Chairs

I had to go into the office yesterday, and there was all sorts of chaos because the inside was being re-painted, and the carpet was being replaced... which meant that all these refugee chairs were all over the building. We already seem to have a surplus of chairs what with a lot of the staff working from home, but it just all seemed especially ridiculous. Hence this project.

#SitOnSomethingOld

Throwback Thursday Post: That Time I Was a Silent Film Vampire (9/18/2013)

So, I also wanted to post some of my projects that just weren't very good. This one wasn't very good. I rushed this one. It was a fun idea, and I may revisit it again if only for that lowercase "t" gag.

Also, look ma, I've lost weight!

Jack Tries to Date Dora's Mother

This is the last episode of the Jack Meets Children's Characters trilogy. After meeting Star from The Goodnight Show and the Blue Wiggle while trying to take Nina and Emma Wiggle on dates, we've come to that time I tried to take out Mami, the mother of Dora the Explorer. (In my world, Mami and Papi divorced.)

Quick thoughts, 1. I kinda let work seep into this one. 2. Swiper is a fox. I thought he was a raccoon because raccoons wear masks... I feel dumb. I already recorded the dialogue, and I didn't want to go back and redo it. 3. I took German in middle school, high school, and college, so there isn't much Dora-Spanish... and the Dora-Spanish I have is all from google. Apologies if I screwed that up.

Otherwise... yall... the first minute might be the funniest/dumbest thing I've ever done.

Throwback Thursday Post: The Last Hairless Dragon (2014)

Alright, I've been distracted lately, but new stuff is coming. New stuff including what will be a sequel to one of my favorite things: The Last Hairless Dragon.

Well, of course I made a video. I call it "The Last Hairless Dragon."
Posted by Jack Batongbakal on Saturday, November 15, 2014

America!

1. Five Below has a desktop drum set for $5. (That place is rad.)2. This is my first drum cover!
Posted by Jack Batongbakal on Thursday, November 27, 2014

Throwback Thursday Post: Terrible Song from My Youth - "Blue"

(Originally posted on 4/10/2011.) One of the columns or articles I wrote about when me and Lauren had a blog was the "Terrible Song from My Youth." I really liked writing those, but I ran out of comically terrible songs pretty quickly. I also got bored just writing about them, so I decided to do a video review... and that's why we have this... This was dumb and prolly a minute or two too-long... and my German sucks now... but it was fun. The sequence from 3:52 to 4:10 may be my favorite thing I've ever done in a stupid video. That's movie magic right there. 

Jack Meets Emma Wiggle's Roommate

First, apologies to the Wiggles. I'm sure they're really awesome people. They bring smiles to kids. That's good. And f*cking "Hot Potato" is insanely catchy... Sorry especially to Anthony Wiggle for making him sound like Buffalo Bill from Silence of the Lambs. I can kind of do the Australian accent, but the voice modulation thingy just makes things sound weird.

The original idea was just to walk in and have to deal with three dude-roommates who were really odd. That script was dumb and didn't go anywhere. And I didn't really know what the story with this would be until I did some "research" and found out that Emma (the hot Wiggle) is engaged to Lachy (the purple Wiggle) in real life. Congrats, you two.

Not sure if I'm gonna continue the Jack Meets a Children's Character's Roommate series, but if I do, I have a fun idea.

Happy Birthday. Lauren!

Today is my friend Lauren's birthday. I have known Lauren since 2011. We met working a really shitty night shift together, and we first bonded over LOST, Jack White, and Bon Iver.

Not gonna get too sappy with this, but I will say that she's one of the best people I know. I've never had a friend as kind, endlessly-supportive, welcoming, and fun. Two of my favorite Lomo memories involved being covered in fake blood at the Long Center and visiting a supposedly haunted catfish restaurant in Waxahachie... Both of those could be the plots of Scooby Doo episodes... Lauren is the Daphne to my Scooby Doo.

Once upon a time, Lauren and I tried our hands at an entertainment blog  It could have been better if we knew what we were doing and really, really tried... but it still had some fun things. The following was and will always be my favorite thing we did with that site: The Promos. Happy birthday, kiddo.

And our self-indulgent blooper reel.

Worthy

Thunderstorm + Ben Franklin costume + Mjolnir, the hammer of Thor + a Very Slow Day at Work.

Jack Meets Nina's Roommate

I have three nieces, so I have to occasionally watch some really weird TV... But I've noticed that some of the ladies on these kids' shows are pretty darn foxy. Like Nina from The Goodnight Show. 

I don't know much about this show, but she and this star-shaped puppet pillow thing are on at the end of the night. And it's weird. Especially on mute...

This video is what it would be like to pick up one of these ladies for a first date and have that always-awkward conversation with her costar/roommate.

I think the next episode of this will be me picking up the red-headed wiggle and meeting her roommates...

2010: The Adventures of Captain America in my Office Building

Nobody saw this little series, but it might be my favorite thing I've ever done. In 2010, I worked shitty hours. I worked from 6:00pm-2:30am. And though they were shitty hours, I got to do a lot of fun things while at work.

The following is a project I did back then because I had a lot of free time and a lot of Happy Meal Toys. I'm really proud of this because I felt like a writer and director. As stupid as it is, I felt like I really was creating something. Lotta fun.

Quick guide:
Episode 1 was just silly and simple. Just playing around. I didn't think I'd do more.

Jack Batongbakal's Captain America at My Office Building
So, ya know how, at work, I can be crazy efficient and productive and yet find the time to do something... insane? Well...
Posted by Jack Batongbakal on Friday, August 20, 2010

Episode 2 was because I got bored and had some new (and I thought) fun ideas. I still look back fondly on this one.

Episode 2: Captain America Has A Magic Show!
Episode 2 of my ongoing battle with workplace sanity featuring the Music of Europe, Carl Orff and David Bowie...I was told that it is a quick 8 minutes.
Posted by Jack Batongbakal on Saturday, August 28, 2010

Episode 3 was because Episode 2 was ROUNDLY ignored, and it bothered me. It seriously was kinda disheartening, so I reflected that with Cap's depression.

Episode 3: Captain America vs. The Great Depression
Watch Captain America battle his inner demons as the evil MacDonald's Happy Meal Toys prepare to strike back.Yeah, so no one seemed to like the second episode (which is insane!), and that's actually where I got the idea for this one... and this one isn't very funny, but it should set up an epic finale......that no one's gonna watch.
Posted by Jack Batongbakal on Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Episode 4 was my epic, thrilling conclusion and homage to Star Wars. It was the most polished I think, and I got to fit in Kat and an unborn Laney for a cameo. A part of me wants to do at least one more or a Christmas special... but I threw away most of them.

Episode 4: Return of the Jedi
Holy crap, it finally uploaded!?! I've been trying for f'ing three weeks!Like a lot of the projects I actually manage finishing, this isn't as good as the original idea... and yet it's finished, and I'm happy with the finished product. This is... not funny, really. It's silly... It's kinda like a lame comic book movie with a bunch of Star Wars references that I hope my fellow nerds will appreciate... It finishes the story, and I like finished stories. I urge you to watch it if only for the awesome cameo by my sister.
Posted by Jack Batongbakal on Wednesday, October 13, 2010