Good Morning, 1/15/09

We have a biter, repeat, we have a biter.

• Johnathan kept to chores and cried when we wouldn't let him learn how to clean the bathroom. I relented and showed him how to clean the sink and toilet. Tonight he'll do the floors and bathtub. I told him and gave him a short example, but he did the rest himself. I did have to scrub the toilet in one section he missed (I had him squirt the blue cleaning liquid around the bowl and scrub until the blue turned white - he missed a spot), but he did a good job cleaning AND he thought it was fun. This is glorious news!
• The boy had a much better basketball practice and was able to dribble a bit better as well as bounce pass a little better as well. His shots are getting closer and he actually made a basket. I think one or two more practices he'll be ready to play a game. Problem with that is there are two games in between those practices. We'll see if he makes it through the game on Sunday. He already told me that he isn't going if he feels sick, which I know is his way of saying he doesn't want to play the game.
• While at practice, Steph tried to screw Morgan's crib's "gate" so he couldn't climb out. She put both boys in Michael's crib and went into the basement to grab the 3" screws and heard a horrible scream from Michael. She ran upstairs and saw Morgan opening his mouth and clamping down on Michael's arm. Morgan got into a little trouble. Michael has six welts, perfect little sets of Morgan's dental imprints around his body - arm, thigh, calf, nipple. . . Today you can still see the imprints but the previously red marks are now black and blue. Damn kids.
• Figuring out cheaper ways to produce higher quality video with my less-than-professional video equipment. All of the tips and tricks I found were ones I already knew about, but I have been squirreling away little bits and pieces of makeshift equipment for two years, so I am almost set. I did find a neat resource on how to build a steadicam apparatus with a few pipes, weight, and some fittings. I am pretty sure I can do that, as well as make a crane. The next short doesn't really need either the crane or the steadicam, so they can wait. The script I'm working on is going through a major change as I had a revelation on character and plot. It's a typical story, though, for me. Something that seems to be one thing but is actually some sort of horror. Will death be involved? Does the Pope shit in a Catholic toilet?
• This next short I do intend on taking to festivals, so it has to be as perfect as I can get under $40. (I know, the budget went up from last post!). I am not counting the gracious sponsorships from Mr. Thompson and Mr. Honachefsky, but they are going toward another project - that is, I spent the money on weaponry.
• Why is my dog barking?
• I got very little sleep thanks to Morgan who awoke at 11 PM screaming in pain and again at 3:30 AM. I took him to my chair and sat with him for hours until he collapsed. I think I passed out first, though. It wasn't a night of much sleep, though. The nanny called in sick today, which meant I had to cancel the teaching job I had for today. I didn't feel like dealing with the germs and attitude anyway. I get enough of that from my wife and boys.

Soylent White is made from paper!