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I know few are reading yet, but I at least was able to update the "About Me" section. More to come...
Well that is a loaded question now isn't it? Honestly, I really am just a guy that loves the art of animation. Anime, Disney, Warner Brothers, independent… it doesn't matter. If I have a single downfall in that love, it is that I don't have the skill to replicate it myself… my artistic talents are few -- though I like to try drawing from time to time. I'm sure my doodles will show up here at some point... just not today.
My real name is Jon P. De Simone and my pseudonym on the site is Johaan Tarpaulin. I have a B.A. in English and Journalism, two degrees that go great together -- but have absolutely nothing to do with my current job in technology. So, instead of letting my so-called writing skills go to waste, I figured I'd create a site that would allow me to showcase just how much my skills have atrophied over the years, and maybe do my best to get those skills back.
What are some of my influences? I really think my father put it best a few years ago. He said, "You were always a weird kid, from the time you were this high, (use appropriate hand gesture to the knees) you watched 'those' (read Anime big-eye, Speed Racer circa 1970s) cartoons… I never got it, I still don't get it, but you loved 'em. Weird, weird kid!"
Well, you can't explain everything to you parents I suppose. As a child of the 70's and 80's, I saw a lot of development in the art of Animation… and some real non-developments. For instance, I remember wondering why there were never any "NEW" Bugs Bunny cartoons on the Bugs Bunny Road Runner Show. I loved the original Spiderman cartoon, something that irks my wife to this day (Spins a web, any size, catches thieves, just like flies… look out, here comes the Spiderman!) but only tolerated Superfriends.
I was there watching as Anime started to invade the US, like the Brits did in music a decade or so before… back before it was even known as Japanimation. I am part of the generation that started watching cartoons as a child, and never stopped. Yes, for those of you doing the math, I am thirty-something…. and proud of it.
For guilty 80's pleasures, I loved the Smurfs (French, we forgive them), Transformers (now known as Gen-1), GI-Joe, He-Man, Voltron and Thundercats. I somehow missed Robotech the first time around, but I can thank an Otaku fraternity brother for showing me that and reenergizing my love of animation in the early '90s. Macross has a special place in my heart.
In the end, I decided to create this site because I wanted to have a place to focus my animation energy… every little aspect of my hobby, from cel collection to comics, from DVDs to DVRs. Sure it is a monster task, and in part that is why it is so slow in coming… but it is a small labor of love that may grow into something grander.
So have some patience, poke around, and see what you find. Am I qualified? Probably not, but that never stopped most people on their way to the top.
My real name is Jon P. De Simone and my pseudonym on the site is Johaan Tarpaulin. I have a B.A. in English and Journalism, two degrees that go great together -- but have absolutely nothing to do with my current job in technology. So, instead of letting my so-called writing skills go to waste, I figured I'd create a site that would allow me to showcase just how much my skills have atrophied over the years, and maybe do my best to get those skills back.
What are some of my influences? I really think my father put it best a few years ago. He said, "You were always a weird kid, from the time you were this high, (use appropriate hand gesture to the knees) you watched 'those' (read Anime big-eye, Speed Racer circa 1970s) cartoons… I never got it, I still don't get it, but you loved 'em. Weird, weird kid!"
Well, you can't explain everything to you parents I suppose. As a child of the 70's and 80's, I saw a lot of development in the art of Animation… and some real non-developments. For instance, I remember wondering why there were never any "NEW" Bugs Bunny cartoons on the Bugs Bunny Road Runner Show. I loved the original Spiderman cartoon, something that irks my wife to this day (Spins a web, any size, catches thieves, just like flies… look out, here comes the Spiderman!) but only tolerated Superfriends.
I was there watching as Anime started to invade the US, like the Brits did in music a decade or so before… back before it was even known as Japanimation. I am part of the generation that started watching cartoons as a child, and never stopped. Yes, for those of you doing the math, I am thirty-something…. and proud of it.
For guilty 80's pleasures, I loved the Smurfs (French, we forgive them), Transformers (now known as Gen-1), GI-Joe, He-Man, Voltron and Thundercats. I somehow missed Robotech the first time around, but I can thank an Otaku fraternity brother for showing me that and reenergizing my love of animation in the early '90s. Macross has a special place in my heart.
In the end, I decided to create this site because I wanted to have a place to focus my animation energy… every little aspect of my hobby, from cel collection to comics, from DVDs to DVRs. Sure it is a monster task, and in part that is why it is so slow in coming… but it is a small labor of love that may grow into something grander.
So have some patience, poke around, and see what you find. Am I qualified? Probably not, but that never stopped most people on their way to the top.
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