The Color Rush

**** Potential Spoilers - Read with Caution! *****

I'm astounded that the brunt of the reviews i've read for SPEED RACER all pretty much complain about the over-saturated world and the nauseating camera work. What about the story? The characters perhaps? Anybody care about that?

It seems to me that what most people care about (including so called movie reviewers) are visuals. To them this tells the whole story. Never mind the swiss-cheese plots, weak dialogue and stupid characters. At the center of any movie should be a story that resonates with the audience. Call it heart or a spine, but this is what makes you believe in what you are seeing regardless of whether it is fantastic or improbable. Remember that you've already made a gigantic leap of faith by being in a darkened room with a bunch of strangers, watching pure make-believe.

I'll preface everything by saying that I really enjoyed Speed Racer. The Wachowski Brothers deserve credit for creating such a unique and memorable world and yes it is filled with color and lots of it. In one scene inside the Racer home, the color of the walls harmoniously complement the color of each characters' outfits as the camera cut to them. For those who think "how hard could that be? Just throw a bunch of colors together!" It takes a lot of planning and a lot of thought to make palettes work together and I know from experience that they spent a good amount of time making sure your eyes engaged the right part of the screen.

What I really liked about this movie is the story. I loved that despite all the fast-paced racing scenes and cartoony quips is a simple story centered around a family. You may ask what is original about this? Absolutely nothing. But the Wachowski's set out to make a movie about a family for families to enjoy. The knew they where not making The Matrix here and I applaud them for staying true to their vision. The family dynamic is a universal theme and thus, stories about them will keep re-appearing in movies forever.

And speaking of staying true, I really loved the fact that the movie doesn't stray from being what it really is: A Cartoon. At no point does it try and cross into our side of reality to get some validation. It is a self-contained world with it's own rules and it's own physics.

The plot is simple. Speed Racer must make a monumental choice. One essentially sells his soul to the devil but sets his family up for life while the other would kill his career and put a giant bullseye on his back. (like the one I recently acquired by saying Iron Man had a weak plot) At the same time, the naive Speed is eternally haunted by the death of his older brother who like him was an accomplished racer but lost his life by making seemingly bad judgements. (figuratively and literally) Could he end up like him? Speed has a good relationship with his family whose life has been spent operating their own independent racing team. But another choice he must make is whether to abandon tradition or to sell out. Yet another one of those universal conundrums that appear in films time and again.

I guess the point I am trying to make is that it is easy to watch a movie and say that "it's the same, tired story i've seen so many times. Why couldn't they have come up with something else?" Well it's all in the telling my friends. A great storyteller will take the mundane and make it a masterpiece. A weak one will take a great story and make it underwhelming.

The Wachowski's have never been known to write convincing dialogue and they certainly didn't do it here in Speed Racer. They aren't the best at being concise with their narrative either and here they could have certainly trimmed 20 minutes from the movie. Then there's the blinding and disorienting racing footage that people are complaining about. These are the same people that didn't have a problem watching the Bourne movies as well as that largely incoherent mess called Cloverfield. Oh and there's Transformers as well. There's some logic issues in the film as well but nothing so large as to disengage you from watching. (Like why they really needed a new car for the final race when they already had one that seems to work fine)

What they did do is keep things simple story-wise. Wrapped in the intricate corporate intrigue is a family trying to deal with adversity. (while having fun in the process) The Wachowski's even managed a little taste of the bittersweet in the end. Something for you to ponder while your eyes adjusted back to seeing the real world.

Gesture Class 3

Here's a new group of sketches from Monday's GESTURE DRAWING CLASS. As usual I had my Modbook in tow loaded with the new Autodesk Sketchbook Pro 2009. (Click HERE for my complete review on Modbook Junction) These where all done predominantly on 4B pencil.

Calling Mr. Spock....

The release of IRON MAN this weekend meant the beginning of another crazy summer at the movies. Naturally I had to geek out and see it on it's opening weekend like most of you and for the first time, I looked forward to taking my soon to be 9 year old son along to experience it all. His journey to the "Nerd-side" has begun. (It actually started last year with the release of Transformers)

So what about this much hyped flick? Was Robert Downey Jr. the right man to play Tony Stark? The answer is a resounding YES.

.... but wait. I wouldn't be posting this review if I didn't have my gripes about it right? Like i've mentioned before in previous reviews, the true benchmark of any film is character and storytelling. As an audience we've come to expect state-of-the-art special effects and art direction from films these days but we all know that story is king.

**** READ NO FURTHER IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE MOVIE!! ******

The problems I have with IRON MAN are mainly in the plot/logic departnent. These rather surprising plot holes diminish a fine performance by Downey Jr. along with the really well staged and well executed action scenes. Again, there was nothing wrong with the visuals at all and it's well worth the price of admission. But if your audience goes "huh?" in the middle of your movie, it's a killer. Here are the glaring quandaries that took me out right out of the film:

1. An enibriated Tony goes to Afghanistan to demo the latest Stark Industries superweapon called the Jericho. (it makes parking lots out of mountains) On their way back to base his convoy is wiped out and a half-dead Tony is taken prisoner. He comes to and finds out that an electromagnetic plate has been surgically implanted on his chest to keep in-operable, wayward shrapnel from entering his heart. A fellow prisoner greets him and introduces himself as the man who saved his life. He is not an american but someone local. He is well-dressed, urbane and soft-spoken. Someone somebody could trust? Maybe? Maybe not? Soon their captors make it known that they want Tony to build them their own version of Jericho so they can use it to fight the Americans as well as terrorize their own people. Afterwards they claim that they will set Tony and his friend free. Something they both believe will not happen, even if Tony builds the weapon. So Tony decides to defy his captors and build something else. Something they can use to bust out of captivity. Sounds pretty simple right? I'm buying it so far. What should be in your mind right now if you where Tony?

a) Can I trust this guy who can speak arabic and english who claims to have a family he hopes to come back to? Why is he here in the first place? (Other than maybe they forced
him to keep me alive)

b) How can I go on tricking them that I am building them the Jericho, something they know that looks like a missle yet build a suit of armor that will help bail me out of here?

You would probably say, if this guy even double crosses me i'll beat him with a tire iron and, I'll use one of the missle casings and pretend I am working on it while I build my suit just off the security camera's view/incognito. Very logical right? But guess what? Tony not only trusts the guy one-hundred percent, he OPENLY draws up schematics and builds the suit for everyone to see. All the while it's inter-cut that the Afghans are continually checking in on their progress and convincing themselves that they are "working on it". Even Doctor Emmet Brown from Back to the Future built a bomb made up of pinball machine parts to confuse the terrorists in that movie.

So Tony gives the Afghans a list of stuff he will need to build them their missle. Most of the parts are already there when Tony realizes that these guys have somehow gotten a hold of all of his company's neatest WMD's.

Then it's the"building" montage as Stark and friend form sheet metal and weld parts and such including the iconic iron face-plate. The uber Afghan leader is finally fed up with delays and personally pays them a visit. He threatens to kill Tony's new friend but Tony says he needs him to finish the missle. (Uber Afghan even looks at the schematics which clearly reads as a suit and not a missle) Uber-leader gives them 24 hours or they're dead. So they hustle up, get Tony suited and he goes on to kicks ass and escapes. His friend, in a heroic gesture gives up his own life to buy Tony some time by engaging the insurgents while the iron suit charged up. In a massive fireball, Tony launches himself away from the terrorist camp and lands in a scrap heap a few miles away. He wanders the desert but is soon rescued by American troops.

HUH? First of all his friend was exactly who he said he was. Just another prisoner. In the throws of death he tells Tony that his family had already been murdered and he had nothing to live for. Now he can join them in the afterlife. I kept waiting for this guy to betray him or something but he doesn't. NO ONE IS EXACTLY WHO THEY SAY THEY ARE!! If so then we can pack it in and call it a day folks.

2. Tony upon returning to civilization decides his company can no longer make weapons because they kill people. Obadiah Stane, the man who helps stark run his company does his best to diffuse the situation. He is leads us to believe he's nicey-nice but he turns out to be the guy that wants Tony out of the picture. Thank goodness finally someone who is not who they say they are! Obadiah not only wants Tony dead (he ordered the ambush on his convoy) but he's also "dealing under the table" by selling weapons to those same Afghan terrorrists who kill innocent people.

HUH? Why all this elaborate mumbo jumbo? Obadiah is a powerful man himself and could have rubbed Tony out easily. He lives fast and drives fast cars? Stage an accident or something?... And why where the same people that Obadiah sold weapons to want Stark to build them their own personal Jericho?? Obadiah was already supplying them with WMD's, why not just give them the Jericho (which by the way, they end up miraculously acquiring in the middle of the movie) in the first place??? My head hurts.

On top of that, the afghans recover the remains of the original iron suit in the desert (where Tony and the military decide to just leave there for no apparent reason) so Obadiah can conveniently make his own IRON MONGER suit.

There are more incredible plot holes but I really don't want this post to go longer than it already has. Despite these issues, IRON MAN is a really fun movie and I don't think there's an actor out there than could have played Tony than Robert Downey Jr. It's just too bad they couldn't find time to polish their story.

So it goes for Iron Man. Bring on the sequels. But now my money is on SPEED RACER.

A girl and her dog

Yesterday evening I attended the premiere party for the new animated series The Mighty B! at Nickelodeon Animation Studios in Burbank. It was great to see so many familiar faces especially the incredibly talented crew of the newest "NickToon".

The campfire themed party was a huge success and was capped with a private screening of two choice episodes from the show. It was a gratifying experience to be part of this amazing project and to work with some of the best people in the business.

My extreme gratitude to show creators Erik Weise, Cynthia True and Amy Poehler for being such cool people and for letting me indulge my ideas and have fun. This show is truly a rare synergy of writing, art direction and animation and goes down as one of the best shows I've worked on.

My personal thanks go to associate producer Monique Beatty and her amazing production crew and to Nick's VP and GM Mark Taylor for his tremendous encouragement and support. Thanks as well to the talented and hard-working storyboard crew including Chuck Klein, Sherm Cohen, Octavio Rodriguez, Fred Gonzales, Eddie Trigueros, Chris Graham, Lynne Naylor, Ken Boyer and Ian Graham.

The Mighty B! airs Saturday mornings on Nickelodeon. Check your local listings. The image above is a shot from the first episode. Below is a storyboard panel I drew from a future episode done on Sketchbook Pro.

---- 0 ----

*** RELATED VIDEO***


AP review by Frazier Moore featuring clips from the first two episodes: So Happy Together and Sweet Sixteenth. Frazier gets a little cheesball here but worth the
watch.

---- 0 ----

The next two videos are from last year's Comic-Con panel and features some rough pencil animation from two future episodes We got the Bee and Super Secret Weakness. That's Erik and Cynthia moderating.

Traveling Light

It's essential for any artist to always to find any excuse to sketch, (at least I do) so carrying a sketchbook should be standard operating procedure. It's a great way to stay sharp and expand the inner visual vocabulary.

For weekend jaunts to wherever I always lug a backpack filled with sketchbooks, a pouch for my drawing implements and my Windsor & Newton Cotman mini-watercolor set. Sometimes the opportunity won't be there but whenever I'm killing time somewhere I'll reach into my bag and sketch whatever catches my eye.

Recently I dug up these 2 x 4 inch newsprint pads that my brother Ron gave me as souvenirs from one of his trips to Japan. The great thing about them is they're small and compact and will fit easily in your pocket. Instead of a whole pouch of pens I'll bring a 0.9mm Automatic Pencil, one ink pen and a waterbrush. The Cotman is around 6 x 3 x 2 inches and fits in my pants pocket as well.

This is a great alternative to carrying a bag of stuff, and personally, it eliminates the "I'm too lazy to lug a backpack so I won't bring one" excuse as well.

These sketches are from Los Angeles' historic Farmers Market. All sketched quickly by pencil on the above mentioned newsprint pads. Coloring done digitally via Photoshop with faux watercolor brushes.

Private Dicks

They work cheap. Won't you hire them?

Au Naturel

I took a much needed break from all this digital hoopla i've been hyping for the past few months and went back to basics.

Though I still do a lot of drawing digitally, i've been balancing things out by sketching traditionally as well. There is nothing like the feel of real pencil, paper and watercolor. Drawing without the "undo" button also forces you to commit to a line. This keeps you sharp as well as economical and direct when laying down form.

The sketch is of the many quiet nooks around the grounds at the Dreamworks campus. I used a little Photoshop to correct levels and bring out shadows. Otherwise it's pencil and water color on sketch paper.

Short and Sweet

As they say, big things come in small packages. Today's super*MARKET comics extravaganza at Meltdown Comics in Hollywood was just that. It was fun hanging out with some old convention friends, other self-publishers and colleagues in animation. There where even some faces I hadn't seen in a while.

I've mentioned in the past how I love small venues like this. (I am a big fan of the Alternative Press Expo in San Francisco) It really gives everyone a chance to talk and feel comfortable without feeling like visitors in a zoo. I try and spend time and chat with everyone so smaller gigs like this are ideal. And of course, seeing amazing work by talented artists really gets my blood pumping. Now I feel energized and inspired ready to draw and complete my latest projects. Just what I need headed to Comic-Con 2008.

Many thanks to Jessica Gao and Gaston D.L. for the invite and to all who stopped by to purchase books and art. Your continued support is greatly appreciated.

Here's a rundown of the fine folk who stopped by my little corner today:

Animation historian/ Cartoon Brew master Jerry Beck
Artist/Director David "Mucci" Fassett
Designer extraordinaire Sean "Cheeks" Galloway
El Muerto creator/artist Javier Hernandez
El Gato Crime Mangler creator/artist Michael Aushenker
Crying Macho Man creator/artist Jose Cabrera
Fuzz and Pluck creator/artist Ted Stearn
Storyboarder Sherm Cohen
Bookseller Stuart Ng
Mighty co-creator Erik Weise
Writer Jessica Chaffin
Storyboarder Rudi Berden
Artists John and Leigh Fountain
Robot Publishing head honcho Rob Goodin
Hot Mexican Love Comics' Ira Sherak
Hot Mexican Love Comics' Larry Reynosa
Ni Hao Kai Lan creator Karen Chau

I did a less than stellar job with the picture taking today but it was a short gig so time was a factor.

Animation Historian and Cartoon Brew's Jerry Beck (Left) and talented artist David "Mucci" Fassett (Right)

two-thirds of the brain-thrust of Hot Mexican Love Comics: (R-L) Ira Sherak, Larry Reynosa and Ira's girlfriend Janice

"Yes Rob, it's time to go..." Robot Publishing's Rob Goodin wondering why the day had to end.

These are two of my most favorite people in the biz. "The Jessicas" are reunited fresh off their stint writing for the anticipated new Nicktoon "The Mighty B!" Jessica Chaffin (Left) and super*MARKET's Jessica Gao (Right)

That's bookseller Stuart Ng (Left) chattting it up with storyboard artist
Sherm Cohen (right)

.. That's one of Los Angeles' comic book meccas, Meltdown Comics.
An end to a fun event and another gorgeous day in Southern California...

More pics HERE on the Crying Macho Man Blog and HERE on Cartoon Snap.

SUPERMARKET this Sunday! (updated)

It's short notice but if you're not tied up cleaning your gutters or shaving your back, come down to Meltdown Comics this Sunday, March 30th for the one-day, independent jam of comics and publishing called super*MARKET L.A.

From noon to 6pm, a bunch of indie comic guys (who work in animation) are doing a little mini convention right inside the hallowed halls of "The Melt"! So if you wanna see my ugly mug while perusing work from talented people, come on down and hang with us. Signed copies of RANDOM ANOMALIES, WAYWARD TRAVELLER and STEEL NOODLES: A Slice of Heaven will be on hand as well. You really don't have to buy anything. My kids just won't go to college that's all... Even our good friend and bookseller extraordinaire Stuart Ng will be there and has promised to bring a small batch of French titles, some procured during his recent visit to Angouleme, France for the International Book Fair.

Check out SuperMarket LA's straightforward mission statement:

super*MARKET is a quarterly independent comics event based in Los Angeles. We aim to provide a regular salon for comic makers, lovers, and haters alike so that the gap between creators and readers shrinks down to an uncomfortable closeness. Though it's focused locally on Los Angeles, everyone is welcome (listen, we're not going to kick an out-of-stater out of bed, we're just sayin'). By determining a focus or theme for each event, we are able to cover varied genres within indie comics from goth to cry-baby.

Now if that doesn't get you pumped then you're pretty much dead. Here are the particulars once again:

super*MARKET: The Animator Special Sunday
a comics salon for every nerd

March 30, 2008
12noon - 6pm
Meltdown Comics and Collectibles
5722 West Sunset Boulevard
Hollywood, California 90046

EXHIBITORS:

Javier Hernandez
Ted Seko
Michael Aushenker
Jose Cabrera
Jerrell Conner
Tom Neely
Levon Jihanian
Sherm Cohen
Stuart Ng Books
Louie Del Carmen
Dan Goodsell
Paul Harmon
Pete Von Scholly
Robert Goodin
Bernyce Talley
Sketch Theatre (featuring Mari Inukai, Jim Wirt, and TBA)
Dangerkatt Creative Studio
And more!

Big thanks to Meltdown head honcho Gaston D.L. and writer Jessica "Chairman" Gao for the gracious invite.

Click HERE for super*MARKET on MySpace

Gesture Class 2

Here are some sketches from Gesture Drawing class today. I think the poses I drew in the previous class where a bit stronger and had more character. Overall I still need to work on pushing my sketches even more. A dash of caricature would help as well.

I added the tones later for clarity and emphasis.

Moving Pictures: Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter & Spring

Released in 2003, Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter and Spring is a film that combines evocative imagery, simplicity in storytelling and profoundness in meaning. As the title may suggest, it is a about the parallel between one's life and the changing of the seasons.

The structure you see in these frames (along with the surrounding area) constitutes the one and only setting in the movie, a floating monastery in a secluded lake where a wise and elderly monk mentors a young boy. Interestingly, the film uses the changing of the seasons as sort of five act structure. I admire the framing and composition in this movie as well as the patience it took to keep a project focused while production literally waited for the seasons to change.

It's a film about choice and consequence, atonement and redemption. Things that we as people might experience from time to time as we slog through life.





















Copyright 2003 Sony Pictures Classics/Korea Pictures. Running time: 102 minutes. Director/Writer: Kim Ki-Duk. Cinematographer: Baek Dong-Hyun. Rated: R

Gesture Class

I had the privilege of attending a costumed gesture class at work today, taught by the talented artist and story supervisor Dave Pimentel. This gave me a chance to test my Modbook in a "drawing class" environment and I am happy to report that it was a huge success.

For this session I chose to use Autodesk's Sketchbook Pro mainly for it's simplicity and functionality. For the quick 1 - 3 minute poses I used a graphite pencil at about HB to 2B hardness and a chisel-tipped pen set to the minimum point size of 2.0 I tilted the Modbook upright (or Portrait mode) occasionally to gain more drawing space for standing poses.

I did grab a wad of sketch paper and a drawing clipboard in case this experiment went south but sketching digitally was a cinch.

Putting technology aside, it's been quite a while since I've done any king of drawing class so getting some much needed pencil (or stylus) time was a welcome experience. Capturing these quick gestures is a great exercise in laying down attitude and action without heavy pencil mileage. This is especially helpful during the rough stage of boarding or during the hectic hustle of re-staging sequences for reels.

I definitely plan to attend many more drawing classes as schedule permits, and post the resulting sketches here.

For additional technical details and images, click HERE for my companion post on Modbook Junction.

Headgear Girl Redux

Here's a new, all digital spin on an old subject. Chances are you've already seen this futuristic maiden before either here on this blog, my website gallery or on my 2006 book The Wayward Traveller. If not then here's the original illustration:

The newbie was sketched on Adobe Photoshop with a modified brush and painted with faux watercolor. The original sketch was done traditionally with an ink pen, scanned and filled-in with grayscale via Photoshop. I'm still not quite sure what that contraption on her head does....perhaps she can read my thoughts?

RA +3

Three years ago this blog was born. A lot of incredible things happened in that span and some have been chronicled here. I thank all of you who have been kind to bear witness, listen, communicate and debate. Time to take a deep breath and look back for moment.......





Time's up. Onward we go.

Modbook Doodles 2

Here's some quick pen and pencil sketches done on the Modbook using Sketchbook Pro.




View some car wash sketches HERE on Modbook Junction.

Back to Basics

It's not exactly spring, but this blog is turning 3 so it's time to change things up a bit. This blog has always been saddled with formatting issues ever since I started tinkering with it. So I've decided to take advantage of the newer layout and formatting features of Google/Blogger which should help with it's performance overall.

It's a long time coming so i'm glad to be implementing it.

Modbook Doodles

Here's some of the first sketches I did on my new Modbook, done on Adobe Photoshop using a modified watercolor brush.

........Louie, I think this is the beginning of a new friendship......

MODBOOKERS UNITE!

From now on, i'll be posting all MODBOOK related news on a new blog called MODBOOK JUNCTION. This should help focus all the information into one place.

I've just posted an accessory alert regarding a cool, portable folding keyboard made by a Canadian company called Matias. So go check it out!

The Modbook is (finally) here

It's useless to make you guess "what's in the box?", but I have to show the un-boxing right? One year after I initially ordered one, my very own AXIOTRON MODBOOK finally arrived yesterday and based on my initial trials of the first ever Macintosh tablet solution.... IT WAS DEFINITELY WORTH THE WAIT.

Without further delay, here are the pics....

....Could it really be here?

.. I even used an X-Acto knife to open the box!

..the suspense.... it's killing me...

..out of the way pesky bubble wrap!....

.... another box??! I'm dying here!!

.... could it take any longer!

... feels good to see that original Macbook box...

.... where is it? where is it?

... It came with two pens. One's already in the pen slot ready for action. They also packed a generous supply of extra nibs including the artist-friendly graphite tip. The grip on the Wacom Cintiq stylus feels better for overall drawing and i'm psyched it will work on the Modbook...

.... almost there... I'm digging that new Mag-Safe power supply from Apple...

..... just about there....

.... the angels are singing in the heavens once more!!...

... still can't believe my eyes. I'm chomping at the bit now..

..about an hour and a half later.... after migrating all my stuff from my G4 Powerbook, the Modbook lives. Like are real nerd I named my old laptop "The Silver Surfer". He will now take a backseat as a new champion is crowned... Hail "Colussus 1"!

.. a jealous cousin looks on. My Cintiq chills in the background giving the Modbook it's due. I didn't take a picture but the Cintiq interfaced with the Modbook flawlessly. Obviously running with more memory under a 2.2 ghz Intel Dual core, the Cintiq felt very spritely and crisp.

... in a blue mood...

... so much to discover... so little time. It got late so I had to shut down the festivities. Here a quick assessment of my little test drive:

The FORCE GLASS and PEN-ABLED DIGITIZER works like a dream. Since I last tried the machine out at Comic-Con, Axiotron has further refined the consistency of the chemical etch on the glass. This makes sketching on it at par with the Cintiq. With several apps open, I tried some brisk sketching using both Adobe Photoshop and Autodesk's Sketchbook Pro and it didn't skip a beat.

Working without a keyboard is really awkward but Axiotron's proprietary virtual keyboard program QUICKCLICKS gave me a huge assist. It's a multi-mode keyboard that hovers over all windows and enabled me to enter passwords, shortcuts and some light typing on Microsoft Word. I did finally connect a Mac keyboard so I could continue finishing my set up.

Apple's OS X handwriting software INK (Formerly called INKWELL) was impressive as well. It was weird and clunky trying to hand write text but thankfully, the settings can be refined to match general handwriting quirks.

Needless to say, I'm still in the honeymoon phase with this machine but in the coming weeks and months, i'll be sharing more details about my experiences working with this new tool. My initiative is to have the Modbook bridge my needs in between my work and home studios. The portability means I can work paperless and lay down very definitive ideas in an organized fashion. The Modbook is the ultimate drawing platform but it also has the capability of being a presentation tool. All without switching machines. I even plan to take it to life drawing class.

The possibilities are plenty with the Modbook. Now let's see how it all works out.

A Pleasant Surprise

One of my favorite books is artist Craig Thompson's CARNET DE VOYAGE and I was delighted to read in DRAWN that one; unbeknownst to me, Craig has had a blog since the middle of last year and two; his latest post is about the making of Carnet itself.

I am a self-confessed process junkie so I get all jazzed when artists give insight into the making of their respective works. Needless to say, seeing Craig's post made my day. One revealing tidbit is that he kept two sketchbooks while he traveled. One for general use (which took the road abuse) and another "private" book for sketching more finished drawings at night.

Have you ever seen or read or heard something that just impresses the hell out of you and say "man, I wish I created that?". Probably all the time. Carnet is one of those works that has that certain magical quality where the pieces fit together perfectly. It's an inspirational piece and I can only hope to create something along those lines before It's all said and done....