Day 47

February 16th, Thursday - An essential for the Art Department, have a mobile props storage ready to chuck everything in *coughcarefullycough* at midnight when the rest of the crew have wrapped and left! Poor TAV ended the day fit to bursting, even after the Van was packed solid. I dont know how, but you always end up with more than you bring, even if you leave/dump stuff. Its one of the many mysteries of Art Dept.... Like where does all the tape go?? And why don't we get paid overtime??

Day 46

February 15th, Wednesday - Art Department rule #25... DON'T scratch anything expensive in expensive looking houses..... Today's challenge was to cover a lovely (and clearly expensive) ornate staircase so the corner of a hallway/entrance could look like a bedroom. Huh. Without screwing anything to ANYTHING. No damage, no holes, but make it strong and safe.... I love stuff like this...

Day 45

February 14th, Tuesday - Ah Valentines Day, surely there'll be a nice blog about that. Right?? Nope, Vicki and I thankfully don't go in for the Valentines Day shindig (win) and I was working anyway.

Commercial for Dreams Beds. For those not in the know about what it is Art Department actually do, this is mainly it right here. We carry stuff. We carry a lot of heavy shiz, from the van to the set. And then we carry some more. Then later, when all the crew are finished and home, we're still carrying it back. Its an art. Like a pack mule.

So with all that carrying, I must have super bulging biceps right??................. Nup. *sigh*

Poy #8

And I can't elaborate on this either. Just that Poy is seven shades of awesome...

Poy #7

Two for the week here, as Mr Swings brings us some backstory - Every hero needs his origin story and here it is. Poy: The beginning. Yes, thats right, your eyes aren't deceiving you, Poy was an undigested potato, expelled from the posterior of an old woman during a bout of flatulence. (And she apparently likes to eat potatos while half naked...)

I'm not making this stuff up kids.

Oh, and Mash (The little guy) is her son. He's a snake. Trapped in a christmas hat. I know, I know...

Day 44

February 13th, Monday - Mega house clean today, partly to procrastinate before job tomorrow, partly in prep for house party the week after and in the most part because I find cleaning relaxing. But you need music. And today I rediscovered the old joys of Reel Big Fish - 3 albums (not heard in years), lots of vocal accompaniment and some intermittent skanking later, the house is clean. And I'm content. Cool kid indeed.

Day 43

February 12th, Sunday - Today was..... Muppets Day!! YAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYY!!!! (Kermit style).

I love Muppets. I've been looking forward to this film for ages, and thankfully was not disappointed! Funny, Charming, Heartwarming, Self referential, full of fantastic songs ("Am I a MAAAAAAAAAN, or am I a muppet? If I'm a muppet, then I'm a very manly muppet....") and chickens singing. And Beaker. What more do you want.

Great to have you back guys! Long Live the Muppets!! (Muppet nod of approval.... nod..... nod....)

Day 42

February 11th, Saturday - Today Drake and I were flung out of an exploding plane, and as we plummeting to the ground, wind whipping around us, I thought "This is it...". But in a typical stroke of good fortune (Nate with his uncanny Longshot-style luck powers) we grabbed a falling cargo crate, pulled the parachute cord in time and floated gracefully to the ground. Lucky. Or were we. Sand. Sand all around. We were in the middle of the Rub' al Khali Desert. The heat blazed. We had no water. No coffee. And for some reason Nate wouldn't check the cargo supplies. Sometimes he just doesn't think....

What??! This was a day well spent! Crushing Uncharted, hells yes!

Day 41

February 10th, Friday - After watching Anchorman with Greg in the evening, we proceeded to stay up till 3am singing as he played ukelele, learning 'Afternoon Delight' (due to Ron Burgundy) and other classics. Two grown men. Singing 'Afternoon Delight'. On a ukelele. At 3am. On a Friday night. We are some damn cool kids (and I won't hear a word said otherwise....).

Film 90 - Rushmore
I enjoy Wes Anderson, I find his quirky ways endearing (by just the right amount) and his films are always entertaining. But after finally watching Rushmore for the first time I can happily say this is my favourite. Not just because of the brilliant performances, but because this is the first I've seen with real heart to it. The end dance/song - just sublime. "Tell that stupid Mick he just made my list of things to do today"


Film 89 - Anchorman
What really needs to be said??? "60% of the time, it works Everytime."

Day 40

February 9th, Thursday - Tonight I went for drinks with my new agency, Sara Putt Associates. They do a casual drinks and networking style evening most months (So I've been told) and tonight was an introductory one for myself and the rest of the new Art Dept Assistants.

I think I've mentioned already, I freak out meeting new people. I'm very nervous. I hardly know anyone. Its a veritable Lions Den and I'm liable to make a tit of myself. This pic is what my brain's thinking as I head in...

But ooooh, Nametags! That helps. As does free beer (which tastes better than paid-for beer). And thankfully everyone I meet is lovely and friendly and I dont think I said anything too incriminating... Or dumb... So, thats a plus! Look forward to the next one.

What, did you just want me to draw people standing around drinking beer?? Pshhh.

Day 39

February 8th, Wednesday - Today, much later than normal, I went for my first token jog of the year. I thought "Ah this jogging lark is easier than normal, I'll just go a bit longer... Bit faster..." It turns out this was a lie. My brain lied. My almost 30 year old knees are not used to this anymore and so proceeded to fall off in agony half way round. I thought it was just the burn I had to push through.... I was wrong.

The problem with your knees falling off halfway round a jog is that you then still have to get back (I contemplated just making a new life for myself in the park, living as one with the animals and tramps). So I jogged. Man, was I sore in the morning...

Falling Behind

Ok, I know what you're thinking - "There we go, Jay caved with his blog after just over a month. He lasted longer than expected. Nice try." Well no, I know I'm about a week and a half behind now, but that was due to a mega busy week of killer 17 hour days on a Commercial. I plan to get a rush on and catch up. Sorry for the delay, normal service will be resumed shortly.

You haven't beaten me yet blog....

Day 38

February 7th, Tuesday - Today was my first completed '30 by 30'! It was a simple yet vital one - Sign up for a dentist and have a check up.

I've not had a dentist since I moved to London and my teeth are rubbish anyway (I'm a massive grinder), so its important I get them checked regularly. An easy achievement on the list to start.

However, this was rushed along quicker due to the recent soft mint tooth crack incident (the SMTC)... Stupid soft mints, grumble grumble. Anyways, new dentist found, went for consultation and he just gave me a filling right away. Easy. Win. 29 (much harder ones) to go!

Day 37

February 6th, Monday - No, thats not me. Today Greg was Ill so spent the day on the sofa. Because I'm a good friend (and not at all lazy and looking for ways to procrastinate) I pulled up a chair and watched films with him, making him tea at intervals. Like Florence Nightingale. With a beard. And none of the helping.

Film 92 - Enchanted
We love Amy Adams. Seriously, who doesn't? Her effortless charm helps make this such a likeable film and its about as Meta as Disney gets. Also, James Marsden makes a brilliant dimwitted prince. How often do we get to say that?

Film 91 - Jennifers Body
Hmmm, I know, I know. Its quite a fun film in places and I like Amanda Seyfried, who has some great moments in this, but I expected a tighter script from Diablo Cody off the back of Juno, and lets be fair, its no Heathers or Teeth. But it was £2...

Poy #6

Piece of history here. Apparently this was one of the original Poy's - This bad boy is over 13 years old!

Yeah, I know what you're thinking, it belongs in a museum. Count yourself lucky readers.

Day 36

February 5th, Sunday - A historic moment: Dill managed to use his often ropey sense of direction, hereafter to be named 'Dilldar' (His word (Patent Pending)), to locate the right street to find an Argos, relatively painlessly. Seriously, this rarely happens. And should be celebrated.

Also, of note, up until today I had been to the cinema 3 times this year; The Artist, Shame, The Descendants. This is a bloody great run of films for 2012. Today we watched Chronicle. Best found footage film since Cloverfield (Shush Vicki). 4 for 4.

Then we followed it up with Haywire.

You had a good run kid, it had to end sometime.

Day 35

February 4th, Saturday - Today I started trying to paint. I say tried to paint as I haven't had much practice before with Oils and thought I was better at them than I actually am. I'm sure it'll get better and I'll find the right way but at the moment, its a bit of a fail. Even worse, I've chosen a massive canvas, so have lots to paint. LOTS. Balls.


Film 93 - Alice in Wonderland 
I had planned to have a Saturday morning cartoon fest, but only managed the 1951 Disney Alice in Wonderland. It was great, but not as much as I'd remembered. I love Alices Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, but they're just so hard to get right. Still, the Cheshire Cat rocks. And the 'making of' feature is a fascinating insight into Lewis Carroll (Charles Dodgson). So there.

Day 34

February 3rd, Friday - Our house is f-f-f-f-frikkin' freezing, no joke (Ha..). Winter has finally descended (where were you in December) and its damn cold outside. Unfortunately, its just as cold - if not worse - inside. The heating, she does nothing! Especially sat next to draughty windows. I was meant to be drawing today. My fingers were literally freezing - their movement had slowed past the point of being any use, so doodling and painting became a bust.

I could have left the heating on all day I suppose, but pfftttt, we are on a meter for the gas. I may be cold as ice, but I'm not willing to sacrifice our credit.... (A trait picked up from my Dad....)

Day 33

February 2nd, Thursday - Another on my '30 by 30' list is to Paint 7 Paintings (A4 or Larger). I've drawn out the first one of the year today, ready to paint - This one is A1 size... Straight in with the largest canvas I have at my disposal... Yikes.

So, can you guess what it is yet??

Also, I had considered just putting a photo of the finished drawing on here as todays doodle. Can I do that? Otherwise I'm just drawing me drawing a drawing... Hmmm...

Day 32

FEBRUARY (!) 1st, Wednesday - Well, we made it this far folks! 1 month of updates, only 11 to go!

335 More drawings... Lots more hours... Oh boy, I may regret this come December... Or March even....

Anyway, today was a day of drawing, but sod that - to commemorate 1 month - and also we moved above 1000 views for the blog, woop! (Not all of them Vicki...) - I've done a special drawing. This is me in full on kitchen-dancing mode, celebrating by pulling some shapes. Its hard to draw the awesome spectacle of my dancing.

And its in Pen. 'Cos its special and all that. I know, I need work on my penmanship - depth and shading...

I'm not a tracer.....

Day 31

January 31st, Tuesday - I had hoped for this to be a happier picture. Until 9.42pm it was.

If you don't know, I'm a Coventry City fan. If you also don't know - and unless you're a Cov fan, or associated with one, you probably won't - It's been a rough, dark season. A rough decade in fact. But this season has been especially hard and luck has abandoned us all season. As has an away win. So far....

As of 9.42, at 87 minutes I was ready to draw a picture of me celebrating a 1-0 win away at Blackpool, as I listened to the commentary on the radio/laptop (cheering the boys on the best my money will allow....).

As of 9.46, we were 2-1 down in injury time, Leaving us bottom of the table. Football is a cruel, crushing mistress.

This is surely Coventry City's Darkest Timeline...

January Out.

Day 30

January 30th, Monday - Spent the day painting a kitchen as part of a set. I actually find decorating really relaxing (which is handy as I seem to end up doing it a lot).

I also met (this is the best part in any day) a dog called rusty. A Lassie Collie, he was old, slightly smelly and didn't seem to realise when I stroked him. He was also not fazed by me painting around his bowl. I loved him a little.

Day 29

January 29th, Sunday - Speaking of nom nom nom (see yesterday), this was the first Sunday Roast cooked of the year. It was a rousing success (read: tasterific). It also looked better than my drawing suggests. Greg is here too, he's out of shot. He helped cook, honest. I didn't forget him.... *whistle*... Its also days like this I like that we have a dishwasher.

We then battled Zombies for 5 hours. Hardcore.

Day 28

January 28th, Saturday - Aha, yet another one of my '30 by 30' (I'll post the whole list soon.... But I know you LOVE these dribs et drabs). Visit 7 Galleries/Museums that I've never been to before.

Museum/Gallery 1 of 7 - The British Museum
With most time spent in the Ancient Egypt, Greece, Rome, and Japan exhibitions.
I've walked past this LOADS of times before so thought it best to finally go in. Its bloody massive, so I'll have to come back and spend more time here. The main hall is stunning. LOTS of Tourists. Huh, I guess that includes me... and Vicki.... (Also, I'm not a giant here, I just need to work on drawing from angles....)

Followed up by food at Thai Metro. Nom nom nom.

Poy #5

Yep, Poy still going strong, courtesy of Mr Swings taking some time out of his busy working schedule.

Seriously, I duont know whats going on in that head of his sometimes. Its awesome. I also dont think the blatant Gina G. reference came into his brain. Awesome.

Day 27

January 27th, Friday - Northern Lights at midnight. Yes, The trip was on Thursday, but it went into Friday and I'm bleeding counting it (as otherwise I'd have to draw me on the plane).

One of the things I've always wanted to see and one of the best ways to end a fantastic holiday. Amazing. My camera couldn't capture it for crap though so this drawing will have to do. I don't have the coloured marker for it, but it should be a greeny band. Oh, and also it was bitter bitter cold. No number of layers could help, I has chilled to my very soul - I had to sleep in my clothes and thermals...


Also, as part of my '30 by 30' list I have to read 7 books. Ok, I know to some this doesn't sound like much but I've been terrible at reading the last couple of years. I'm not illiterate or anything, I read lots of Graphic Novels, magazines, articles etc but have just been terrible with books. It had taken me 18 months to read 50 pages of this current book. So, I've set myself a number to aim for (and no, I'm not counting Graphic novels, even though I love them). On the flight back from Iceland I finished this one finally!

Book 1 of 7 - No. 44, The Mysterious Stranger - Mark Twain
This was a great book, but a bit of a struggle (almost 2 bloody years) due to the language used and the excrutiating detail Twain went into when describing the old printing press factories and the processes involved in early print. I re-read a lot of this book twice to try and help absorb it. I blame that fact. I'm not shit. Honest. But other than that, a fascinating read, focusing on the dynamic between the two main characters and heavy look at Twains views on religion, humanity and the afterlife. Next book can't take this long....

Film 94 - Funny People
A very personal film from Judd Apatow and Adam Sandler. Not that funny, more of a dramedy (still hilarious at places). Sandler and Rogen are great (as is Eric Bana briefly) but as is usual with Apatow films this drags on a bit longer than it should. Still an ace film and good post holiday sofa watching - Though if you're looking for an 'Illness' comedy drama catch last years brilliant 50/50.

Day 26

January 26th, Thursday - After fears of being snowed in, the roads cleared and we took a trip to the Blue Lagoon. Its basically the best natural swimming pool around - Geothermal springs heating the water to scorching temperatures in places, as snow capped mountains decorate the landscape and steam floats over the water.

Its pretty much the most relaxing place I've ever been to and smells like Nightcrawler, which is another of its charms (Though Vicki was not as keen on that). Silica mud squelches between your toes and my whole body fealt cleansed.And yes, they have Silica face mud to slop on. So I did. I don't even care. You would have... I know you would have... Pshh.

Day 25

January 25th, Wednesday - The Golden Circle tour. This involved a trip to some of Icelands great natural wonders - Gullfoss Falls, a huge double waterfall; Geysir, the original spouting geyser (and where we take the name from), and what I ended up calling The Rift, a divide where the North American and Eurasian continental plates meet.

Sadly, Geysir is a bit slow in his old age, so doesn't spout as high as he used to and only like once a week (It'll happen to us all, don't worry Geysir). But his younger upstart brother Strokkur (as above) is a bit of an attention whore and spurts for all the crowd every 5 minutes or so. He's pretty damn impressive, shooting 20 - 30m high. But don't tell him I said, he already has a bit of an ego.

Look, there I am. Thats how I actually posed. I'm a cool kid. *murmurs in the back* What? Who said that??!

Day 24

January 24th, Tuesday - Our trip to Iceland began with me breaking a tooth in the airport. On a soft mint. Yes, a soft mint, which surely means my teeth are softer than a soft mint. Think about the science...

Anyways, Reykjavic in the eve is pretty damn cool as its fairly quiet and relaxed (coming from London remember). This may be because they're currently experiencing their worst winter in years and there's a foot and a half of snow. Actually awesome.

Wading through the snow in search of food I forgo looking at the map and instead aim to head to the largest landmark in the city. Vicki debates my choice and our general meandering through quiet streets and eventually she wins and I use the map. We find food MUCH quicker. It's by all accounts the worlds best fish and chips (according to Vicki, I'm not allowed to judge this one....).