Man, oh man, am I glad I checked the forums. I've been away for a little while and missed the Scout Reset for the art portal. Imagine my surprise when I came back and found out I'd lost my scouted status. But now that I've seen the news, I'm actually very relieved.

'Cause I'm sure it's only a matter of time until I get re-scouted.

But more importantly, I'm overjoyed at the changes the staff has made with this reset. First off, it was good to do the reset because there were way too many people in the portal that didn't belong and were abusing the system. They've battled this problem by instituting the 4 a day limit, which is just great. But I think that my favorite change to the art portal has been the new policy that an artist is allowed to choose who their scout is, which puts a lot more power in their hands. Before, when the first person to find you was your scout, it was very easy to be scouted by someone who wasn't taking the art portal serriously. Then, if your scout was removed from the art portal, you were too and you had to start the waiting game all over. But now, you can do a little background check and see which user has the best art, the shortest scout-family-tree, and lots of other things. I applaud the staff for coming up with this new system, because it will definitely help the art portal serve the artists of Newgrounds.

Now, if only there was a judgement system like there was in the flash portal. Then there would be even less chance for abuse by people who think pencil drawings on college ruled paper is OK.

But, anyway, now to just wait for someone to scout me. I think I'll wait until I'm scouted before posting anymore pictures. Pictures like this one:

I just wanted to let everyone (and by everyone, I mean pretty much just you) know that tonight, at 9:00 PST, I will be unveiling the first installment of my weekly Ustream broadcast: Draw with the Ninjkabat.

So, if you've ever wanted to see the method behind my cartoony madness, tune in at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/draw-wit h-the-ninjkabat to see me build a character from stick figure to shading. I've slotted an hour for the broadcast, but if it takes a little longer, I'll probably just run over.

You should come watch.

And if you're ever bored and want to see if I'm broadcasting my lifecast, you can check that out at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/the-ninj kabat-s-natural-habitat . It's like watching me in a fishbowl, and I don't even mind if you tap the glass! That one's pretty hit or miss on if I'm there or not, but at least my drawing sessions are scheduled.

Horray for internet attention whore-dom. It's what gets me all the ladies.

Well, there have been a lot of trivial, opinionated news posts about the wonderous new art portal

And here's one more.

The art portal has been hyped up for a long time now, and I'm happy for Tom and the rest of the staff that they were finally able to realize their vision for the portal. So far it seems like their system of quality control has been working so far, and most of the submissions are artistic, creative, and will help to make the art portal a success that will add to the experience here on Newgrounds. I also think that the limit to 20 is a good move on their part. It will not only help their servers immensely to limit how much each user is able to contribute, but it will also make prolific users very choosy about what they submit. It will ensure that an artist only submits the best of their work, and if better work comes along, that they delete the weakest pieces in their gallery. In short I agree with every decision they've made in terms of keeping the art portal legit.

It's also nice to see my humble cartoons getting some love on the portal. When placed against some of the art in the portal, mine definitely pales in comparison to people who spend a week digitally painting a masterpiece. But cast, a kind soul who somehow saw my work very soon after I started posting, scouted me and the voting by the portal seems to be positive so far. It's a great feeling to know that I meet the quality standards that have been set out to ensure the portal doesn't become a cess pool. It also feels like a great honor to be able to scout upcoming artistic talent, although it seems that whenever I come across someone who is a good artist, they've already been scouted. I guess I gotta be quicker on the uptake.

So, I think that about wraps this up. I didn't want to go on a diatribe and bore all you tl;dr people, but I just wanted to add my two cents to the blogosphere that this is a wonderful idea, and that the NG staff has executed it well.

Now if only I could figure out a way to change my username to match my modern online moniker...

Ah, what a good day of video game testing that was. I didn't realize how engrossed I was in it, though, until I got home and had about a half gallon of water. I just didn't want to stop when I was working, so I didn't notice my thirst.

It's unfortunate for the rest of you that I take NDA's very serriously; I'm not even going to tell you the name of the game I was testing today, let alone anything about it. But it was freakin' fun, and I can't wait to get back to it for the next three days.

Market Research Groups rule!

Well, it's a bit late, but I thought I'd at least put it up so that NG could see it if desired.

So, Watchmen. Amazing Book. I use my ninja awesomeness to secure tickets to an advanced screening in Hollywood on Wednesday the week it comes out. I've also promised a friend to take them to the midnight screening, to which I already have tickets. I see it on Wednesday; it's amazing. I'm just as excited for the midnight showing as I was for the Wednesdayone. On a last minute whim, my friend and I decide to dress up for the midnight showing in Westwood.

Here is the result. I threw it together in one afternoon. If you can't tell, yes: I can see clearly out of that mask, and actually watched the midnight showing with it on. The apartment behind me is so messy because I practiced my "mess the place up looking for clues" techniques on it. Sorry this journal is a bit late, but I didn't want to seem like a super nerd and post it when all the hype was still buzzing.

Nope. No Super Nerd here.

So, this Halloween was probably the best ever in terms of the effort and ingenuity that went into my costume.

For those of you who don't know, I was Thomas Bangalter from Daft Punk. I built a helmet completely from scratch, complete with one-way visor, scrolling LED marquee, and speakers in the pockets that played Daft Punk songs all day. It turned out so good that I'm kinda sad I only got to wear it for two days (I went to another Halloween party on Saturday).

Hopefully I'll be able to find a Daft Punk concert to go to. It would be kick ass to go in that costume.

Anyway here's a picture. Check my deviantArt page soon, as I will be uploading a flash slideshow that has more pictures and quite a few "making of" pictures.

And just because I can, I'm also open to the possibility of making a helmet for people who want one. It'll put you back $1000, but it turns out really cool, and it comes with a pair of the gloves as well.

kono nichi wa
minna baka yaru
teishutsude
dou ka zo shirazu
eiga ga muri kara

This is a quick little waka poem (like a haiku, but longer. They were very popular in the heikei period.) that I just came up with to express my feelings about Clock Day. I know that I don't exactly follow the correct kokinshu rules for auxiliary verbs; but I did write the poem in a little under 2 minutes. At least it conforms to the rules for 5-7-5-7-7 mora.

Translation

"This day,
everyone is such an idiot
with their submissions.
I don't even know why,
because the movies are pointless."

I just thought it would be good to let everyone know (well, everyone who cares at least: like, 2 people) that last night I completed the storyboard for my next music video animation.

The results look very promising.

For this animation, I'm trying to actually act like an animator and go through all the steps of animation: storyboard, stickfigure animation, full animation, backgrounds and extra detail. I'm hoping the end result is something that looks much more like a conventional cartoon than my previous Aquabats animation.

So, for those who can't wait to speculate about what I'm working on: yes, it is an Aquabats' song I'm animating. I don't feel like explicitely stating which one right here, but I don't think it's very hard to figure out which one it is especially if you've ever visited my deviantart. For those who can't wait to see the work in progress: too bad. I'm new to storyboarding, and a lot of my notation isn't understandable to anyone except me, and it's still pretty sketchy as it is. I'm not going to let anyone see any work in progress (well, except for maybe a couple people who's artistic opinion I trust), so don't come-a askin'.

So, that's all. Carry on with your lives. Just know that something good is coming to a computer near you. Something really good.

Oh, and for those who give a hoot, I'm working in the Chino Hills branch of the ION for the summer, since it's closer to home than the LA office. I'm translating, thanks to my major in Japanese, and my ninja language senmon (area of expertise? Does that translate correctly?) of comparative enchanted-mountain linguistics.

Sounds like a killer gig, I know. The spreadsheets I translated today would prove otherwise. At least the hours give me some spare time to spend on this animation.

Well, after way too long, I've finally finished my first masterpiece: a music video for Captain Hampton and the Midget Pirates, by The Aquabats.

If you haven't seen it, I suggest you check it out. Like right now.

It was a great learning experience, and it's hilarous to me, watching what I animated well over a year ago, and how my style and comfort with flash have changed over such a short amount of time. The ending looks nothing like the beginning in terms of technicality, style, or just plain penmanship.

I'm kinda looking forward to an animation break, though. I've been focused on this one project for so long that I've put all other projects on hold, the biggest one being my webcomic. I'm going to start drawing for that again this weekend, and hopefully my forced sabatical from that project will allow me to re-pursue it with vigor and energy and blah blah blah. But serriously, I'm looking forward to drawing some things that aren't Captain Hampton related.

And with that note, I am off to bed. I spent all day cranking out the last little bit of the animation, and I'm beat.

If you haven't already seen the animation: what's wrong with you? It's just a click away. I'll even post the link: http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/
420287 . There, you have no excuse.

Well, I can't put this music on Newgrounds, because it isn't completely my original work...

But I can put it on SheezyArt and then link to it from Newgrounds!

http://www.sheezyart.com/view/1491748/

This is a parody of the University of California, Berkley fight song: The Sturdy Golden Bear.

I changed it to "The Creepy Golden Bear," because that description is so much more fitting.

Be sure to foward it to eveyone you know that hates Cal, and everyone you know that loves Cal, and everyone you know that you want to turn against Cal, and everyone you know who would appreciate some good parody lyrics.