Welcome to the New Allegro Digital! Make sure you update your RSS feeds! I was a little later than expected with bringing this new layout live, but I’m pleased with how it is working. In my last post I mentioned that I had gotten a flickr account up and running, but now I’ve got a better connection between that account and this site so that I can automatically update images in the gallery as I update flickr. Things aren’t so automatic with the video section, however I do intend to update regularly as I’ve currently got a backlog that I want to process and add each week. I’ve just added four more videos to the VFX reference page in the Multimedia section. This is a section where I hope to share some random video that I capture while out and about. There isn’t much from a narrative point of view in this footage, but rather I want it to be a library of live action footage that will help visual effects artists figure out effects that they may be working on.
A new year always seems a time for reflecting and looking forward, so to the side you’ll see my new list of goals for the year. Last year I met the majority of my goals. It was a blast getting back on stage and doing some live music again. It’s something I want to keep doing when I get the chance, and while I fell short of my musical goals last year; I think that it’s worth trying to be a bit more practical about it this year and rather than setting out to record x number songs to focus on improving in general.
Participating in a Competitive Tournament for Left 4 Dead 2 was also a fun experience. Team Awesome (my team) ended up losing to the team that won 3rd place, unfortunately partially due to having only 3 teammates present for the match, but also largely due to the fact that you have to play these games an insane number of hours to know all the ins and outs required in competitive play. I still love L4D, and of course all games in general, but I think I’ll stay out of competitive gaming in the future. It’s just so much of a time sucker and can feel more like a chore than a game.
Speaking of gaming, the downside to being a consumer I guess is the tendency to buy things. I sometimes find a game I want and buy it because it’s on sale though no time to play it. By the time I do get time, it isn’t necessarily my first choice to play. And so I have built up a small collection of games that I’ve either never played or have only just barely played. Assassin’s Creed, Drake’s Fortune, Dragon Quest V, Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles, Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess, and Final Fantasy VII Dirge of Cerberus are all games that fit into that category. I decided to make my way through these games last year, but after participating in the L4D2 competition, I also tried to just have fun and play games that I was in the mood to play rather than just forcing my way through games because I felt obliged to. Loved all these games by the way, but once I accomplished the final goal in my list by moving to Australia, it seemed that my options for completing my collection of games were suddenly limited. I got part of the way through Twilight Princess, but made the decision to leave all my video game systems in Canada when I moved and so have not gone though TP, or the two Final Fantasy games on the list. Some other games that I ended up playing (and loving) last year include Scott Pilgrim and Megaman 10 on PS3, and thanks to my laptop finally beating River City Ransom and Act Raiser. But I’ll have to wait until I’m back in Canada before I can touch my GameCube or PS2 again or finish my munny. I must say, I’m somewhat partial to the lack of clutter now that I have fewer possessions with me.
I did get the Wheel of Time re-read done though in time to start and finish The Gathering Storm before my move, and have picked up Towers of Midnight and read that here too. I thoroughly enjoy this series and kudos to Brandon Sanderson for picking up quite excellently where the late Robert Jordan left off.
I did end up making a triptych though and a bit of other printed work late last year. For those interested, I can have prints of any of the photos in the gallery made and shipped internationally. The price is largely dependent on the size however, so if you’re interested in having a print, hit me up and we can work out the details. The ones that you see in this triptych for example are 12″(~30cm) by 18″ (~46cm) each and start at $150 US per print for canvas prints.