09 Jan Top 10 of 2014
hello friends,
HAPPY NEW YEAR! in keeping with tradition – here’s my top 10 list for last year. it’s a random group of some of the most important, fun, and exciting things that happened.
10.) The Super Bowl, The Stanley Cup, The Olympics, and The World Cup.
this last year was a pretty great year for sports. at least if you are me. the Seahawks crushed in the Super Bowl. the Kings came from behind and won the Stanley Cup. Germany won the World Cup. and to top it all of, there were the Winter Olympics!
at the time, “paying” work was a little “light”, so I got to watch my brains out. srsly, I had multiple events going for hours at a time. IT WAS AWESOME.
the streaming station
National Anthem
9.) Brian Boat Trip
my good friend Brian celebrated his 10 year anniversary with a boat party, er rather “yacht party”. the weather was lovely, the company was grand, and on the way back we see a pod of dolphins. Hillary and I were on the bow of the boat and they were swimming right below us. watching them jump and play in the wake of the ship was one of the most magical things I’ve even seen.
8.) Shrubs
you know you’re getting older when making a vinegar drink gets into your top ten list. haha. learning how to make shrubs with Elizabeth, getting to make a bunch with Troy and Tony, and then enjoying them with friends has been a great experience. it’s rewarding to find something you like, say “I want to learn that”, then to actually do it.
7.) GI Jeff
earlier this year I had an insane work week. my friends Joe and James over at Starburns called me up to come help out for a few days on a new project. those days turned into three weeks, culminating in day where I worked 17 hours, slept for three, then went in for eight hours of jury duty.
in between I got to work with Dan Harmon, the creator of Community. it was an incredible experience. whenever we edited a sequence he’d make a lot of changes – but you know what? they always made the show better. his instincts on what was funny or what could be funnier were spot on. I tried to soak up as much as I could in limited time we had.
it was also my first prime-time editing credit, which I was pretty dang stoked on. if you’ve got Hulu Plus you can watch it here.
6.) Beating My Audit
let’s just say this: good record keeping, persistence, and patience are what you need to win an audit. also, to be right. that’s all I’ll post publicly, but I’m happy to give the entire blow-by-blow account over a beverage (or three).
5.) Destiny
this fall I got a new video game. it was my reward for finishing my feature screenplay EFFICIENCY PROTOCOL. and while the game is super fun, and perhaps a bit “habit forming,” what got it to #5 was the community of players I’ve gotten to meet. there’s a researcher in Seattle, an auctioneer in Kentucky, a stylist in Chicago, a video producer in Brooklyn, an actor in Texas, a musician & slot machine designer in Arizona, and that’s just naming a few.
they are a crazy, random group of people and it’s been so cool to learn about them and their lives – WHILE shooting space monsters.
**EDIT** a bunch of us even got together and went bowling one night. it was weirdly awesome seeing the faces behind the voices I know so well.
4.) Dead Poets Trip
in October, Tony, David and I all travelled out to Boston to visit our good friend Jeremy. he’d moved out there for a post-doc at Harvard and we missed him. Tony had the idea to do a “dead poets” tour, so we rented a car and spent the weekend driving around New England. we visited the graves of Emily Dickinson, Henry David Thoreau, Hawthorne, Acotts, Emerson, and Kerouac. we even stopped by the former home of Julia Childs for good measure.
we also went to the Fryeburg Fair in Maine. there was a pig scramble, there were goats, we had blueberry cobbler, and we stayed at one of the oddest, most out of the way hotels I’ve been to.
it’s hard to sum up such an amazing trip in such a short space, so I’ll leave it at this: the leaves were changing, it rained, we walked the Freedom Trail, we ate amazing East Coast seafood… and I got to visit three new states Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine.
3.) LBTXIV
for the last six months I’ve been editing the newest Land Before Time film. I’ve gotten to learn a lot about the animation process and push myself both technically and creatively. there are a lot of problems that need to get solved when making a movie, and an animated film is incredibly flexible (at the early stages). this means there are many chances to collaborate in making a better movie. it’s very rewarding being part of a creative team led by a director as talented as Davis. also, working on this movie allowed me to join the Editors Guild.
it’s really nice having gainful employment again, even if that does mean having to put on pants everyday.
Davis drew Curious George as Hellboy
on the door to my edit suite
what goes into editing an animated movie? learn more here.
2.) Troy & Daisy Back in LA
in 2011, two of my best friends moved to NYC. I was excited for their new opportunity, but sad to have them gone. it reminded me how much they meant to me and how much I valued their friendship. over the next three years I was able to take three trips out to visit them. interesting fact: 2 of those trips made their year’s top 10 lists (2011, 2012, 2013).
earlier this year they moved back and I couldn’t have been happier. having them in LA has truly been a blessing.
1.) The Mammoth Experiment
in December 2013 I signed a lease on an apartment in Mammoth Lakes, CA. for the next six months I split my time between there and Los Angeles. snow wise – it wasn’t the best of winters… but as a creative retreat it was incredible. I did two things: I wrote and I snowboarded. it was inspiring, relaxing, productive, and restoring.
it’s the sort of life I’d dreamed about having… and last year I was able to make it happen. this winter I’m busy with LBTXIV, so my ski-bumming will be on hiatus. but the film wraps next September, so maybe the winter of 15/16 will have me back in the mountains.
read a much more in depth list of what happened on the adventure here.
—-
well, that wraps up 2014. a very special shout out to some of the people that made 2014 incredible: Hillary, Davis, Teal, Brian, John, Kimberley, Tony, David, Jeremy, Jeff, Troy, Daisy, The Powells, and Fawaz – you guys are the best!
so what were your most memorable moments from last year?
-Luke
p.s. expect a blog of my favorite pictures coming soon(ish).
p.p.s. here are some previous years’ lists: 2013, 12, 11, 10, 09.
No Comments