Howefitz Blog

Fired up and ready to go!

So. I had the pleasure of taking Kat to the Denver airport yesterday, where she began her trek to Australia! She was pretty nervous, though if she knew I told you my life would be over, so keep it on the DL, OK?

In honor of this great opportunity for her, and a flimsy attempt at saying I’m doing ‘research’ for my upcoming webcomic, Howefitz Sequential, here is a list of the top five Australian cartoon characters:

5. Felix the Cat

Felix, Inky, and Winky in 'April Maze'. image via Wikipedia Commons

Since I was a little boy, I’ve wanted to make cartoons. The dream has taken many forms, from animation to comic books. I look at my children today, and I don’t want them to see a man who didn’t accomplish his dreams.

I’ve already detailed here how I’m putting more effort into developing a webcomic based on the very family I hope to make proud, so I hope it will not come as a surprise that my blogging will become less frequent as I focus on my webcomic.

The past couple weeks were crazy. (Aren’t they all?) But I did manage to find a little time to sit with the family in front of the magic picture box and catch up on some recent family entertainment. I realize that these reviews are not timely, and everyone saw these films before I did. But that’s not going to stop me from trying to have a conversation about them now…

Where The Wild Things Are

Who wouldn't want to watch this movie?

I have already reviewed Batman: The Brave and the Bold, but at that time, I had only seen one episode. That was over a year ago, and as I’ve continued to watch the show, I’ve become more enthralled with it’s family atmosphere. Not just in the ‘no one cusses or makes a lot of innuendos’ sort of family atmosphere, but a genuine sense of family among the characters.

I can’t remember a time when I couldn’t hum themes from Sergei Prokofiev‘s ‘Peter and the Wolf‘. I would imagine that most children wouldn’t know what an oboe is without it!

I remember as a kid listening to Patrick Stewart narrate it from a cassette I found at the library. Of course, I saw the Disney version more times than I can count, and who can forget the use of the wolf’s theme in the holiday classic ‘A Christmas Story‘?

When I was still living with my parents, I developed a yearly Thanksgiving tradition. I would set the alarm and get up early so that I could watch the entire original Star Wars trilogy before my dad got up and wanted the T.V. for football. Why Star Wars? Because this was before the prequels, so Star Wars still ruled. I’m still not into football, and Star Wars doesn’t have the same luster it once did, so I decided to compile a list of adult-friendly kids’ movies that you can enjoy with your kids this holiday season, or, if you are in to football, here’s some flicks that will distract your kids in another room while you enjoy the game(s).

I have been a fan of Kyle Baker‘s for a while now. Actually, it’s been a decade. I remember seeing a lot of Y2K-themed books in 1999, but ‘I Die at Midnight’ popped from the shelf. It was how I ‘found’ Kyle Baker. The artwork looked more like animation cels than a comic book. And the story of a man who wants to end it all after getting dumped must have struck a chord in my 21 year old heart. The subsequent return of the girlfriend with our hero attempting to vomit the pills he just overdosed on, well, pure comic genius! It is the only Y2K book that I will still pick up and read and enjoy. (You can read the entire graphic novel for free at kylebaker.com!)

Let's go, Squaddies!

Before my wife and I started having kids, I imagined some day in the distant future, bouncing my son or daughter (or both!) on my knee and trying to figure out how to introduce them to the wonderful comic book characters I knew as a child. The movies are too adult and the cartoons I watched as a kid are just plain old.

I started buying toys. Then, there was a line from Marvel called ‘Spiderman and Friends‘. These featured little kid versions of my favorite Marvel heroes. I snatched up everything from teethers to board books to action figures and vehicles, anticipating the demise of the current Super Hero trend.

'Aaah, freak out!' Don't let this happen to you!

I took vacation this week and did a lot of house hunting. Right now we’re in a 2 bedroom apartment, which with the approaching birth of my son, will be waaaay too cramped for a family of five! So we’ve been looking for something a little bigger.

We found a townhome that I immediately fell in love with. Nice grassy back yard, another nice grassy area we can play in out front. (with no mowing by me, FTW!) It’s located on a quiet cul-de-sac, so no crazy drivers. 3 bed, 3 bath, fireplace, and a garage. Perfect. The two smaller rooms even already had a pink shade on the window in one and a blue shade in the other!

Every once in a while, a movie comes along, beats you over the head and changes your life.

I personally have had a few movie moments like that. Some of those were in animated films. But I don’t think any of them affected me quite like Disney/Pixar’s ‘Up‘.

I’ve been a Pixar fan since practically the beginning of the studio, when I saw their short ‘Luxo, Jr.‘ in a presentation called ‘Beyond the Mind’s Eye‘ on PBS. My first post on this blog was ‘Wall-E Restored My Faith In Pixar‘. Needless to say I was excited about ‘Up’, I just didn’t realize how excited I should be.