignorance. Yet the most ironic thing is that Cameron is probably closer to his evil character than he thinks. Cameron thumbs his nose at traditional ideals and he uses his straw man characters to make his points about blind idiocy when he himself is guilty of that same viewpoint. Plug Christians in for the Navi and then play that scene again. It's okay to laugh then, but not when their blue-skinned? If Cameron is going to make such overt political statements with his movies then I think it's only fair to invite overt comparisons. Goes with the territory.

On a positive note, the 3D was pretty damn amazing. It is hands down the best 3D I've ever seen. If you can stomach three hours of someone basically calling you a jackass, then it might be worth the 12 dollars you'll plunk down to see glowing objects hover before your face. A few times I took the glasses off to view the film as just a film. And while I was only doing that less than a minute at a time, I'm pretty confident that without the 3D, Avatar wouldn't have kept my attention. The technology is what drives the film in a big way.

The visual motion capture, while impressive, is probably one click above what Lucas accomplished with Jar-Jar Binks. The mocap acting was just as good as Andy Serkis as Gollum in Lord of the Rings. At some points, I felt like I was watching an extended version of the Naboo fight from Phantom Menace, and not in a good way, either.

In the end, what does it matter? Cameron got my money. Shame on me for buying into the hype.

At the very least, I got a cool pair of glasses out of the deal.

Labels: movies

On this episode of Jawbone Radio, Nora and I chat about Valentine's Day, naked pictures, The Kindle Vs. The iPad and more social media talk. Enjoy! And if you like the show, please subscribe in iTunes!

Music:
"Hey Molly" By Mike Lombardo


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Tonight, Nora and I chat about ghosts in the house, sleeping with the Kindle, checking in, showing up to your own funeral and more. We also have a special guest who I have to put to bed mid-show. Thanks for listening and if you like it, please subscribe!

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This week, I was a co-host/guest on Paul and Storm Talk About Things for 5-10 Minutes (On Average). It was a lot of fun, went by too quick and made me feel important. If you'd like to hear me talk about myself and other things, tune in here.

Thanks to Storm for making the magic happen.

Labels: paul and storm, site news

Our first show of 2010 and we chat about losing my Up Blu-Ray Case, the beard purchase, The Amazon Kindle and drums. Good stuff. Thanks for joining us and if you like us, please subscribe.

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As another year draws to a close, I thought I'd write down some of the things I accomplished this year so that I never forget what a great year it really was in the midst of all the naysaying and distress:

- I was able to interview all the members of Cinematic Titanic, Rifftrax and MST3K
- I was the only podcaster who interviewed Cinematic Titanic in person when they played Cleveland
- I sold my house in six days
- I found a new house one day later
- Given the terrible economic condition of the country, I was able to secure a loan for the new house
- My first children's book came out
- I surpassed 1300 orders through Monster By Mail
- I had dinner in a Tiki Bar with a bunch of my pop culture heroes
- I not only met a Mythbuster, I followed him around DragonCon as he was dressed as Chewbacca
- A Director whose work I count as highly influential on my won work said he loved my art. So I signed and gave him an original piece of it
- I designed the poster for WootStock, the music and geek fest in LA and SF
- A comic book icon said he was a fan of my work
- We recorded our 250th podcast
- I started a new art site that garnered me over 300 orders in just two months
- I finished the art for a new book coming out in Spring 2010
- I was able to collaborate with excellent people like Scott Johnson and Tom Merritt
- I was able to launch a new graphic novel online
- I met a major sci-fi horror author and thanks to my friends Paul and Storm, he told me he was expecting me
- I designed the art for a high profile New York social media conference
- I won a major award in my networking group
- I was introduced in front of a crowd of around 500 people while just being a member of the audience
- I was able to pay someone by giving them an original piece of my artwork
- I had lunch with a major Sci-Fi author who ordered food from the future for me
- I was invited to interview a minor celebrity in front of a crowd of 150 people at Borders in Ann Arbor
- I launched a new site that allows me more effectively to showcase my work
- The children's book I illustrated was showcased by a major technology magazine
- I end the year with some very cool projects on the horizon for 2010.

All in all, not a bad year. I'm looking forward to what's next. Happy New Year everyone!

Labels: site news

Our annual Christmas show with the kids and our final show for 2009. Holiday wishes. Predictions for next year. And a new voicemail line: 216.236.GEEK! Leave us a message for next year!

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Tonight, as our holiday gift to you, Nora and I record a new show.Tiger Woods. My new online money-making scheme. Face Like A Foot. Crafting for the holidays. And much more. Enjoy and subscribe!

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Wrapup of Thanksgiving. Dinner with my folks. When to eat. Tangents. Rifftrax Live. Paul F. Tompkins and John Hodgman can have a fight on our show. I can be Mean Gene Okerlund. Enjoy and please subscribe if you like the show.

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For as long as I can remember, I have always wanted to work on a graphic novel.

I have worked with other artists and writers on some projects and they never really got off the ground properly. I have had a lot of concepts running around in my brain, but I knew I wasn't ready to tackle the project or else it was so involved, I didn't know if I would ever have the time to do it properly.

Over the summer, I had posted some concept sketches that I worked on for an idea that had been gelling for about 2 years. The concept was born out of ideas of fear of loss and impending poverty. The climate of the nation's financials didn't help anything, so it just sat there waiting for some life to be injected into it.

Fast forward to Atlanta and DragonCon 09. While at dinner with CNET's Tom Merritt, the topic of conversation turned to graphic novels. Tom had always wanted to work on one but couldn't draw. I always wanted to work on one, and while I could write, I needed a writer who could navigate science fiction territory better than I could. Hence, the project Tent Town was born.

It should be made clear that this project is NOT, I repeat NOT an ongoing webcomic. This is basically a way for Tom and I to work on a project together and see where it takes us. If the response is positive, we'll continue. If it's lukewarm, we can always move the project to the back burner. This is strictly for the fun of it. And sometimes, you just have to work on projects like that.

A big thanks to Tom for agreeing to work on this with me. The story is certainly developing and we look forward to showcasing it in the coming weeks.

Labels: art, comics, cool

On this episode of Jawbone Radio, we welcome back minor television celebrity and author of "More Information Than You Require" John Hodgman. Of Note: This is the first episode of Jawbone Radio recorded in front of a live audience of about 150 people. . This was recorded live at the Border's #1 in Ann Arbor, Michigan on 11/11/09 - Corduroy Appreciation Day!

Mr. Hodgman and I chat celebrity status, Twitter, authorized biography movies, Jonathan Coulton and decide who would win in a rapid-fire Battle Royales.

If you are new to the show and enjoy it, please feel free to rate and subscribe to us in iTunes.

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So I was driving home from my networking meeting this morning and my thoughts were a mishmash of both Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 and lunch. I usually start thinking about lunch around 9 AM. What to eat, where, if anywhere to go. I had also just come off an evening of watching the Travel Channel's Man Vs. Food which featured an incredible double-dipped roast beef sandwich from Brennan and Carr in Brooklyn, NY. To die for, or so it would seem, as I have never actually eaten one personally. But I digress.

My kids had been watching Man Vs. Food and they saw an episode featuring an eating challenge that involved consuming a 190 lb. hamburger. Apparently, the host Adam Richman could get together a team of 40 people to consume this gargantuan burger (which apparently required 16 hours just to cook the meat. Unbelievable.) Adam got together a collection of people to help him with the challenge including some roller girls, a pro wrestler and, for some odd reason, the band KISS. They all failed to eat the burger.

Which got me to thinking. In order to really conquer a challenge like that, you need to assemble the right people. A team, if you will. So I decided to illustrate this said team, and call them GastroSquad: The 40 Person Tactical Eating Team. I am looking for input from the internets on who would be on this team and what their specific class and skillsets would be. I would be happy to draw the best ideas and make them part of this team. So feel free to comment here or on Twitter and Facebook and help me assemble the GastroSquad!

Labels: art, food

On tonight's show, Nora makes some banking statements. I Made You A Beard. Gargantuan straws. Listener voicemails. Crazyville. More on Hoarders. Short discussion of next week's show. And of course, awesomeness. Enjoy the show? Subscribe and rate us in iTunes!

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My life keeps getting more surreal.

Last night, I was given a very cool opportunity: the chance to do our humble podcast in front of a live audience. In the 250 odd shows we have done this has never happened before. The event was an interview with minor television celebrity and author John Hodgman at the Ann Arbor, Borders location. Originally, the interview was to be a one-on-one conversation recorded in a green room or such place. But when John offered up doing the interview in front of the crowd, I was both stunned, nervous, sick and excited at the opportunity. And so, I was able to record a half an hour with Mr. Hodgman which will be available for download in the next week or so.

I want to thank my friend Erin who was nice enough to meet up with me, have dinner, help me lug my stuff around and actually hold my video camera for the whole half hour, despite her arms cramping and losing her voice. (It should be noted that the camera holding had nothing to do with her losing her voice, but I'm sure holding it for such a prolonged time only added to her frustration of not being able to vocally complain about it.)

I also want to thank fellow Filipino and incredible photographer Liza who was able to document the night and catch some truly incredible photos of the event. Barring having an out-of-body experience and seeing how the night evolved around me, her photos are the next best thing.

And finally, I want to thank John for the opportunity to do something as awesome as recording live in front of an audience. This type of stuff is reserved for the James Lipton's and Charlie Rose's of the world, so to have a chance to do something as cool as this was certainly very edifying for our show and for me personally.

The show is currently being edited and will be available for download soon. So please keep watching the feed. And if you are new to the show, please feel free to subscribe and listen to our back catalog. We are always open to new fans.

More coming soon...

Labels: cool, site news

Labels: funny, video

Although this may be hard to believe, given the status of my rising fame on the internets (insert sarcasm here), but I have a regular job. Yes, my job is working for myself as a graphic designer/marketer, but I still do have a real job. Along with this comes stuff that you have to/need to do as a matter of sorts. One of those things is networking with people in the community.

About a year and a half ago, I joined a local networking group. For me, this was totally out of my comfort zone. The group was full of people I don't normally associate with. Mortgage brokers. Bankers. Realtors. Jewelers. Window Cleaners. I always envisioned myself networking with movie directors, TV stars, other graphic designers, animators, model makers and creative types that drank lots of coffee, wore berets and black turtlenecks. So to join this relatively "normal" group was a bit of a stretch for me. But the economy being what it is, I figured the worst that could happen is that I never make any contacts. So I set my expectations low and decided if I made the fees back in referrals (which would account for one, maybe two small jobs) it would be worth it.

One of the requirements of the group is to give a short, 10 minute presentation that tells the others in the group what you do and what kind of referrals you are looking for. It's the equivalent of doing a book report in grade school. You tell people about yourself, what it's like being you and what kind of work would help to keep the biz going.

A few weeks ago, it was my turn to do my 10 minute presentation. I always dreaded this because I always waited until the last minute to prepare mine and inevitably, as I am extemporaneously speaking, I lose my train of thought and end up babbling like a moron. I didn't want that to happen this time around, so I decided to do some major preparation. At DragonCon, I had seen MythBuster Adam Savage give his talk on 100 Wishes. I was so inspired by this talk, not only because of its simplicity (the entire talk was written on index cards and was, as far as I could tell, fool and stagefright-proof), but also because it was so captivating to listen to. I decided to do something similar, but instead of relating my wishes, I wanted my networking group to understand what I do for a living. And, in a rare case, the art and design I do for people on the internets, seemed to mesh seamlessly with what I do for my other clients. So I wrote a list of 50 things I have done for work over the past month. And unbelievably, the list was pretty amazing. The presentation went over very well.

This morning at the meeting, I was presented with a certificate of recognition for my 10 minute presentation. The certificate awarded me for having the best presentation IN THE HISTORY of the group. Needless to say, I was flattered and relieved that people actually liked the talk.

I owe a big thanks to my friends Paul and Storm for their help writing the small theme song for my presentation. I know how extremely busy they have been over the past month and for them to take a few moments out to write a small song for me was nothing less than miraculous. I really believe it was the icing on an already sweet and delicious cake.

And another big thanks goes to Adam Savage for his inspiration for my talk. If you get a chance to see his original 100 wishes talk, do so. It's freaking awesome and inspiring.

What follows is the talk in it's entirety with just a few small changes, due to some proprietary client info. Enjoy!

---

WHAT I DO
By Len Peralta

I have been a member of this group for over a year now and whenever I do a one-to-one meeting with another member, one of the first things they ask me is "So what exactly do you do?"

So, to explain to my fellow networking partners what it is I do for a living, I put a list together of work-related things I over the last month or so. This list is totally real. I’m not making any of this up. Hopefully, it will give you some insight into what it is I do all day.

1. There was no networking meeting this morning, so I went to work in my pajamas.

2. Several e-mails requesting FlipFaces, the custom avatars I’ve been drawing for people all over the world, have arrived in my mailbox. Since September, I’ve drawn almost 300. What’s another four?

3. One of my clients needs a banner. I do a quick layout in Photoshop and send it over for approval.

4. Spec out a tablecloth for a client trade show that was just handed to me just the day before. By day end, I have them a quote and a digital proof.

5. I field a call from a client who is having trouble working the website we created for them. A few hours and e-mails later, they are back in business.

6. Had a conversation with a Burgeoning Internet Rockstar. He needs something cool to sell at shows. He says Stickers! I say Scratch and Sniff stickers! He thinks I’m a genius.

7. Laid out a literature sheet for a client I was just introduced to the night before. By day’s end, they have a finished product.

8. Tweaked someone’s existing logo. Created a new logo.

9. Drove around Westlake, North Olmsted, Fairview Park and Lakewood and considered visiting each shop that looks like it had their logo done by the owner’s High School nephew and re-doing it for them free of charge. As a designer, seeing no design or thought put into a logo gets under my skin. Must learn to control that.

10. I wrote and edited the copy for a small project I’m working on. Hard to believe this is how I started my career in advertising.

11. Helped a client send out her own e-mail marketing campaign. She found it “empowering”.

12. Worked on pencil sketches for a new book project. The stories are dark, but funny. I’m drawing princesses throwing up, a fountain of teeth pouring form a kids mouth, sewer rats and tombstones.

13. Finished the box art for a playing card game I designed. It’s a fun game about medical malpractice.

14. Met with a client about a new website design. I’m excited because this is unlike anything else I’m working on at the time. It’s for a church and it presents an interesting challenge. Be creative but reverent. I’m thrilled by the possibility.

15. Met with a client who needs literature for a guy in Kansas who helps people write their memoirs. We talk about having him on as a guest of my podcast.

16. Daydreamed ways to make software for theatres sexy and interesting.

17. Worked on the sitemap for the church website. It’s a vital step, like the blueprint for a house. I do this for every website I work on.

18. Helped a start-up fitness instructor continue building her brand.

19. Traded e-mails with a writer in San Francisco who I’m trying to collaborate with on a possible webcomic or graphic novel idea I have. I have no expectations for this project and am purely doing it for the fun of it. Sometimes you just have to do projects like that.

20. Had a conversation with another Burgeoning Internet rock star. This time a duo. They need art for a series of shows in San Francisco and LA. Can you draw robots, they ask. Robots in the style of subversive cartoonist R. Crumb? Pfft, Give me a challenge.

21. Sat down (finally!) and sketched out four new FlipFaces. Inked. Scanned. Into Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop and e-mailed back to the respective customers. Elapsed time: One hour.

22. Considered pulling together a cover album of songs for some internet friends of mine.

23. Realized that I have no experience putting together a cover album. Called a podcasting friend in Colorado who is putting together his own cover album. He agrees to shepard me through the process. I chat with him while I walk the dog.

24. See proofs of the stickers that I created for my Rockstar client. They were supposed to smell like banana. They smell like vanilla. I send him the bad news and await his reply.

25. Copies of my books arrive. I instantly started selling them online.

26. Designed the promotional flyers, invitation and reply card for an upcoming fundraiser.

27. Met with a guy whose company designs unique stuffed animals. He has designed a series of bunnies that he calls “Slasher Bunnies” based on iconic horror movie characters. He shows me the prototype at my dining room table. I hand him a bag of gummi brains and test tubes. We start to sell them the next week.

28. My Rockstar client gets back to me about the stickers. “So, they don’t smell like banana, huh?” he says. I tell him maybe we can say they smell like cake. He considers it.

29. For a brief moment, I think it would be fun to someday be in a piefight.

30. Rockstar client calls me back and says maybe we can tell people the stickers smell like “Delicious!” I think we’re close to solving this problem.

31. Drew a Voideux as one of my Monsters By Mail. For those who don’t know a voideux is one of a race of beings made of dimensional darkness with powerful glowing eyes that stare into your soul. Piece of cake.

32. Speaking of cake, I wonder how the scratch and sniff stickers are selling in Chicago. That’s where my Rockstar client is playing this weekend.

33. An email arrives from a gentleman who has seen my art and wants me to design his tattoo sleeve. He wants classic movie monsters coming to life in a graveyard. Sounds like fun. And painful.

34. Drew a creature named The ArachNerd for Monster By Mail. Part nerd. Part Spider. Sometimes I love having the internet as a client.

35. Rockstar client calls me to tell me he has a new job for me. It involves drawing him coming out of a portal and meeting a monkey beefeater and a zombie leprechaun. I think he’s joking. He’s not.

36. Answered an angry e-mail from a guy who wants me to draw 13 separate characters and was annoyed with quote he got from me. I told him this stuff takes time. Then I get into the whole argument of what value is creativity? He doesn’t get it. I don’t plan on hearing back from him again.

37. Zombie leprechaun and Monkey beefeater are sketched and approved. Art is sent to a printer in the UK.

38. Drew a friends cat and tortoise as battling Japanese monsters. Drew their other cat as a small Japanese boy from a Godzilla movie. Once again, gotta love the internet.

39. Laurie LeMay calls me and tells me I need to be bumped up in the speaker rotation. I instantly start panicking.

40. Consider calling my Rockstar friends to write a song for my presentation. This is what they gave me.

41. Wrote this list for my 10 minute presentation instead.

42. Got dressed up to give my presentation. Instead of wearing pajamas. For a change.

----

And that, my friends, is what I do for a living.

Labels: cool, site news

This week, we deal with strep and flu and hope we don't get anything worse than what we already have. My Indiana Jones hat. They Might Be Giants wrapup. Breaking the Seal. Halloween and help from the Twitterverse. Thanks for listening!

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