Fasten your seatbelt

I thought I'd share with you a drive across the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco to Sausalito. Please keep your hands and arms inside the coach at all times.

Trippin'

I'm on vacation this week. We had to head south for a little family business, so I decided to stop for a few days at my buddy's house. It's been fun watching marathon hours of football, dining out and staying up too late watching "guy films". Yesterday I spent the day touring San Francisco (my old stomping ground) and had a lovely lunch in Sausalito. We also went to the overlook above the Golden Gate Bridge for photo ops. (Posted pictures will follow once I get back home).

My wife flies in to join me today. We still have the rest of the week for our family visit in the Salinas-Monterey area. We'll try to mix in a little fun between family business errands. Then it's back home for more dummy-makin'.

Star crossed

Adding more animations to my conversion figures has been a goal of mine. I thought perhaps blinkers might be my next challenge, but I'm not quite ready for that. Even though I think I could make soft blinkers, I really don't like the looks of them. I prefer hardshell blinkers, but they're much more difficult to produce. They require more precision and planning than I'm ready for right now.

Crossing eyes seem more reachable, especially after fielding some ideas on how to do it. I requested information on an approach for crossing eyes using springs for eye posts, which is my preferred self-centering mechanism. Several great ideas were offered, but Mike Brose's technique (learned from Rick Price) seems elegantly simple and effective.

Mike suggested that I add a tiny "eye" (like a screen door eye) to the back and side of each eye ball. Attach a cord to each, suspend the cord over a brass and rod or plastic pulley apparatus and attach the cords to a lever on the control post. Since I use very flexible springs, the eyes will turn inward when the cord is tugged and spring back when released. The eyes don't have to move that much to make a convincing crossed-eyes effect.

Post-performance

The audience laughed in all the right places. They seemed to like the naughty jokes best. It was, after all, an all-adult crowd. My off-color humor isn't too off-color. More like "PG"-rated.

As I mentioned in the previous post, Chester garners instant acceptance for his adorable-ness. As I walked on stage with him in my arms, you could hear the audience audibly sigh with "oohs" and "ahhs" as if to say "Look at that cute little dog!" And when they hear the naughty jokes come from him, it makes for a comical contrast.

I prefer to keep it a secret from the audience that they're about to see a ventriloquist. I prefer not to have it revealed in the printed program and I ask the MC to introduce me by name, but not by trade. Though there are more ventriloquists in the world than the average person might expect, we're still a rarity. Being able to take the audience by surprise is an advantage in my favor. (And I need all the advantages I can get!).

Applause is a sweet sound. My next show is at the Sprague Theatre in Bandon, Oregon on November 8th.

Performance

It's been a long time, but I'm actually performing tonight. Me and my little dog Chester (a small Wrinkles soft puppet) will perform tonight before a crowd of 200 visiting Chamber of Commerce Ambassadors from all across Oregon. The venue is the Hales Center for the Performing Arts, a very nice modern theater at the local community college.

You may wonder why I use a soft puppet for my act when I make hard figures. Well, I'm the plumber with leaky pipes. I sell all the figures I make and thus far haven't kept one long enough to come up with an act. Besides, I love working with Chester. He's cute and seems to garner instant acceptance from audiences.

My biggest worry is my memory. Because I don't perform very often (and much of tonight's routine is written for this specific audience), I'm always concerned I won't remember my lines. (Of course, Chester ALWAYS remembers his lines).

After Chester and I carry on awhile, we sing a short song. Then he's carted offstage by a lovely stagehand and I sing a few songs on my own (with guitar).

Let's hope the crowd is likkered up enough to have fun, but not wild enough to heckle me.

Order up!

I'm offering four different versions of my conversion figures in my web store. My first order was for the "Andy" character, a red-haired, freckle-faced little guy with a split in his front teeth. I finished the figure this week and shipped him to his new home in Pennsylvania.

I was already working on a figure when the order was placed. I'd added larger ears and dimples. I asked my customer if they'd be interested in having the dimples and ears added to their "Andy", and they agreed. So the final result is pictured here.

Concerns over stress delayed the opening of a store for special orders, but so far I've been okay with it. I've been able to make progress on my Ebay figures, keep up with my "real job", attend to my duties as Chamber of Commerce president, take on two more community projects, AND still complete my special orders.

Of course, my dogs bark at me now because they think I'm a stranger.

Tale of the tape

Sometimes I get real excited about products I see that I THINK will improve the quality of my figures. I've been using blue painters tape (similar to masking tape) to quiet the contact between the brass rod and the brass loop on the eye synchronizer. I wrap the brass rod with a short length of tape. But I've been on the lookout for a plastic tape as a replacement. Well, I found some. It's actually plastic electrical tape that comes in several colors. So I used it to wrap the brass rod. And as they say, "the best laid plans". The texture of the plastic tape actually sticks to the contact point on the brass loop, which then makes the eyes stick in one position. Turns out the texture of the painters tape is much better suited for the purpose. No sticking!

So I AM sticking with the blue painters tape because I'm NOT sticking with the blue painters tape. (Who's on first?)

Second time around

Because the winner of "Riley's" first auction didn't pay (or even answer a single email... fume, fume, fume), the little fellow is back on the block. If you'd like to review his full story, please click on over to EBAY.

Faster than a speeding bullet

No, not really. But I'm going faster than I expected as I fulfill my first special order for a figure. I'm also able to complete a few tasks on the other figures I have under construction that will eventually be offered on Ebay.

Speaking of Ebay, I've run into my second deadbeat. The first refused to pay for an audiobook I auctioned last year. Not a lot of money was involved, but there was a lot of hassle. The second deadbeat involved a more substantial sum. The winner of the auction for "Riley" not only did not pay, the fellow wouldn't even answer an email. There was nothing but silence on the other end of the computer. Very frustrating and very disappointing. I just can't understand how some people can be so dishonorable.

On a happier note, "Jimmy" (pictured above right) will soon be rooting for "da Bears" as he makes his way to Chicago.

First order of business

Well, it took a couple of weeks, but I got my first special order for a vent figure. My customer ordered an "ANDY" character. He's the redhead in the photo. I advertise that it takes 4-6 weeks for construction and delivery, but I've already started a couple figures, either of which could become "ANDY". I'm pleased to get my first order. Some businesses frame the first dollar they receive and hang it on the wall. I'm not sure framing my first email order from Paypal will have the same effect.

A little love for Lovik

One of the cutest figure designs around is the Lovik line of little guys (and gals). I just purchased a used Lovik figure on Ebay. The fella looks like he's in need of some minor attention. Also, it appears that his only animations are the ball & socket neck and a moving mouth. I may upgrade the figure by adding self-centering eyes and raising eyebrows. He may need a new paint-job, too.

It's always interesting to examine the materials and methods of other vent-builders. It opens my mind to new approaches. Some I adopt, others I don't. But I'm always amazed and impressed by how many ways there are to build vent figures.

A little whippersnapper

"Jimmy" will make a wonderful partner for someone. He's cute, a little small for his age, and frankly rather precocious. His full story can be viewed on EBAY

The World Is A Stage

By request, here's the location of Jay Johnson's blog, The World Is A Stage: http://hellandhayes.blogspot.com Check it out. There's something funny going on there right now. (Be sure to read the "Comments").

I feel better now

Now that I have that diatribe off my chest (Mr. Superiority), I'll ask you the question I posed at the home improvement store. I'd like to get a recommendation for a brushable non-oil-based primer that will work on wood and accept acrylic paint. The store guy said that latex primer won't accept acrylic paint ( I seem to recall something about that in Mike Brose's book). For health reasons, I prefer to stay away from paints and primers that require turpentine for brush clean-up.

I'd like to use the primer on my wood eyeballs so that I can cut down on the number of coats of paint I currently apply. Any thoughts?