Alright, I've been stewing on this one for a little less than a week now.

In English class on Monday, my teacher showed us a lecture on you tube about making a change in the american education system, the basic point of the lecture being that as the U.S. enforces standardization in schools, kid's creativity and attention span dwindles. The professor gave the example of a case study in which a number of kindergarten students were asked to see how many uses they could find for a paperclip. 98% of the students tested were within the range of creative geniuses. Every five years after that test, the students were asked the same question. Unsurprisingly, the percentage of students who maintained their creative proficiency quickly fell as the students aged and progressed in school.

It is with this that I set out a new challenge: the Paperclip Challenge.

The objective is simply to come up with as many uses for a paperclip as your mind can conceive. But their are a few restrictions and guidelines that I dare present:

1. The task must be your own. The point isn't to see if you and a group of friends can come up with 200 uses, but is a test of YOUR OWN creative capacity.

2. The challenge must be completed in 24 hours, ideally in one sitting. Any moron can come up with 200 uses in 200 days, thus the time constraint.

3. Each use must only use a single paperclip, or in other terms, a paperclip chain jump rope is not considered a valid use.

4. The paperclip does not necessarily need to be small and metal like most would assume.

5. Uses are encouraged to be enthusiastically imaginative, as long as a (somewhat) believable explanation is presented.
ex. "Using a paperclip as if it were a quill, I can write the next great American novel."

and for grins, I thought I'd add a little grading scale, to measure yourself up to:

0 uses = Vegetable in the head

1 - 10 uses = The Average P.E. Teacher

11 - 25 uses = Some Random Street Guy

26 - 50 uses = The Average 10-year-old (surprisingly a compliment)

51 - 100 uses = Imagineer

101 - 200 uses = Black Belt in Paperclip-ology

201 - 999 uses = Creative Sevant

**1000+ uses = Paperclip Mastermind

**the exception to rules 1 & 2 are in this case: When attempting to think up 1,000, you will be given a week to complete the objective, and minor assistance from friends is acceptable, but not fully encouraged.

And with that, I leave the internet to accept my challenge... >:)

Wow, I just got done watching a claymation done by a fifteen-year-old from california. I've got to say, I'm both inspired and frustrated. This guy has some serious skill, and even though his animations are really short, they're a pleasure to watch. It's the fact that he's only fifteen and has already begun getting recognition for his work. I've been animating for 2 years now, with just as many animations done, which are at least twice as long, and contain plots. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad that he's successful. But, seeing all of these awesome teenaged animators makes me wonder why I haven't gotten noticed yet, and if I ever will get noticed.

This past month has been pretty crazy. I'm juggling five projects at once, between school, Storm Studios, and random requests from friends. Hopefully it all get done in two or three months... Here's basically what i'm working on:

Trip to the Petshop:
Kris accidentally kills the Fish that Jerrod was planning to give Mick for his birthday, and they have to go to the shop to pick up anoher one. Unfortunately for them, nothing's ever that simple. The finished product should be like 4 minutes, and is a month and a half away from completion.

Treasure:
Epic Game 4 just came out and the gang are strapped for cash. Not long after they lose hope of ever earning enough money, they discover a treasure map which could lead them to what they've been looking for. Ths one's the farthest along, the script's written and partially recorded, and the animation itself is just beginning. It should be about 6 minutes long when it's finished.

Crash at the End:
A movie preview about a guy who has to save the world (or at least he thinks so...)

BALD:
Never make fun of bald guys, a she-bear will eat you alive. Based on the scripture in 2nd Kings. Practically halfway done, but it's only like 45 seconds long.

Class Project:
I've got to make a stop motion project about a fairytale or myth. I think I'm doing the story of Icaarus and Daedalus. I dunno, I haven't really started.

...and, yeah. that's about it...

Sorry, there were so many "Merry Christmas" type posts on the blog page, i couldn't resist.

Anyway, have a Merry Christmas and/or [insert holiday here], and whatever you do...

DON'T FORGET TO BRUSH YOUR TEETH. It's good for your health. :D

Does anyone else realize just how many resources Newgrounds has available to the viewing public? I mean, I just checked some of the developer resource pages, and frick, they have everything. From voice acting exercizes to tips on getting noticed. I feel like I just hit the jackpot with this stuff. And i'm more than happy to share.

Here's some of the awesome stuff I found:

Sound Recording, Voice Acting, etc

Art Tutorials

How to Make Moolah

BUT WAIT THERE'S MORE!

...well, there is, but you can just go see for yourself. It's pretty cool.

Alright, so I just finished my fourth and more than likely last video for 2010, entitled " Daydreamin' ". Yeah, I know the apostrophe at the end makes it sound that much more unintelligent, but somebody already took "Daydreaming". And if your too lazy to click on that flash portal button you can see my video by clicking riiiiiiiiiight..... here.

anyway, I'm still looking for a few collaborators. I'm looking specifically for a few voice actors an animator, and a composer of sorts.

Alright, so I've been animating on Newgrounds for about a year now, and I've realized something. The best of the best out here are all connected. collaborating and what not. So I figure, why not put myself out there a little.

Just for your information, I'm hoping to be a comedic animator. I can do some half decent voice acting, and I'm a pretty decent musician (if that's worth anything). Is there anyone who'd be willing to pitch in and make a name for ourselves?

I really need to make my quota for five videos this year... I mean, there's TECHNICALLY no need for me to, but I figure I ought to at least put myself out there a little more than three lamo flash submissions' worth. At least I have some stuff already in the works, so it's not TOTALLY hopeless.

you know, this is the first year I actually managed to carve one without mutilating its face... wow, sad really.

the title of my next upcoming video: GIVE. This isn't so much a comedy, parody, or action movie. It's really more of a music video.