Thursday, August 04, 2005

Sheila, and?

Two good friends of mine are script writers. One is currently working on a horror flick and Dave is working on something else. Many of you are writers as well. Some of you are really, really good too.

Some of you are artists. But with any artistic skills, like writing, music, drawing, painting, etc., it's hard to make a living doing that exclusively. You either need superb marketing skills or a lot of luck to get rich off of it in your lifetime.

That doesn't mean you shouldn't pursue it. My advice is to keep the day job and continue working on your projects on the side. Persistence is key, because with persistence, you will build a market for your projects.

As for me, I'm a fanboy. I love reading people's works. I buy art all the time from local galleries. I still support local bands. And I love animatronics.

I'm currently working on a baby dragon. I left its skeleton in Northern California though, so don't expect it to get done any time soon. I'm going to buy at least two mermaids (probably three) and several pirates as well. Dave suggested a name, Sheila, for one of the mermaids. I like that so I'm definitely naming one of them Sheila. But what to name the others?

So, here's my question to you. If you had an animatronic mermaid chillin' in your living room, what would you name it? Oh, just one more thing. In case you are wondering, yes, animatronics are handy when the zombies come. Zombies are attracted to both movement and smell. If a zombie somehow manages to get inside your house, the animatronic will momentarily distract him. That should give you enough time to get a good head shot off.

20 Comments:

Blogger Jason said...

"Honey." Oh, I don't know!

Yeah, I wouldn't be enjoying my current lifestyle on the meager returns of my writing, unless you count technical writing, which is a big part of my job. I keep wheeling and dealing trying to earn that WGA card in the meantime. Have your friends had much luck?

8/04/2005 9:32 AM  
Blogger Joe said...

If you're in the bay area during Halloween, you gotta check out my buddy's animatronic display. It's insane. Zombies galore.

http://www.deviousconcoctions.com/

8/04/2005 9:47 AM  
Blogger Shawn said...

You forgot to clarify what nationality the mermaids are... I would personally want to have a French mermaid. Spanish mermaids are definitely hotter, but they have those feisty tempers...

8/04/2005 10:32 AM  
Blogger Sadie Lou said...

Here are some fantasy names I like. To me, mermaids should have evil, watery, beautiful, Celtic/Gaelic names:
Sabina
Mira
Ula--means "jewel of the sea"
Nora--means "pearl"

8/04/2005 10:54 AM  
Blogger The Zombieslayer said...

Jason - No. I knew one screenwriter that has had a few tv programs published, but went back to software because he was so sick of dealing with Hollywood crap. My other friends are writing their first screenplays though.

Joe - You know, I'll probably go to the Bay Area for Halloween. If so, I'll let you know in advance and maybe we could hook up.

Eddie - welcome. Glad I could make you laugh.

Shawn - Well, considering the pirates are Caribbean (mixture of white, black, and Carib Indian), the names are open to anything. You'd want them more sea related of course.

Sadie - To me, mermaids should have evil, watery, beautiful, Celtic/Gaelic names

Oh yes, you know the legends. Of those, I really like Ula.

Melanie - Heh. You know, Melanie's not a bad name for a mermaid. Would Melanie get along with Sheila though or will I have to keep them separate?

8/04/2005 11:45 AM  
Blogger Thomcat said...

Marsha - if she lived near the shore, or Patty.
Isabella is a nice name i think.
Ariel probably has a disney patent on it, so forget that name.
Salina, maybe ?

8/04/2005 11:50 AM  
Blogger aNON said...

Sheila and Constance, if you want them to be equal in their powers.

If you want one to be MORE powerful than the other ... then you've gotta name them:

Sheila and Aphrodité-727B

8/04/2005 11:55 AM  
Blogger begins with v said...

I think you should name her Lolita

8/04/2005 12:49 PM  
Blogger Notta Wallflower said...

Alanna is Gaelic for "beautiful". I personally love that name. Aoife (pronounced eee-fee) means "goddess" or "radiant". Derry means "redhead". I'll probably regret telling you this, but I did a search on Gaelic names because I used to play this MMORPG set in the days of old. I was very into picking Gaelic/Irish names for my characters. However, my favorite character's name, Tammsen, I got from out of a trashy novel I read when I was a teenager. She was the madame of a brothel and very fiery and spirited. :-P

8/04/2005 1:24 PM  
Blogger The Zombieslayer said...

Jen - I played RPGs in my teens in between football and chasing girls. There's definitely nothing to be ashamed of. In fact, I think they're great at developing creativity. Funny thing is that there's a stereotype of the RPG geek. It doesn't always apply. Some of the guys I played with were in the football team. And I've lost touch with most of them but I wouldn't be surprised if one of them made it as a writer. I like Aoife by the way.

Slade - Doesn't Lolita have the connotation of a girl who seduces a full-grown man? It's a nice name, but it's been kind of ruined by poorly done soft-core porn. :(

Cultureshocked - I like Constance. Problem is, that's my nieces name and considering they're going to be quasi-erotic, my relatives might take that the wrong way. Aphrodité is a goddess though, so I'd have to consider whether one will be more powerful than the others or not.

Thomcat - Isabella I like. Disney better not own Ariel because that was a Hans Christian Anderson fairy tale. I really like the name Ariel.

8/04/2005 1:51 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I write song lyrics and poetry and I must say I haven't felt the need to quit my day job yet. lol If I never get recognised it'll be okay(not really), I just love the whole process of song creation.

Btw-I think your mermaid should be named LORELEI, I think that's how you spell it. I believe she was thought to lure sailors to their death on the Rhine River...I could be wrong. If not, you could name her ETHEL, and she would be called Ethel Mermaid. Ha! :)

8/04/2005 2:55 PM  
Blogger The Zombieslayer said...

Melanie - Depends on which models I'll be using. I'll be sending some of my drawings to the guy. We haven't decided which to use yet. At least one of them will though because my favorite model did.

The funny thing is, I was just telling my buddy Dave that they're based off parts of several women. I use my wife's arms and hands, while using the faces and bodies of other women, some live models, some parts from magazines. My wife won't let me use more of that of her as a model because she said an animatronic of her would creep her out.

Anonymous - Sorry, bro. I'm a PS & Nintendo-man.

Moni - Heh. I shouldn't laugh at your joke because that would expose my age. So...uh...who's Ethel? ;)

I never knew the story of Lorelei. I'll research that story. Thanks. I like the name too.

8/04/2005 3:06 PM  
Blogger Sadie Lou said...

I think it would be funny if you had these really fanciful names for two of the mermaids (Ula & Lorelei) and the one named Sheila. I don't know why, but that cracks me up.

8/04/2005 4:21 PM  
Blogger tshsmom said...

You really are a multi-talented man! Your project sounds so COOL! Is Jr. into animatronics too? Sounds like a great father/son project. I'll bet it gets a bit spendy though.
I say wait until she's finished to name her. She'll have taken on personality by then and the name will probably pop out at you.

8/04/2005 4:59 PM  
Blogger The Zombieslayer said...

Tshsmom - Oh no. I'm drawing it and that's it. I'm paying someone else to do the animatronic part of it.

I can do simple paper mache props. Yes, Junior helps. That kid has much more natural talent than I do. My "talent" is really hard work, nothing inate. I was doing stick figures up until a few years ago when I started buying all kinds of drawing books and doing the exercises in the books.

Sadie - Yeah, I guess that does kind of sound funny. It would be like studying Greek mythology and one of the gods was named "Jim."

Let's see, there's Zeus, Hera, Hermes, Poseidon, Jim.

8/04/2005 5:52 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

shirley. definitely shirley.

8/04/2005 6:52 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Whoever sold you the animatronic stuff lied to you. We go straight for the brain matter.

That's why when Zombies finally rule the earth, sadly, there will be a lot of pop stars, politicians, and reporters left.... Hey, if nukes can't get rid of them, what can we do????

Or is that cockroaches....

And do mermaids really have names we can pronounce? I mean, wouldn't it come out kinda squeaky in their native tongue? You know, like dolphins and stuff?

Hmm... How about "Squeaks"?

8/04/2005 9:35 PM  
Blogger The Zombieslayer said...

Heather - Flo? You serious? I could see Lucinda though. She'd be the full-figured mermaid, you know, the one who is metabolism challenged. Liberty? is she the one with red, white, and blue fins? I do like Jane though. It kind of flows with Sheila. They could be sisters.

Zombie - come on, you wouldn't stop and stare at my mermaids? They're gonna be hot! And no, they won't be wearing shells. My compound isn't Disneyland, know what I'm sayin' Z? What's wrong with you zombies? As for their names, yeah, I could see that.

Ann - Surely you can't be serious. "I am serious, and stop calling me Shirley."

Okay, I just had to say that. Sorry.

Sheila and Shirley. Hmmm...

8/04/2005 11:09 PM  
Blogger funny bunny said...

hey come by moi blog...!!

yippy! weekend!

8/05/2005 4:08 AM  
Blogger Izzy said...

Gwendolyn. I would absolutely name her Gwendolyn. If her hair was curly and blonde. Myself? I'm a brunette man...And her name, in which case, would be Lucinda.

8/06/2005 12:18 AM  

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