Hand assignment

I've gotta hand it to ya...

So this is the current homework for my Organic Modeling class. Man, you'd be surprised how long it takes to make a silly little hand.

Please sir, can I have some more?

Oscar Update...

Well, I didn't do too poorly with my picks. If I were in Vegas, I might have actually won something with 50% accuracy. And if money were on the line, I wouldn't have picked Clive Owen. He's MY favorite, just not the Academy's. As far as Portman goes, I heard she put on an impressive performance in Closer. And after seeing her best Kiera Knightly look-alike impression tonight, I think I was totally justified in that pick.

With such accurate predictions, I think you might have to stick around for my March Madness Tourney picks. Seeing as I know just about as little about College Hoops teams as I do the nominated actors/actresses and movies, who knows I might pick some underdogs.

Funny little shirts

Ever seen a whale explode?

Some weird movie I found on my computer. -->click here<--

In honor of Kojak....

If you didn't go out with us last night, you missed an attempted brawl by yours truly. Here's the breakdown. In my infinite playfulness I just decided that this one guy was being a little too inconsiderate. Not really. He just grabbed his drink off the counter in front of us. That didn't stop me. Anyway, I looked at one third of the X-Men waiting to back me up, switched back a glance at the evil man, and fell over onto him with all my weight...all the while feverishly slapping in the direction of his drink.

To my surprise, he caught me. But I did manage to splash his clear pansy-ass bubbly drink all down his shirt. Yeah me! I mean c'mon, I wouldn't have done this if he wasn't wearing a euro-looking, fat collared, tight leather jacket and drinking a PBR.

Well, needless to say, the guy thought I was giving him a hug and started talking to me...how does that happen? I guess I don't really have the face for ass kicking.

I did realize one thing though...If I am not wearing my glasses, I am more prone to do something mischievous. Now you know.

Matt's Oscar Picks...

ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE

For this I am going for Jamie Foxx as the inimitable Ray Charles. If you do a quick check on prior winners, you realize that anyone who plays a handicapped person or minority, wins an Oscar. I am not saying Ray Charles was handicapped, but it is the clear choice so that the Academy does not offend anyone.

ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

Since I have only seen two of these movies, I am going to have to go with one of my favorite actors, Clive Owen. Granted, Morgan Freeman is one of the nominees but anyone who plays King Arthur, the Croupier, and gets shot by Jason Bourne deserves an award.

ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE

I did see Maria Full of Grace, but Catalina Sandino Moreno is young and even though her performance was very convincing, she won't win. The last time Annette Benning went up against Hillary Swank, she lost. So I am going to go with Hillary Swank. Even though I haven't seen the movie, I did see Eternal Sunshine and I don't think Kate Winslet put in an Academy Award performance.

ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

Hands down, Natalie Portman. I haven't seen the movie, and I don't care. Queen Amidala deserves it after her performance in Garden State. And did I mention that she looked cute even in a TMNT-looking helmet?

ANIMATED FEATURE FILM

The Incredibles. C'mon this is my field of expertise.

I think the problem with this year's Academy Awards is that I haven't seen many of the movies. In fact, I don't think I've seen more than three. But that doesn't stop me from making predictions...

As far as best picture, I can't make an accurate prediction. I guess I'll have to go with The Aviator since it brings together one of the most amazing casts we have seen since the box office failure, I heart Huckabees.

I wouldn't place any bets based on my predictions. Morons don't always make educated predictions when they have been drinking all day.

Speaking of Star Wars...

Anyone heard of this guy?



Anyone heard when the new Star Wars movie is coming out?

Well I can answer one of these questions, May 19.

But what the hell does this guy have to do with it? You guessed it, he has been waiting in line for the opening of the movie since the beginning of the year.

Must be nice.

-->link to his blog<--

Recently demoted...

Since the inception of Beyond the Matt, I have had high hopes for tons and tons of content contributed by both Kojak and Boosters. Unfortunately, Boosters has only taken up space with his name on the side of the blog. So in turn, he has been demoted and officially knocked off the contributor list.

This is no surprise because he didn't actually ask to be part of the blog. I can understand though because he is so busy right now being out of work. And I know there are other things going on in his life that demand way more attention...ain't that the truth?

Farewell Boosters you will be missed...or not.

Old School Project.

Dedicated to one of my favorite kids...Indiana Chun.

Last semester I wanted to create something not completely original by animating a sequence from Star Wars, using LEGO characters. You can imagine my disappointment when I was doing research for the characters and found that a new video game was in production that did exactly that.

Although there was no information besides one screenshot for the game, I decided to change my focus and create Indiana Jones...as a LEGO.

Today, I actually noticed that EIDOS put out a small trailer for the game and is located here. Trust me, watch it and it won't disappoint.

Not to get too geeky on you guys, but this is an emerging trend for budding film makers. The process is called Machinima. Basically it uses a video game and it's characters to create short movies. Watch the clip, you'll see.

She dooes't look too happy...but she is!!!

In case you were all wondering, this is how we made the Save the Date cards. We purchased a small silk screening machine, called "Print Gocco" and after creating the screen, we added color and stamped. That's it.

School is starting to pay off...

You know, I have to admit that I was pretty discouraged when school started last year. I was severely behing the level of a lot of the other students and I worked constantly with much frustration trying to learn Maya (3D modeling and animation software).

This is my first attempt at modeling a human head. Well this is the first draft anyway. Eventually it will look like Ginny, but for now I am happy that it's a recognizable human.

New Feature!!

What do you know, with all of my free time I have decided to add a new feature to the blog.

If you are too lazy to sign up for a username and post to the blog, feel free to rant and rave in the shoutbox (lower right corner). It's good for a quip or two even if all you can muster is, "Get the LED out - discuss."

courtesy of

Guava Chiffon Cake

Have you ever wondered what a little piece of heaven tastes like? It's light as a feather, and practically melts on your tongue. Guava Chiffon cake from Aki's bakery in San Jose will keep you coming back for more. Don't ask me how to get there though...Kojak and I got lost twice.

Oh yeah, and by the way, "Ginny Rules!!"

Close Encounters of the New Balance Kind

Not only do they have matching shoes, their close encounter this night ended with their sneakers beginning to glow. And it soon followed with them both flying away into the night sky.

"Honey, I feel as if I'm floating."

The Adventures of Indiana Chun

Sometimes it is necessary to feed a child, but if there are snacks lying around in a bowl on the ground...why bother?

Fresh, cool water. Crunchy delicate morsels of bland protein and empty calories. YUM.