Club Chaos Agents - All Things Hollish, Wacked, and Jacked

Life With Wee People: Kim Harrison Cartoons

It's been a while since I planted one of these in the Kim-Stream so I'm gonna hang out on the bed with the kids and draw a bunch of cartoons. We're doing Tamwood and Morgan tonight. I'm hoping for a quiet evening where I get bossed around by my 5 and 10 year olds (LOL). The best sketch gets to go to Deviant Art so I have to at least draw ten of 'em. Will give you guys a sneak peek tomorrow... if they survive the wee people... they have crayons ( we're sharing a sketch pad - LOL). ;-)

P.S. Composed something really cool for a fave writer. I'm trying to figure out the graphics for the next book club review. We are soooo talking about A Perfect Blood when I get finished playing with my pens and electronic drums (evil grin). ;-)

Club Chaos Eye Candy: Briarwood, Queens County, New York Tour of Homes

It's a gorgeous day to play and I've been having mad fun running the streets with my Nikon and Droid collecting eye candy during my turtle run. Sometimes I hang out with my elderly neighbors at Hoover Park when I do my warm ups. We shared ruby red grapefruits (3 for $2 at the neighborhood fruit stand) and bottled water. I love living in this neighborhood. The Zagat rated restaurants are simply amazing, the houses gorgeous and list of things to do with the wee people pretty extensive.

Wanna see some of what I saw today? Welcome to my neighborhood... ;-)

Yes, I did run up the hill past the court house into Kew Gardens and will show you that bit of real estate jogging fun later. I have to get back to my park post. People are still waiting for that one (LOL). If you're going to be a tease you have to deliver at some point. Yeah, still sitting on the political post - not finished with the interviews (LOL). ;-)

http://www.armatosvideo.com

This firm has a wonderful reputation with the camera crews I've spoken to. It was suggested we visit and establish a business relationship with them because their reputation is built "on serving the professional industry for over 35 years, with sales, service, support, custom modifications and system design. Our knowledgeable sales staff is here to offer advice to help customize a package to suit your needs. Along with these services we also accept trade-ins, do training and installations and accept City, State, and Government BIDS."

I love my creative tweetpeeps because if you need advice they are only a direct message or quick text away. Yesterday's pre-production meeting took place in Manhattan at the Hard Rock cafe. Our AVCHD camera of choice for the street scenes is the Sony HXR-MC2000U.

This camera is suited for file based work-flow (the Avatar and Matrix projects were all digital). It records high-def, AVCHD or DVD quality MPEG-2 standard-def onto its built-in 64GB solid state drive (or to readily available, consumer memory cards) and the full-raster high-definition 1080i recording capability suits our production needs.

When renting or purchasing industrial, broadcast cameras it is very important that you speak with several professionals on the subject because every photographer is going to have a personal preference as to why they enjoy working with a particular type of camera set up.

Dennis D. Hopkins, the General Manager at Armato's, was very patient and helpful when I presented him with the opinions of the camera operators who recommended his firm and made stellar suggestions we're going to implement at the end of this month. I was told that this industry is based upon growing the right business relationships. I am really looking forward to working with the Zackschewski brothers and Armato's.

Camera supports, tripods and cranes fascinate me because you can do so much fun stuff with the right supports. Take a look at this VariZoom system. It has a balance and weight system that lets you run in the street and get a relatively stable shot from your pro camera.

The thing that makes this so neat is that you can capture a lot of fluid motion angles and circle the action and/or follow behind your actors with ease while eliminating the shake normally associated with running with a live camera. 

Pro cameras are not light people, so having a crane, tripod and/or body harness will influence how the director sets up the shots.

The nice thing about being involved with a movie production is the fact that you get to make new, professional friends who will explain the pros and cons of a story's evolution from script to film every step of the process. Your available equipment will sometimes determine what you can and can not do at a particular location. I'm looking forward to seeing what set-ups get selected for which scenes. Will let you guys know what the next steps are as we come to them. Right now, the budget for equipment has been set and our vendor selected. I have to go thank my tweetpeeps for their help and text some more actors, then get back to scouting locations after I take my jog.

I love Flushing Meadows Park. It would be really neat if we could film here... ;-)

Paralegal 101: Landlord Tenant Series - Hot Water

Warranty of Habitability issues may include (a) repairs, (b) clean premises complaints, (c) lack of hot water and/or (d) lack of heating. Here is an interesting bit of trivia: Did you know that if a multiple dwelling building was constructed in New York before mid April 1929 that did not require hot water to be furnished at the time of its original construction a landlord able to prove this would not be under the mandatory requirement to supply hot water 24 hours a day? Hmm... Those base dates mentioned in my previous post are starting to get your attention, eh? Seems every regulation has a start date...

New York tenants actually have a statutory right to hot water, so when exemptions come up people need to be reasonable and pay attention when someone tells you something you do not necessarily want to hear... I am from New York City, so in my neck of the residential woods a building with three or more residential units is considered a multiple dwelling.

New York Multiple Dwelling Law, Title 3, Sanitation and Health § 75 Water Supply:

"1. In every multiple dwelling erected after April eighteenth, nineteen hundred twenty-nine, where space is provided for cooking there shall be in every apartment a proper sink with running water and with a two-inch waste and trap."

"2. The owner of every multiple dwelling shall provide proper appliances to receive and distribute an adequate supply of water, to and in every apartment or suite of rooms at all times of the year, during all hours. Failure in the general supply of water from the street service main shall not be construed as a failure on the part of the owner, if suitable appliances to receive and distribute such water have been provided in the dwelling."

"3. For dwellings three or more stories in height erected on or after April eighteenth, nineteen hundred twenty-nine, and for all dwellings erected after January first, nineteen hundred fifty-one, such supply shall include both hot and cold water at all times of the year, during all hours, except that hot water service shall not be required by this section in a dwelling erected before April eighteenth, nineteen hundred twenty-nine, if the owner establishes to the satisfaction of the department that such service was not furnished or required before such date."

"4. No multiple dwelling shall be erected unless it is connected with a street service water main."

"5. No required sink shall be placed within any water-closet compartment or within any bathroom containing a water-closet."

Paralegal 101: Warranty of Habitability

New York State Real Property Law, Article 7, § 235-b: Warranty of habitability:

"1. In every written or oral lease or rental agreement for residential premises the landlord or lessor shall be deemed to covenant and warrant that the premises so leased or rented and all areas used in connection therewith in common with other tenants or residents are fit for human habitation and for the uses reasonably intended by the parties and that the occupants of such premises shall not be subjected to any conditions which would be dangerous, hazardous or detrimental to their life, health or safety. When any such condition has been caused by the misconduct of the tenant or lessee or persons under his direction or control, it shall not constitute a breach of such covenants and warranties."

"2. Any agreement by a lessee or tenant of a dwelling waiving or modifying his rights as set forth in this section shall be void as contrary to public policy."

"3. In determining the amount of damages sustained by a tenant as a result of a breach of the warranty set forth in the section, the court; (a) need not require any expert testimony; and (b) shall, to the extent the warranty is breached or cannot be cured by reason of a strike or other labor dispute which is not caused primarily by the individual landlord or lessor and such damages are attributable to such strike, exclude recovery to such extent, except to the extent of the net savings, if any, to the landlord or lessor by reason of such strike or labor dispute allocable to the tenant's premises, provided, however, that the landlord or lesser has made a good faith attempt, where practicable, to cure the breach. (c) where the premises is subject to regulation pursuant to the local emergency housing rent control law, the emergency tenant protection act of nineteen seventy-four, the rent stabilization law of nineteen hundred sixty-nine or the city rent and rehabilitation law, reduce the amount awarded hereunder by the total amount of any rent reduction ordered by the state division of housing and community renewal pursuant to such laws or act, awarded to the tenant, from the effective date of such rent reduction order, that relates to one or more matters for which relief is awarded hereunder."

Those three little paragraphs hold so much meaning to parties entering into a rental agreement...

In New York, this section of law reflects in sum and substance the fact that landlords entering into written or oral lease agreements with tenants must maintain the property and dwelling in a condition that is (a) free from conditions detrimental to health and safety while being fit for human habitation and (b) in accordance with agreed upon / required services.

What is an agreed upon service? Examples include allowing a tenant to use a portion of storage space for a bicycle, Christmas tree, file bins, travel trunks, etc. A tenant should not assume just because the guy in Apt # 1A always parks his bike in the basement that everyone may line their bikes up in that general, designated area. Each resident must obtain usage permissions from his/her landlord and abide by the rules of the building regarding permissible usage.

What is a required service? Examples include rectifying any condition that violates a New York housing code, adhering to the New York City Rent Regulatory Laws (e.g. Rent Control, Rent Stabilization, etc) and services with base dates designated in regulatory laws or granted by the lease agreement.

My life as an example: I have been in my current rent controlled apartment since 1993. All services that were in effect in New York City on March 1, 1943 are REQUIRED services for my building. My rent control base date is from 1943 although my occupancy date is from 1993. 

In New York City there are two rent stabilization base dates. Contrary to popular belief they are actually important for you to know because these two base dates determine REQUIRED services for apartments subject to New York City Rent Stabilization: 

(A) Pre 1947 Construction: May 29th, 1974 for stabilized apartments ON or AFTER July 1st, 1974.

(B) Post 1947 Construction: May 31st, 1968 for stabilized apartments ON or BEFORE June 30th, 1974.

Our invisible New York City rent stabilization lines were divided June 30/July 1, 1974 into PRE and POST 1947 construction. If you are are a renter looking to secure rent reductions for lack of services or a landlord staring at an expensive painters bill because your tenant picked out special paint because you failed to paint her apartment every three years this conversation may suddenly become very interesting to you (LOL).

Your attorney is the correct venue to render a legal opinion and to craft all complaints and defenses within the confines of the applicable laws. Your real estate practitioner is not the correct venue and Paralegals do not render legal opinions. Don't ask people who are not lawyers for legal advice or you may find yourself watching the landlord covering that expensive, custom color latex paint job with cheap, white water-based flat paint while thanking you for reminding him he had three days left and it was time to paint your apartment (LOL). ;-)

The premise is seeing results as you type may help readers formulate a better search term by providing instant feedback. Adapting your search on the fly is kinda brilliant (LOL). My friend Jeremy wrote a fabulous post on the subject and was kind enough to make it available for a re-blog. Enjoy!

Life With Wee People: C Pulse

Taking the emotional pulse of a learning disabled child can be tricky, especially if you have two of them. Mr Autism, Noah, the Net Geek is a tough act to follow and Mr. PDD-NOS, Stephen, the Minion Blur is a book unto himself. They both like music. They both like electronics. When Stephen is not engaged in their ritualistic sacrifice sometimes he manipulates them quite well.

I promised them they could edit a song and drag and drop the video images into the time-line. They had fun mutilating this one and picking out lots of pictures. Nine horn and guitar tracks bit the dust. So did the vocals. I would have been happy with a few more deletes and additions regarding an improvement to their version of grove and quantize but a promise is a promise. After all, music is math and they have to learn how everything works, especially since they refuse to let me work alone (LOL).

Regarding the critical loss of important tracks: How much math can you expect from an opinionated four year old? The Little Minions didn't do half bad considering what was left. Can't wait to see what they do to the next single. Yeah... I gave them two to play with (one for each kid).

Will she really release them in iTunes?

Um...er... yeah... I am a proud, quirky Mommy. The shorties come first. They can each help produce a single if they want to. Besides, this was mad fun. We've been laughing over their edits for two days now.

Is Stephen the youngest PDD-NOS music producer in NY? Hmm... (LOL).

This was fun. The wee people were a trip dragging and dropping files with me. Seems they like the visual time line even if they can't read (LOL). Will it be useful? Hmm... Maybe... I have five more of these to do so lets see if I improve as we go along.

Someone asked me to do a stick figure animation for a non-profit. My kids are going to love our next multimedia project. They can hang with squiggly lines and stick figures. Come to think of it so can I (LOL). ;-)

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CyberMinions.net The Illustrated Dictionary of Chaos

Laraine Shape     Michelle Viggiano     Carolyn Tann-Starr

Club Chaos Agents.com    Outside Blog Minion Report

Chaos (derived from the Ancient Greek Χάος, Chaos) may be described as "a state lacking order or predictability." Wikipedia

First "Chaos Theory" Quote of the Day: "In mathematics, Chaos Theory describes the behavior of certain dynamical systems...  systems whose states evolve with time, that may exhibit dynamics that are highly sensitive to initial conditions (popularly referred to as the butterfly effect). As a result of this sensitivity, which manifests itself as an exponential growth of perturbations in the initial conditions, the behavior of chaotic systems appears to be random. This happens even though these systems are deterministic, meaning that their future dynamics are fully defined by their initial conditions with no random elements involved. This behavior is known as deterministic chaos, or simply CHAOS..." You can read the full Wikipedia article here.

Second "Chaos Theory" Quote of the Day: "Shit Happens..." Maggie the Dung Fly, Queen of Dipstick (LOL). The fun in creating an illustrated dictionary based on Chaos is you can actually teach something useful while fooling around with your very talented friends. My kids are very self-directed, self-determined little buggers who thrive in their chaotic environment so I love talking about them. I don't know if I believe the entire premise that "every event, including human cognition and behavior, decision and action, is causally determined by an unbroken chain of prior occurrences," but I am certainly interested in finding out.

Did you read the definition of Determinism? Hmm... Very interesting... I may be able to spoof on that one for a long time - starting with Flystein (LOL). How many times have we each done some casual stuff to put us in smack dab in the middle of some serious shit as if we didn't see it coming, eh? I'm starting to really wonder about that bad little habit... Especially regarding the housing market. Remember the, "bubble? there is/ isn't a housing bubble," debate? ;-)

CyberMinions.net The Illustrated Dictionary of Chaos (Page 1)

TannStarr.com   Briarwood, New York

CyberMinions.net The Illustrated Dictionary of Chaos

Laraine Shape   Michelle Viggiano   Carolyn Tann-Starr

Club Chaos Agents.com   Outside Blog Minion Report

So here I am seated at my drafting table watching my seven year old typing frantically into Google. Every so often he would stop, look over his shoulder at me with an evil look, then furtively start typing again, alternating looking at the keyboard and screen. Now, you gotta admit that alone is enough to make this cheeky Mama want to go over there and check my shortie out but he's seven, speech delayed and obsessed with computers so I try not to interrupt his allotted time. The kid is a stickler about his routines. I do not want to ruin any fun for my son because discovering search engines gave him the incentive to memorize sight words, but that was an evil look. Hmm... wonder what he was thinking... I am very happy that the Internet is teaching my Autistic son how to type while he learns how to read but you have to watch your kids like a hawk when they are transversing the world wide web. Even the three year old gets jiggy with his cybertude sometimes.

Microsoft Office 2003 is one of Noah's favorite programs. He calls it "counting" because he first learned how to count by playing with me on the keyboards. I would pop huge numbers up and off the screen by typing in MS Word. Pretty soon he was kicking me to the curb and typing the numbers in himself.

Ever wonder how you sound to someone else?  My son is a mimic who alternates between conducting class, then attending the class he is conducting (LOL). Sometimes his three year old brother is high-jacked as the student. Echolalic speech can be a hoot when your kid does both sides of the conversation at the same time. If you are bossy, your inflections and attitude will be mocked and emulated. You can learn a lot about your bad mouth habits when the wee ones start quoting you (LOL).

Since Stephen loves Noah, he tries to do what ever his big brother says. Sometimes with unexpected results... Yesterday we had to reset the modem. Our mistake? Doing it in front of the wee people. What was I thinking? Seriously? Every time I turn around I either lose power or lose the connection. Dude even started jacking around with the wide area network router because he suddenly realized those blinky, flickering lights were "pretty." The three year old is speech delayed as well (which may shock you with all the background noise he is able to generate while I'm on the phone), so you get a lot of really short sentences of four words or less. The few words he does knows, he knows them very well and wields them with great volume and spunky attitude.

Today was mad fun because I'm working from home. So far my morning consisted of enjoying watching Stephen wreck the place while giggling and yelling "mine," when he wasn't chasing me all about the apartment to inventory and count hot wheel cars. At some point he decided playing with my hair was going to be his fave exercise in self stimulation (LOL). When he realized I was working more than playing, that soon morphed into feeding the DVD peanut butter and jelly.

Had to time the shorty out. He starts acting cute and giggling all over the place, making eyes and planting kisses, really making nice, so I let him off the hook. I'm thinking baby is making nice and I'm busy so let him frolic because a happy toddler means I can play in the Rain. Big mistake. Dude is loading his food into my toilet. Now I'm doing the stern Mama routine and march hm off to the crib for another time out, shutting down the electronics while fussing, "No choo choo for you. Thomas the Train is all done. Don't feed food to the electronics and stay out of my toilet bowl."

He cries. We make up. He plays in my hair. He chases me around the apartment showing me his prized possessions while giggling and telling me quite proudly that everything is mine. All is right with the world because my sweetie is in Daffy Duck mode and that usually goes on for hours. Distracted, I give him some orange juice because he's my guy pie and that's what he wants... Hmm... What the hell was I thinking? Never give a marginally supervised three year old liquid if he's obsessing over sharing a meal with his favorite electronics. Seriously.

Remember that PB&J moment? I thought we were done with that... I guess I was wrong because while I was on a conference call Stephen the Minion Blur realized I was a wee bit distracted from watching a very cool presentation, so he got it into his tiny little mind to make a "ritual sacrifice" to my computer. What's a little orange juice between electronic friends when you're having fun, eh?

Oh my word... Dude almost disconnected my blogger's butt for the rest of the evening. However, I caught the  little gigglemeister seconds before any major damage could be done to anything besides the rug. He looked so disappointed I almost choked trying to play it down and not howl with laughter. Friggin' kid broke the mute button weeks ago (LMAO). 

Did I mention my kids are crazy? Life with wee people can be very interesting...

TannStarr.com   Briarwood, New York

ActiveRain Cartoon Network  Life With Wee People

CyberMinions.net The Illustrated Dictionary of Chaos Page 2