Stop motion film: J. Felix Faces his Fears

stop motion animation j felix faces his fears

The kids and I had a blast doing this one. The story of encountering your own insecurities and finding the strength to push past them to create something cool is one that resonates, I think, with people of all ages. Especially since my Little Fish is such a perfectionist — and a very sensitive kid, too — I saw a lot of recognition in J. Felix’s story that she had. The kids designed the Fears, they designed, directed, and assisted with the construction of the set (though I took it…

What do they CALL you?

The question always comes the same way. There’s a lean across the table, as the questioner literally positions him or herself on the edge of their seat. There’s a narrowing of the eyes, a pursing of the lips, a creasing of the brow. Concentration pinches their features, they summon up their boldness, and they ask: “So – what do they call you?” They’re asking about my kids. My stepkids, which is why the question is asked. Unless you’re actively chewing vegan granola on the roof of your biodiesel-fueled classic VW…

Happy Birthday, Little Fish

love make share family

Four years ago, I had no children. Today is my daughter’s eighth birthday. Today is my daughter’s eighth birthday. I still can’t quite believe it when I see those words on the page. It’s still surreal to me that I have gone from no family and no inclination to having one in my 20’s to being a father. Even that word conjures up a little bit of imposter syndrome, even though I know it makes sense. Step-father, autocorrects my brain. But that word is broken, too. That step- has got so many connotations. It’s Cinderella, it’s drunks,…

Workbench Time Lapse – Kids’ Workbench Build

As promised in the last video, here’s a project the kids and I did a few weekends ago! After dismantling the kids’ abandoned workspace in the shop, my eldest and I reclaim a bunch of scrap in the basement and get to work building a new desk for their crafts and homework. We had so much fun building it, and they absolutely love the result! The biggest concern was the material itself. We committed to just building it out of whatever we had on hand, and what we had was…

Pizzeria

Not long ago, I watched Tested’s in-depth video talking about pizza stones and their virtues when it comes to making pizzas at home. Being a fan of cooking in general, knowing that Whistler and the Fish (my girls) have a ton of fun making pizza from scratch with me, I wanted to see what kind of results we’d get with a pizza stone. I was mightily surprised when it turned out that WE HAVE ONE. The Fish, the eldest, gave it a good cleaning, and both helped me make the…