2020: The Year In Animation

I made a short animated film about how relentlessly bad the year 2020 is/was. It's been literal shit! Therefore the animation features the song "Literal Shit" by the band Apache Tomcat; go check them out on Free Music Archive, they are cool. 

I grew up in the sixties and Saturday morning cartoons had a profound impact on me. Sometimes I think my personality was shaped by Chuck Jones and Mel Blanc. Most definitely there are traces of influence in my own little indie films in terms of timing and character takes (though greatly simplified in execution). When I started making this film, I was really just thinking of animating a series of shots of me trying to "destroy the 2020". It was only halfway through that I realized I was also including pratfalls (because they're funny). Like Wile E. Coyote and the Roadrunner, 2020 has been a series of desperate shots and humiliating pratfalls. It served the story to go with it, so I leaned in.

The song (which I found first and animated to on a timeline) is only about 30 seconds long, and the shots are super tight. I LOVE that fast-paced animation. I added the extra "downtime" at the end, which builds some tension before releasing back into the fury of the music. Actually the film will loop endlessly if you let it. I really hope 2020 does not loop endlessly. *sob*

2021 better be better.

Seriously, 2020 has been a world-wide disaster and a year fraught with personal terribleness. There's a raging pandemic! People are divided! The planet is on fire! Friends and family are suffering and dying. I animated this while simultaneously dealing with mononucleosis, full surgery to remove pre-cancer in my boob, and a gall bladder situation - and I consider myself lucky. Because it could have been way worse.

What do you consider yourself lucky for this year?

ps. wear a mask please.

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The Up-The-Nose Covid Test

Yesterday I went for my pre-surgery covid test. I'm having a partial mastectomy this week so the covid test is a precaution to protect the health care workers just in case I'm harbouring some of that coronavirus in my bod. Unlikely given that I've been pretty much isolated since last March, but you never know. 

I admit I was a little nervous about this test; my son and daughter have both had the up-the-nose test and both told me it was the worst thing ever. All weekend I kept trying to imagine what it would feel like to be probed deep into my noggin.

The hospital test center was solely for pre-surgery patients, so no one was lined up with symptoms. It was really quick! I went in, sat down, and a nice nurse lady explained that she was going to be very gentle. She took out what looked like a very long white mascara wand with a teensy brush on the end of it. Nurse Lady said she had to stick it up my nose and twirl it around for ten seconds. I nodded, ok. I'm ready.

She holds the wand up to my cheek horizontally, as if measuring how far to stick it in. Out of the corner of my eye, I'm thinking YIKES that's like SIX INCHES man! Wat?

Twirl it for ten seconds.

 

And in it goes. It kind of burns. But not much. Nurse Lady says she now has to start the twirling for ten seconds. Ok, let's go.She starts counting out loud, "One Mississippi... two Mississippi... three Mississippi..."

The burning intensifies just a little, and a sound starts coming out of me, "OOOOooooooOOOoooo". I mean it was hilarious, I had no control over this noise, it was completely involuntary.

Nice Nurse lady counts faster, "Five Mississippi, six Mississippi, seven Mississippi,"

Me: "oooooOOOOOoOOooOOOOoOOO!"

NNL: "EightMissippinineMissppiTEN!!!" and she whips it out from the depths of my nasal passage.

The burning stops, and a tiny tear rolls its way out of the corner of my left eye. And that was it. To be honest I felt a little bit let down. And like, somehow, they should do the other nostril as well, just to keep things balanced and symmetrical. I suggested it, but Nurse Lady just laughed.

It was really not as bad as a colonoscopy, or a PAP smear, or even having your teeth cleaned. You don't have to take off any clothes, and it's only ten very fast seconds.

Mind you, this was a pre-surgery covid test with a Nice Nurse Lady. If I had had symptoms, and was stressed and worried about getting sick, or getting my loved ones sick, and burdening the healthcare system, not to mention waiting in line for hours, it would be a different story.

Things that are worse than the up-the-nose covid test.

Have you had the up-the-nose covid test? Let me know if it was better or worse than anything on this list.

Stay safe and mask up!

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