Journals

More links than blog posts lately. Sorry about that.

Still, this is delightful. Animator versus Animation.

In other news, I saw 1000 Journals last night at the Roxie with my friend Maria. It's a very nice documentary about a remarkable project.

Basically a man sent 1000 journals out into the world. People were supposed to fill as much or little of them as they wanted, then leave them someplace for the next person to find and do the same. When the journals were filled, they were to be returned to the man who started the project. People could send unfinished journals back to be scanned and then sent back out into the world. As word rapidly spread, a tracking website was developed, and enormous waiting lists for the journals queued up.

Only a few of the journals have been sent back, and 95% of them are out in the world... unknown.

At the encouragement of people who have become tied to the project, 1001 Journals as been born. People can start their own journals and send them out into the world. Start a journal and it's your responsibility. You become the contact person for people who want to work in it, or want to send it in for scanning and you're the one that will get it back when it's done... if it's ever returned.

I was sitting in the theatre, thinking that I should make a journal, when Maria turned to me and said "I'm going to make one. I'll send it to you first."

I'm very excited about it, and I hope that she makes the journal soon. I suggested that the instructions in the journal indicate that the last person to fill the journal should return it to the person they got it from, and that person will to the same, so that everyone who as touched it will be able to see what happened, and hold it again. This also has the side benefit of encouraging people to give the journal to someone they feel will actually return it eventually. Many of the stories in the film talk about people agonizing over giving the journal to someone they didn't really know, and it vanishing from the system at that point.

Seriously, 1,000 journals, and only about 30 can be accounted for as of the making of the film.

It's super cool, and I'll post the link to Maria's Journal when she makes it, in case you want to be on a waiting list. (i.e. if there's a list, you'll be expected to send it on to the next person on the list, or the person you give it to has to promise to do so.)

Apart from that, things are moving along as they always do. I'm trying to find the lead for the show I'm directing for the Fringe Festival, but refusing to panic about it. I made a breakthrough on the 411 screenplay and got an hour's worth of writing in yesterday. I'm making the puppets in Flash for the next Radiostar cartoon (which will be 33% longer than the last ones have been, so it'll probably take an extra week to get it done). Work is going well, and I generally couldn't be happier.