Good-bye 2006, hello 2007!

NEWS:
I just signed a contract to score an upcoming video game. It’ll be my first time composing the score for a game, so I’m really looking forward to it.

…

The legendary demo group Alcatraz contacted me recently, asking me if I wanted to join them (they’re aiming to have a rebirth at Breakpoint 2007. Their last release was in 1995). I’ve known about the demo scene for a while now, and I’ve always admired their creative approach to programming, graphics, music..etc. The limited footprint of their executable files always had me in awe, and I can totally see how the demo scene had influenced various developments in the mainstream video game industry. So, I said yes, and I look forward to contributing to the Alcatraz group.

…

Here are some BJD (Ball Jointed Dolls) photography I did during a New Years party (click on pics to see the whole set):

Kitty Cat Diary updated:

WEBLOG:
New Years Eve is also my birthday (I turned 34), which can suck for some, because it’s so close to Christmas and you get only one present, and on your birthday the whole world is celebrating New Years–your birthday is the last thing on their minds. Luckily for me, I never celebrate anything, because I don’t believe in the whole concept of showing you give a shit on a specific day of the year–you should care all the time. Since meeting me, Elena’s adopted the same philosophy, so we never go out of our way to celebrate Valentines, Christmas, New Years, Birthdays..etc. We make an effort to be loving and understanding to each other everyday, and we spoil each other rotten without needing any excuse to do so.

None of this means we’d refuse other people’s invitation to festive get-togethers though. So when my bud Emory invited us to his New Years thing, we happily said yes. Here are some photos I took that night (click on pics to see the whole set):

…

My brother Dennis got me a couple of books I’ve been wanting for my birthday–the Sonar 6 Power! book and Cakewalk Synthesizers book. I love it when I get new bathroom reading material. He also took us out to dinner–you can see the photos Elena took in her blog entry.

Speaking of bathroom reading material, I had finished reading two books I highly enjoyed recently–The Zombie Survival Guide and Blade Runner/Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?. The zombie book is right up my alley since I’m a huge zombie fan–now I know some of my past zombie evading strategies were shaky at best. The Blade Runner book (I hate calling it that, because the real title is “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?” and should remain so, no matter how popular the movie adaptation becomes) was awesome because I never knew the film version left out so many essential elements. The two are so different in tone and approach that I think of them as two very different entities. It’s hard to say which I enjoyed more, since I really loved both.

…

So, what am I looking forward to in this new year? First, we need to move out of our temporary place and find a decent place that we can call home. Then, I want to complete the missing pieces of my home recording studio so I can be more productive music-wise. I also need to secure a steady stream of clients for my freelance work, or get a full-time job instead (I never got that call from Gentle Giant Studios to ask me to move down to Burbank–no one knows why the CEO never gave the nod to the managers–not even the managers). I want to take my photography up to the next level and shoot some magazine cover-worthy sessions. I need to help Elena get over her English learning difficulties and also help her get her driver’s license. We both need to get in shape–we’re soft and flabby right now, and we hate it. Man, that’s a lot already. Let’s see how much of it we can accomplish this year.