Well, the first animation I've ever done has been uploaded. It passed the "Under Judgement" phase quickly enough for me to feel good about it. At just about a thousand views in less than 12 hours and considering I'm just some shmuck no one has ever heard of, I'm pretty ecstatic.

I've got a website brewing, just kinda broke right now so can't afford web hosting just yet. I'd like to put out a webcomic at least 2 or 3 times a week with a stupid nerdy YouTube video once or twice a month of, I dunno, me singing Animaniacs songs or playing something on the instruments as I learn how to actually play them.

You see, I lost my job bartending last month at the bar I LITERALLY helped build over three years ago. Since then, I've lost all desire to go out drinking and partying and have been primarily stuck either on the Net, or on the XBox/PS3/Normandy SR2. In the process, I've realized just how much I missed being an antisocial, video game playing, cartoon watching, borderline virgin. So I decided to finally embrace my ubergeekiness and also learn how to do all the things I always wanted with the help of the internet.

I had absolutely no idea what the hell ActionScript 3.0 was a week ago.

I knew nothing about tweening. Nothing about .swf files. Nothing. Flash was, and to a lesser extent, still IS, a mystery to me. I made that last video using maybe 5% of Flash's capabilities and at least once every 3 days, it would just delete whatever I had been working on for, well, those last 2 or 3 days.

Luckily, as I tell people, we exist in an age where it is ignorance for anyone to claim "I don't know how to do something." when all you have to do is go to YouTube, type in "How do I do ________ ?" and you can pretty much assume you'll get 7 different people with step by step videos that'll help you.

I've been learning the piano, the drums, the guitar, and the bass VERRRRRY slowly over the last few months (bought them all when I actually had money), but I plan on composing my own music for future Flash Animations, and I just love music in general, so now that I have the ball rolling on this whole "being a web animator" thing, I'll be on the instruments double time. In the process, if anything funny goes down, I'll probably post a video or something.

I've been a social pariah pretty much ever since AOL came out, and I've been studying stand up comedy like it's the SATs since I was 10. I've even gone up on stage a few times, and plan on doing so very soon. (I've started writing material for the stage as well) So I'd like to think I "know what funny is".

With that said, I promise you that I won't upload any retarded nonsense unless I, PERSONALLY, find it funny. Judging by the response from "Mustang Gets Off Work" so far, I think we're all in good hands. I know that there's the capability of making money on Newgrounds, but that's not the intent here. If that was the case, I wouldn't have uploaded the FMA video without attaching ads and so forth. Granted, once I get enough street cred with the Internet, I'll probably start selling out terribly.

For the time being, however, this is just to entertain you guys and see what you think of it. Considering geeks on the Internet helped me create the animation/music/etc, it's only right that I give something back.

After all, equivalent exchange IS alchemy's one, and only, rule...

So, until, the comic/website gets started and the next animation comes out, I'll talk to you all some other time.

Cool runnings!
Joe Sim