Oxhorn Brand - News Archive

January - August, 2007

08/27/07

It's teaser time! I haven't released any teaser screenshots from Inventing Swear Words 3 recently, so I figure dtoday would be a good day to do so. Check out screenshots four through eight here:

ISW3 Teaser 02

I won't have the movie done by the end of August, but it is a

08/20/07

This has been an exciting week! A friend and I are working on redesigning the website, and things are moving along rapidly. The new website will look much more professional, be easier to get information from, and will be a lot more fun. I'm hoping to launch it sometime next month.

Another friend and I are designing a slew of new images for my Oxhorn Brand Store. I'll soon be coming out with lots of really cool new stuff, but in the meantime, I spruced up the store a bit, added some new products, and edited some of the old images a tad (there are black shirts now too). So check out the store for now, and visit it again soon, for I'll have lots of cool new stuff shortly. The Oxhorn and Staghorn images take you to a page with many different products with the respective image on it (shirts have a special image on the back).

Clint & co. over at Myndflame posted an interview they did of me while at Blizzcon. You can watch the interview (and see a crazy elf try to steal my hat) here.

I just happened by chance to stumble upon a YTMND page that someone made for Inventing Swear Words. Check it out here:

* lolomgwtgdairyqueenbbq

Inventing Swear Words 3 is coming along smoothly! I don't think I'll have it done by the end of the month, but I might--It's a tough call. Either way, it will be out soon. Sonrise from the Myndflame forums will be composing music for the movie, and he is a very talented guy, so I am excited! I'll try to get some screenshots of my progress so far up sometime this week, so be sure to check my blog. Here are last week's blog highlights:

* Oxhorn's Unabridged Dictionary

* Who Let the Cows Out?

* Linus and Friends Kill Tyrande

* Hiking up Rattlesnake Ledge

08/13/07

Things in the busy world of Oxhorn are... busy! I'm working hard on Inventing Swear Words 3 and I have made more progress this last week than any week previous. I have in mind a complete redesign of the website, to make it look more snazzy and professional, with lots of flying text. Ok, maybe no flying text. But it will at least look new and snazzy! I'm working with our good Vinkona on designing some cool new T-shirts and other items for the Oxhorn Brand Movies Store, so expect to see cool new products in the coming weeks. If you have any design ideas, drop me a line in the forums. I'm doing some guest vocal work for a number of fellow machinimator friends of mine, so that will be fun, and I'll be sure to let you guys know when their movies come out.

So then, check out the forums, watch some of my movies, read some of my stories, and enjoy some of last week's highlights on my blog:

* Inventing Swear Words 3 Update

* Oxhorn's Blizzcon Adventure

* Script -- Associate Professor Evil Kills All Gold Farmers

* Lyrics -- Credits Song for A.P.E. Kills All Gold Farmers

08/06/07

Well, Blizzcon is over, so now I can release my new movie!

Associate Professor Evil Kills All Gold Farmers

* Mirror 1 : GoogleVideo (MED)

* Mirror 2 : FileFront (LOW)

* Mirror 3 : YouTube (LOW)

* Mirror 4 : Stage6 (HIGH)

* Mirror 5 : GameVideos (LOW)

* Mirror 6 : FileFront (HIGH)

It is 5:00 AM and I have to go to work in a few hours, but I wanted to get this up for everyone before I did. I'll post the script and the lyrics to the song that plays during the credits tonight when I get off work.

This movie won second place in the Blizzcon 2007 machinima contest. Can't be dissapointed with that! I'm a very, very happy Tauren.

Blizzcon was a blast! I'll post a big "Oxhorn's Blizzcon Adventure" on my blog with lots of pictures here in a few days, once I get some sleep. In the meantime, enjoy the movie, and here are some of the highlights from my blog last week:

* Oxhorn's Tips on Making a Good Movie

* Oxhorn's Machinima Festival Adventure

* The Making of "The 12 Days of Winter's Veil"

07/30/07

I just got back from The Simpsons Movie, and I was blown away! It was funny, it was very well made, and (aside from a little bit too much “save the environment” preaching crap) it was hysterical! I loved nearly every moment of it. Seeing the movie got me really excited about the new little tricks I’ve been learning with After Effects. Maybe it is just my love of animation geeking out on me, but I do love it so! Anyhow, I’ll take this opportunity to show a few more screenshots from the Inventing Swear Words 3:

* ISW3 Teaser 02

* ISW3 Teaser 03

My latest movie will be released on August 6th. If my movie is selected as a finalist, you will be able to see it at Blizzcon, but otherwise, I’ll be sure to release it next morning. And early in the morning too! No more weekly updates at nine in the bloody evening! Heh, sorry about that, by the way.

Also, if you go to Blizzcon, be sure to stop by the machinima booth and say hi to me. I’ll be there on Saturday at 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm, passing out business cards and information on machinima. Many of my machinimator peers will also be manning the machinima booth at Blizzcon, so if you want to see some of your other favorite authors, be sure to stop by! Here is their schedule:

Friday
Slashdance – 1:00 PM
Riot Films – 2:00 PM
Time Gnomes – 3:00 PM
Stone Falcon Productions – 4:00 PM
Dead Worker’s Party – 5:00 PM

Saturday
Rufus Cubed – 1:00 PM
Oxhorn – 2:00 PM
Spiffworld – 3:00 PM
Red Sky Foundry – 4:00 PM
Blizzard DVD/Video Production – 5:00 PM

07/23/07

Monday, Monday, Monday!

So I have been having the most wonderful time teaching myself how to use Adobe After Effects. And by "wonderful" I mean "never-ending". And by "time" I mean "frustration". Though similar to Adobe Premiere Pro, which I know like the back of my hand, it has its own unique learning curve, and I feel a little lost. If only some of the same functions had, at least, similar names.

But I am not being completely honest. It is time-consuming and frustrating, but it is also interesting, and for the most part, I enjoy it. I've been discovering fantastic new effects that have opened up a new world of possibilities for me. I've decided to share some of my progress so far with a screenshot from one of the first sequences within "Inventing Swear Words 3".

* ISW3 Teaser 01

Now, if only I can figure out how to export what I've made into Adobe Premiere...

I have a new job and I start on Thursday. I hope to get in as much work on ISW3 as I can between now and then, but I certainly won't finish it. When I start work, my time will be divided, but hopefully the majority of the stiff learning will be done with by then. I'll try to release screenshots of my progress as time goes on.

Here are some of the highlights from my blog last week.

After Effects!
Hiking up Mt. Si
Script - ISW3 Trailer

See you next Monday!

07/16/07

Well I missed last week's update, but today I hope to make up for it. I've been working on my Blizzcon machinima entry all week, and I just finished it today! I'm not allowed to release it yet, so instead I'll release some teaser screenshots. I used some familiar characters, so it took some work to find areas of the movie that I could show without giving the story away:

* Teaser 01

* Teaser 02

* Teaser 03

* Teaser 04

* Teaser 05

* Teaser 06

* Teaser 07

I think this will end up being one of my favorites so far! It will premiere at Blizzcon and I'll be sure to release it to the rest of the world the day afterwards (August 5th).

I've been active on my blog the past few weeks, and here are some of the highlights. I really need to figure out a way to force myself to have something to say every day, heh.

* Morals in Hollywood

* Why Orcs in Space is Offensive

* Author Complications

* Update - ISW3 and Life in General

* Blizzard Hate

I, along with a number of other WoW machinima authors, have been invited to speak at Blizzcon this year. I will be given a time slot at the Blizzard machinima booth where people can come up and talk with me and see examples of some of my movies. As soon as I find out, I'll be sure to announce exactly what time during the day I will be there. So be sure to stop by and say hi!

In other news, I've been to a number of interviews and should be getting a nice job here soon, which is certainly a good thing for Brandon! Top Ramen stops tasting good after a few months. Job hunting has been consuming much of my time this week, which is why I didn't know whether or not I would finish my Blizzcon machinima entry in time, but I did, somehow! I am now free to work on Inventing Swear Words 3 again. As I've said before, ISW3 is probably the most ambitious movie I have ever started, so it may be a while before I finish it. I know that in the trailer I said "Summer, 2007" but... well, we will see!

07/02/07

I just finished a new short children's story that I wrote for a contest. The contest was held by a bank, and the winner of the contest gets $1,000 (to be held in a new account opened at the bank). More importantly, the story will be published. The story had to be less than 1,400 words, aimed at 8-12 year olds, and it had to teach kids basic financial principals, like saving and spending wisely. Here is the story I came up with. I hope it wins!

* Morty the Hungry Mole

I've been busy with my blog this week. Here are some of the highlights:

* All Glory Goes to... Who?

* The Problem With Vulgarity

* Is World of Warcraft Inherently Evil?

* Hating Gaming Geeks

* Lowly, Lowly Comedy

HeroicLegacy has completed a fan movie which uses some of my swear words from Inventing Swear Words. You can check it out here:

* World of Warcrap

I've just completed the move to my brand new apartment. It is just a studio apartment, but the rent is cheap and it is in a good location. It is also in a cool old building, and I'll be sure to post some pictures, when I can. I don't have internet access there, however, which means that I have to do all of my online stuff at the library or a frends house, until I get internet set up. So if I havent checked the forums, my email, my YouTube messages or anything else recently, I'm sorry--I'll be sure to answer every message when I get a chance.

I'm still working on Inventing Swear Words 3. Production is going slow due to graduation, the move, and my lack of internet access (not to mention my aging laptop, which might not be able to make movies anymore, heh). I still plan to release it this summer, but I thought I would just give you all an update as to its progress.

That's it for now, see you Monday!

06/25/07

I've written a new short story! I wrote it as a birthday present for my cousin.

* The Judgment of Gritty Sax

It is a sequel to a story I wrote for her last year:

* Tova and the Tree

I've been busy with my blog! Here are some of the highlights from last week:

* Dealing with Criticism -- Part One

* The Arrogance of Quality

* Hording the Tricks of the Trade

* Dealing with Criticism -- Part Two

* Theft of Machinima for Profit

I've found my blog to be a handy place to post the scripts to my movies as well, so be sure to check it out if you are ever in need of an Oxhorn fix!

* Chewing the Cud -- Oxhorn's Thoughts on All Things Machinima

That's it for now! See you Monday.

06/18/07

I co-hosted a radio show with my friend Menuet on her show “The X” last Saturday. It went really well, and was a lot of fun to do. You can download an MP3 of the show from the archives at WCRadio.com:

* "The X with Menuet and Oxhorn - June 16th, 2007"

If you missed the update a few days ago, I have released a new movie:

* "The Peace Circle"

And I have launched a brand new blog:

* “Chewing the Cud – Oxhorn’s Thoughts on Everything Machinima”

People have been asking me for an MP3 of the spoof Eurovision song I made in the credits. You can download it here:

* Oxhorn’s Eurovision Song

I’m looking for work, looking for a new apartment, and spending the rest of my time on Inventing Swear Words 3. I won’t be able to make my weekly short shorts until I finish ISW3, because this movie is turning into a monster—the script is huge! It will probably end up being my longest and most complicated movie yet. But it will also be very funny! Until then, check back every Monday for new updates, participate in the ever-growing forums, and check my blog every day for my daily ramblings about machinima. See you next Monday!

06/15/07

As promised, here is an additional update with my new movie. Mortuus, Associate Professor Evil and a hungry ogre named Thunk sit down for a little chat with a hippy elf:

The Peace Circle

* Mirror 1 : GoogleVideo (MED)

* Mirror 2 : FileFront (MED)

* Mirror 3 : YouTube (LOW)

* Mirror 4 : Stage6 (HIGH)

* Mirror 5 : GameVideos (LOW)

* Mirror 6 : Stormrager Productions (HIGH)

I’ve just released a new blog that I update daily with thoughts about machinima, gaming, World of Warcraft, and anything else that I’m thinking about. Check it out, and join in the conversation!

* Chewing the Cud – Oxhorn’s Thoughts on All Things Machinima

Now that I have finished “The Peace Circle”, I will devote my energy to completing “Inventing Swear Words 3”. I still have a list of ideas for more short shorts, but I’ll shelve them for now. I released a trailer for ISW3 a while back which you can view here:

* Inventing Swear Words 3 Trailer

Our good friend Vinkona sent me a very sweet graduation card, which you can view here. Thank you Vinkona!

Tomorrow, Saturday, I'll be co-hosting a WoW Radio broadcast with Menuet on her show, "The X". It will air at 2:00 PM EST/7:00 PM GMT/11:00 AM PST. Be sure to catch it at WCRadio.com!

That's everything! See you again on Monday. Or tomorrow, on my new blog. Heh.

06/11/07

I've graduated! I am officially a graduate of the University of Washington with a BA in history and a minor in classics and ancient history. Whew. My week has been filled with finals, papers, convocations, ceremonies and a wee bit 'o partying. But now I am all done, and I'll never have to attend another class again. Bwahahaha!

Now I have all the time in the world to dedicate to other pursuits. Here is a list of my priorities--well, as far as this website goes:

1) Finish a movie I started last week.
2) Finish a short story for my cousin.
3) Start a new literary project that I am keeping hush for now.
4) Start and complete Inventing Swear Words 3.

Somewhere in there I will get a new job, find a new place to live, revamp the website and learn how to use Adobe After Effects.

I have an exciting announcement that I wish I could talk about here, but I am sworn to secrecy for now. So I guess I shouldn't be writing this. Hmmm.

The movie I am working on now should be done sometime next week, either on Wednesday or before the weekend, and I plan to have an additional update when I finish the movie.

Also, I am starting a new literary project which I will launch when I release my new movie, so expect it to appear Wednesday or sometime before the weekend.

HellfiresFury liked my movie Hark! Hear the Wails so much that she sent me a link to an art project she made. You can see it here. Thanks for the link Hellfires!

Check back in a few days and I should have a more substantial update for you. See you then!

05/28/07

Here is this week's movie!

Orcs in SPACE!

* Mirror 1 : FileFront (High Quality)

* Mirror 2 : YouTube (Low Quality)

* Mirror 3 : GoogleVideo (Low Quality)

* Mirror 4 : Game Trailers (Low Quality)

* Mirror 5 : Stage6 (High Quality/Firefox Only)

You can download an MP3 of the song I sang in Orcs in SPACE!, "The Trail of the Lonesome Pine", Here:

* The Trail of the Lonesome Pine on FileFront

I have a week or more until I graduate, so this is my final movie until after June 9th, so that I can spend these final days of the quarter studying.

Vinkona has made yet another wonderful movie poster, this time for my movie ROFLMAO!

* Official ROFLMAO! Poster

Our good Crystalgonzales has made some more ring tones, this time from my trailer for Inventing Swear Words 3 which I released last week:

* Snakes on a Zeppelin

* Oxhorn and Staghorn scream at the sight of Lacey

* Shaun of the Dead Spoof

Wolfrain14 from YouTube sent me this image, with her using one of my invented swear words with her own Hat the turtle. If you have some fan art or images, send them my way and I'll post them here! See you all next week.

05/21/07

Happy Monday! I am back from my choir tour and we had a blast. If you missed it last week, I released my trailer to Inventing Swear Words 3. You can find links to the movie below.

Crystalgonzales has created two new ring tones for our cell phones! You can find them here:

* ROFLMAO! Ring Tone 02 - "Ubar ubar l33t" sequence

* Hat the Singing Turtle song from ISW2

Today is a special day! Clowie from Durotan has named her guild using the swear words from my Invented Swear Words series and she sent me a screenshot:

The Blits of the Horde

Thanks for the image Clowie!

I've finally written a short guide that should answer many of the questions I get about movie making, including what program I use, where to get it, and how to do screen keying. You can find it on my Myspace page in the blog section, or in my forums, here:

The Basics of Making WoW Machinima

That's it for this week!

05/17/07

I've completed and released the trailer to my next major movie, Inventing Swear Words 3!

Inventing Swear Words 3 Trailer

* Mirror 1 : Stage6 (HIGH, FireFox)

* Mirror 2 : FileFront (HIGH)

* Mirror 3 : Google Video (MED)

* Mirror 4 : YouTube (LOW)

* Mirror 5 : GameTrailers (LOW)

* Mirror 6 : GameVideos (LOW)

Vinkona has been hard at work making beautiful, high resolution large wall posters for my movies! You can purchase a movie poster for the Inventing Swear Words 3 Trailer at base cost (I do not make a profit).

* Official Inventing Swear Words 3 Trailer Poster

Our good friend Crystal Gonzalez has made cell phone ring tones for many of my musical movies. You can find them on her ring tone page here:

* Crystalgonzalez' Ring Tones

Here are the individual links:

* The Anti-Elf Anthem (Begining)

* The Anti-Elf Anthem (Chorus)

* The Great Kodo (Ending and Instrumental)

* The Great Kodo (Begining)

* The 12 Days of Winter's Veil

* ROFLMAO!

I have polished the first book of my Ænurin, The Foundations, into a finished, complete work of publishable quality. You can read the entire 16,400 word excerpt from my novel here:

* Ænurin - The Foundations - PDF

I'm leaving town on Friday to go on tour with my choir, and I won't be back until Monday. I won't have a new movie done for next week, but this trailer should tide everyone over for a while. I have some "behind the scenes" footage and bloopers that I want to organize and release soon, but that will take some time. In the meantime, download my movies, download my songs, read my stories and I'll see you soon!

05/14/07

I've finished my trailer for Inventing Swear Words 3. A friend of mine is composing music for it, so I can't release it just yet. Check back in a few days. I'll have an additional update this week when the trailer is ready. I'll also have some "behind the scenes" footage, which you guys might enjoy.

My latest movie Elf On was featured on WoW Insider last week. You can read about it here:

* Elf On on WoW Insider

Vinkona has made two great, high resolution posters for my movies. I am selling them at cost from my cafepress store (I don't make a dime). Thanks again Vinkona, the posters are great!

* Official A.P.E. Kills All Beggars Movie Poster

* Official Racing the Grimtotem Movie Poster

That's it for now, check back in a few days to see my new trailer!

05/06/07

Here is this week's new movie, "Elf On". It truly lives up to the name of "short" short!

Elf On

* Mirror 01 - Stage6 (Firefox Only, HIGH)

* Mirror 02 - FileFront (HIGH)

* Mirror 03 - FileFront (LOW)

* Mirror 04 - YouTube (LOW)

* Mirror 05 - GameVideos (LOW)

* Mirror 06 - GameTrailers (LOW)

* Mirror 07 - Google Video (MED)

Last week, my movie Associate Professor Evil Kills All Beggars was featured on WoWInsider. You can find it here:

* Associate Professor Evil Kills All Beggars on WoW Insider

Vinkona made a great new poster for last week's movie:

* "Associate Professor Evil Kills All Beggars" Movie Poster - by Vinkona

That's it! See you next week!

04/30/07

I've released a new movie!

Associate Professor Evil Kills All Beggars
Mirror 01 - FileFront (HIGH)
Mirror 02 - FileFront (LOW)
Mirror 03 - GameVideos (LOW)
Mirror 04 - YouTube (LOW)
Mirror 05 - Google Video (MED)
Mirror 06 - GameTrailers (LOW)

So my goal was to make one movie a week. I missed one week because I had to go to Oregon for a conference, and I missed another week because I completed a movie for mtvU (which I am not allowed to release yet). But I jumped back on the wagon this week, and I'm glad I got this done in time for the Monday update.

I submitted this movie to The Condemned contest, which is being run by machinima.com. If they accept it, there will be a public voting period, and I will be sure to post a link here so you all can vote.

Vinkona has been busy making really cool posters and artwork!

* Tauren in Black

* Horn of the Dead

* Racing the Grimtotem Poster 01

* Racing the Grimtotem Poster 02

* Racing the Grimtotem Poster 03

* Racing the Grimtotem Poster 04

MuseDria has been having fun with Photoshop too:

* Ruler of the Bracelet

Thanks again Vinkona for the posters! I hope you all like my new movie. Guess I had better start working on the next one!

04/23/07

Inventing Swear Words was listed as one of the top WoW movies on YouTube in the latest issue of MMO Games magazine. I'll try to get a picture up soon, but you can find it listed on page 25 near the bottom. They got the name a little wrong (calling it "curse" words instead of "swear" words) but still, it’s pretty sweet!

I've finished my latest movie, but since I was commissioned to make it, I can't release it virally until they give me the go-ahead. So instead, I've posted a few more screenshots from the finished version:

* Teaser 06

* Teaser 07

* Teaser 08

* Teaser 09

* Teaser 10

* Teaser 11

* Teaser 12

I'm working on a new comedy, which I should have done by next Monday. I am hoping to finish it in time to submit to Machinima.com's "The Condemned" contest, so wish me luck!

The forums have been awash with creativity! Here are some images from Vinkona and MuseDria. I want to join the Hat fan club too!

Hat Fan Club

* Hat 01 - MuseDria

* Hat 02 - MuseDria

* Hat 03 - MuseDria

* Be My Little Friend - Vinkona

* Have a Nice Day! - Vinkona

T-Shirts

* T-Shirt 01 - Vinkona

* T-Shirt 02 - Vinkona

* T-Shirt 03 - Vinkona

All right, that's it for this week. Wish me luck on the last midterms that I will ever have to take!

04/16/07

*Update* ROFLMAO! just passed the 100,000 downloads mark on WCM, earning me my first platinum star. I know, I know, vanity, but... wee!

I've been interviewed by WoW Insider. You can read the interview here:

Interview with Oxhorn on WoW Insider

Also, a number of my movies have been featured on WoW Insider; some recently and others a long time ago:

* Drunken Kodo Riding on WoW Insider

* Inventing Swear Words 1 on WoW Insider

* Inventhing Swear Words 2 on WoW Insider

* ROFLMAO! on WoW Insider

* Krick in the Back! on WoW Insider

* The Tauren's Kilt on WoW Insider

* The 12 Days of Winter's Veil on WoW Insider

Many thanks to everyone at WoW Insider for the publicity, especially to Elizabeth Harper!

I just got back from the Phi Alpha Theta history conference in Oregon, where I presented a paper on Herodotus. It was a blast! They put us up in a great hotel, right on the beach, and the University of Washington, along with PAT, footed the whole bill. Here are some pictures of the coast:

* Hotel Room 01

* Hotel Room 02

* Oregon Rocks

* Oregon Coast

* Windy Day

* Miles of Driftwood

* A Stump

I've been working on a machinima project that I was hired to make that promotes "awareness" on college campuses. I can't get into too many details yet, but I suppose I can show you some screenshots. Here are some good ones from the first scene:

* Teaser 01

* Teaser 02

* Teaser 03

* Teaser 04

Because of the conference and this latest project, I haven't been able to make a new movie. I'll be working on my project all this week (as well as catching up on my class-work and working on getting my novel published) so I probably won't have a new movie done for next week either. We will see.

Vinkona from the forums has been quite busy! She is making a papier-mâché model of a kodo, and she graces us with updates and images as her project progresses. Check out the thread here to see her kodo in-the-works (it is near the end of the thread).

She has also made a few more images with Photoshop that you all might enjoy:

* Mulgore

* Dressage Riding Kodo

* Kodo Riding Club

* Kodo Riding Club T-shirt

I'm surprised at how popular ROFLMAO! has been. On YouTube alone, it has been downloaded over 160,000 times, and the movie has only been out for two weeks! On WCM, it has been download 98,000 times, and with it being downloaded nearly 8,000 times a day, it will break the 100,000 mark tonight, making it my first movie to receive a platinum star from WCM (only The Great Kodo is beating it, and it has been out for more than a year).

Here are some brief stats, just for fun. All my movies, together, have been downloaded:

* 741,849 times on WCM

* 1,244,931 (+ 316,302) times on YouTube

* 759,120 times on Google Video

* 58,568 times on Game Trailers

Not even counting all the other websites that have hosted my movies (with and without my permission), it is quite humbling! It makes me wonder whether or not I should start accepting sponsors. Thanks everyone for downloading my movies, and I hope that you will enjoy my future movies just as much. I'll work on a new "Oxhorn Short Short" as soon as I finish my college "awareness" movie, which should be soon.

Lastly, I've received uncountable requests for the MP3's to many of the songs in my movie. So here is a list of all of them, hosted on File Front, which you can download:

* ROFLMAO!.mp3

* The Tauren's Kilt.mp3

* The Anti-Elf Anthem.mp3

* The 12 Days of Winter's Veil.mp3

* The Great Kodo.mp3

* Hark! Hear the Wails.mp3

Here are some additional audio files, just for fun:

* Complete Bloopers for The 12 Days of Winter's Veil

* Complete Bloopers for Inventing Swear Words 2

* The ACLU Tracks Down Oxhorn

That's it! See you on Monday, unless I see you in the forums before then.

04/10/07

Oops, I forgot to post this yesterday. People have been asking for an MP3 of "ROFLMAO!", so I put it up on FileFront. Here you go!

ROFLMAO!.mp3

Also, Vinkona has graced us again with her Photoshop skills! Here is her fan poster based on my movie, "Drunken Kodo Riding":

Don't Drink and Ride

04/09/07

I've released a new movie, "Drunken Kodo Riding"!

Drunken Kodo Riding

Mirror 1 : YouTube
Mirror 2 : Google Video
Mirror 3 : Game Videos
Mirror 4 : Game Trailers
Mirror 5 : File Front (Low Qual)
Mirror 6 : File Front (Normal Qual)

I made a little poster for the movie, which you might enjoy:

Poster for Drunken Kodo Riding

Whew! That one was fun to make. I won't have a new one done next week because I've been hired to make a machinima movie that promotes a new "awareness" campaign for college students, and I'll spend most of next week working on it. I'll be sure to post it here when I am allowed to, which probably won't be for a while. I am also leaving for Oregon on Thursday to deliver a presentation on Herodotus at the Phi Alpha Theta history conference. Those are my excuses for not working on a new movie for next week at any rate, hehe.

ROFLMAO!, which I released last week, has been remarkably successful. It was the top downloaded movie on warcraftmovies.com every day of last week, and it received a number of honors on YouTube. I'm really not sure why it has struck a chord with folks, but I'm glad people are enjoying it!

Bryndza from YouTube released a response to my movie "Krick in the Back!" which explores what went through the minds of those hordies who walked past Oxhorn stuck in his cramped position. You can watch it here:

Re: Krick in the Back! by Brindza

I've signed up as a weekly co-host with Eriyanna on WCRadio's "Tails from Thunderbluff" radio segment. I play the part of a Tauren who gives an aspiring machinimator movie making advice. It aired last Thursday during Eriyanna's Deus Ex Machinima segment. You can download an MP3 of the broadcast from File Front here.

I also gave Menuet some fun recordings that she will use as transitions for her own radio broadcast. They are simple and along the lines of: "This is Oxhorn and you are listening to Menuet!" but I threw in a few funny quips and references to my movies. Her show will air Saturday the 14th at 3 EST, 8 GMT at WCRadio.com.

Vinkona from the forums has been busy making Tauren-themed artwork. Here are three of her projects:

Come to Mulgore Country
Land Kodo
Metro Thunder Bluff

Nice work Vin! That's it for today's update. See you next week.

04/02/07

Here is this week's new movie, ROFLMAO!

ROFLMAO!

Mirror 1 : YouTube
Mirror 2 : Google Video
Mirror 3 : Game Videos
Mirror 4 : Game Trailers
Mirror 5 : File Front (Low Qual)
Mirror 6 : File Front (Normal Qual)

I may have bitten off more than I could chew. I will still come out with movies on a regular basis, though maybe not every week. This one took me literally all week to make; I ended up neglecting my classes. Since this is my last quarter ever at college (thank God), I can't make this a habit. I also have a historical fiction story I would like to post, but I haven't had a chance to edit it yet, so maybe next week.

Stop by the forums and let me know what you thought of ROFLMAO!

03/26/07

Dum, da-da-da! I've made a new movie! You can find it on warcraftmovies.com, and I've posted a few mirror links as well:

Krick in the Back!

Mirror 1 : YouTube
Mirror 2 : Google Video
Mirror 3 : Game Videos
Mirror 4 : Game Trailers
Mirror 5 : File Front

This movie took me two days to make. I've decided to try to produce short movies like this on a regular basis, perhaps once a week (but don't hold me to that). I figure that machinima is the perfect medium for making cheap but entertaining internet movies quickly, so I might as well take advantage of it.

I've been working on getting my fantasy novel, The Tale of Cloran Hastings, which is completed at 82,000 words, published. In the meantime, I'm placing a very short sample here on my website. I've taken down the previous sample chapters that I posted here because my novel has changed drastically since then. I'm placing the prologue here on my site, which I hope you will enjoy.

The Prologue to The Tale of Cloran Hastings

I am still working on my Ænurin. I do not think that I will be placing completed chapters of it on my site anymore, because after completing a chapter I often make numerous changes. I will leave up Book I of my Ænurin, "The Foundations", but I am taking down Book II : "The Histories" for now until I complete it and have it polished.

I am no longer writing for The Daily, and therefore will not have weekly columns to share with everyone. I hope to have a short movie instead (which I think many will like better anyway, heh).

That’s it for today!

03/19/07

Happy Monday!

I finished yet another short story for one of my cousins for her birthday. For those who have read the older version of my Ænurin, you may recognize a few themes from it. Anyhow, I just self-published it with Lulu and it is on its way. Here is the PDF:

"The Day Elena Ate a Wrigglydoop"

Alas, I don't have another chapter of my Ænurin ready for this week's update. I was busy writing the above story, and last week was finals week for me too. This week is my spring break, but I will be busy readying the submission materials necessary in order to find an agent, and also, if I have time, there are three movies I have mapped out that I would like to try and finish this week. Since I'm such an ornery fellow, I'll give you the names of my movie ideas. Partially.

Red ******** 2
********* Swear ***** 3 Trailer
***** in the ****!

Hehe, I'm horrible.

03/12/07 - B

I've edited one of the short stories I posted a few weeks ago and I've written a completely new one. Both of these were written as assignments for my short story writing class this quarter and are very unlike the kind of stories I usually write. I feel an explanation of sorts is due, but here they are, the edited one first and the new one second:

"Just Keep Rowing"
"The Tree in the Meadow"

There is a sort of snobbery in the field of creative writing when it comes to genre fiction, especially concerning science fiction and fantasy. If you go to college and try to get a degree in creative writing, you will be more or less forbidden to write fantasy or other genre fiction. The reason for this is that "professional" scholastic writers consider genre fiction to be inferior, for a number of reasons, but the main one, I believe, is because it is so popular. If something is very popular, the scholastic types want to distance themselves from it so that they can set themselves apart as being "unique".

The kind of fiction that is praised by the scholastic types is usually dark, depressing and morbid. If you read any of the "great" novels, especially the great modern novels, you will find them to be dystopian or depressing. Why? Well, the scholastic types have a morbid fascination with everything that is not mainstream, everything that is sad, depressing, unconventional or otherwise "deep". I believe this stems from arrogance, for many scholastic writers tend to see happily-ever-after stories as simple, fantasies as worthless, and anything that caters to a mass audience as vulgar. In order to solidify their own superiority, they write stuff that flies in the face of mainstream fiction, morality and ethics so that they can be set apart from the "vulgar masses".

South Park once made fun of films at festivals such as the Sundance Film Festival as concerning nothing but "gay cowboys eating pudding". When Brokeback Mountain came out, this social commentary was pretty much proven, and this analysis does well to describe the mindset of the hoity-toity snobbish filmmakers who are too good to make anything mainstream, and are so good that they just simply are "misunderstood".

As far as fiction goes, there is a similar mindset amongst scholastic and non-mainstream writers, the kind of fellows who go for writing stuff in order to receive awards and be patted on the back by their peers instead of writing something that people actually want to read. Thus, you are going to find stories about lesbian hookers slitting their wrists while having an affair with an anorexic panda that is addicted to heroin. Yeah, I'm not even kidding.

So in order to survive in this sort of environment, one cannot write a fantasy, a children’s tale, a morality tale, an analogy or anything that might appeal to a widespread audience. With this in mind, I sat down to write two stories for my creative writing class that fulfilled the requirements and catered to the dark, morbid and dystopian desires of those in the industry.

Therefore, both "Just Keep Rowing" and "The Tree in the Meadow" are not fantasies and are darker than most things I write. Now if anyone has seen Racing the Grimtotem, he will know that I am not opposed to tragedy and consider it to be a legitimate and wonderful art form. I just think, however, that it is really silly for college students to always pump out nonsensical dreck dealing with death, sickness and oppression; especially if they are blessed children of middle-class families, going to a great university and have never experienced death, sickness or oppression. It seems to me that those who revel in such things are the least experienced with them. Anyhow, I tried to write the stories in such a way so that my peers would go, "Ooo, how wonderfully depressing!" while at the same time not compromising my own morals. The language is stark and perhaps a bit vulgar in both stories, and are not meant for children, but I also tried to retain some kernel of goodness. Anyhow, that is my rant.

I'll have a new chapter to my Ænurin next week!

03/12/07 - A

Gah, it's noon! That's not too late for an update, no, not at all.

*ahem*

Anyhow, let's see. Ah, ok, so here is my latest article that ran in The Daily:

Protecting Children from Porn

And here is the unedited version:

Pornography and Children

Now I've got a new story I'd like to put up here, but I need to make some tweaks to it first. I'll get on that now and should have it up in a few hours.

03/05/07

Today I am a Featured Filmmaker at Best Film on Campus! Head on over and rate my movies there if you haven't already, or send me a message and say hi!

The Daily elected not to publish my article last week. But for those who are interested, you can read it on my blog:

There is no Marriage Inequality

For those World of Warcraft fans out there, I think I should point you to an interesting article in The Daily today that one of my peers wrote about WoW. I plan on responding directly to it, if my editor allows me to, so stay tuned. Here is the article:

Gamers get owned

It is the last week of the quarter for me and I have been busy writing papers, so I haven't been able to add to my Ænurin. I'll try and have a new chapter for you next week. Also, I have written a new short story, one that is not a fantasy, which I will try and get up here by next week.

As far as news goes, my interview last week on WoW Radio went so well that they've been tossing around the idea of having me on to co-host a weekly show. As soon as I find out more, I'll be sure to let you know!

02/26/07

If you missed it, I was interviewed yesterday by TotalBiscuit on WoW Radio. You can find an archive of the show here:

Oxhorn Interviewed on WoW Radio

TotalBiscuit had the community give him a list of questions to ask me during the interview, and you can find the list here:

WoW Radio Forum - Oxhorn Interview

I finished another chapter of my Ænurin which you can read here:

Chapter Three - Gadwyth

Here is a link to my article in The Daily last week:

Beauty, truth and morality

and here is the unedited version:

Beauty, Truth and Morality

In other news, I've finally quit my job of three years, which is a great relief for me because I now have the weekends free to write, work on my classes or work on my movies. Hooray!

02/23/07

Announcements, announcements announcements! I've been interviewed by TotalBiscuit for WoW Radio, which will air on their flagship show, Blue Plz. Here is the information he sent me:

"You can listen to the interview live on Sunday 25th Feb at 17:30 GMT (12:30 EST, 9:30 PST) at http://www.wcradio.com. The show will be airing a 1 hour long preshow just before the main event kicks off to get you in the mood so feel free to pop by the site at that time and simply click the red 'tune in' button. You can use most popular mp3 players including Winamp and iTunes to tune in to the show. After the show you will be able to download the mp3 of the entire show if you missed it or want to listen over again, or simply subscribe to the Blue Plz! podcast feed available here:

Blue Plz! Podcast

Be sure to check out previous Blue Plz! shows available in the 'Downloads' section on the website."

So there you go, how's that for an extra special pre-Monday update, eh? Hehe.

02/21/07

Sorry for the late update. I put it off because I thought I would be able to finish my latest chapter of my Ænurin in time. Instead I finished another short story for my cousin David for his birthday. I did get halfway done with my Ænurin chapter though, so I should have it done in time for next week's update.

Here is the short story I wrote for my cousin:

David the Yigreblat Champion

Here is my article that was published last week in The Daily:

Smoking Lepers

And here is the unedited version:

Smoking Lepers

Thats it, see you Monday!

02/12/07

I've got plenty for you to read this update!

Here is a Christmas story I wrote for my cousins a few months ago:

Bumpystump's Christmas Story

Here is a short story I wrote for a class I am taking this quarter. It is rather different from stories I normally write. It isn't a fantasy and is geared towards adults.

"Just Keep Rowing"

Here is my latest column in The Daily:

Who's the Racist?

And here is the unedited version:

Who's Racist?

That should do it for now. I'll try and have a chapter of my Ænurin for you all next week. See you then!

02/05/07

Gah, I lost track of time. Ah well, better an evening update than no update at all, right?

So I've been getting a lot of questions about when my next movie will come out, whether it will be shot in the Burning Crusade, etc. So here is the update: I have a script done for Inventing Swear Words 3. I also have a script done for three music videos, a third music video with a new song that I have written, and a tragedy along the lines of Racing the Grimtotem. I have also been asked to make a music video for another artist's song.

The problem is that I am a full time college student, a weekly columnist for my campus paper, I'm actively trying to get my book published and I work part time on the weekends. Between all of that, I just don’t have time to make movies.

Now, I'm not giving up on it by any means. Perhaps I can find some time during work to get a few hours of movie making in. I just can’t work on it very much right now. Similarly, though I have the BC expansion, I have not installed it and haven't even played WoW in almost a year. I honestly doubt I will have time to take up the game again, unless casually for thirty minutes or so a week. But don’t worry; I can still make movies outside of the game.

But it isn't like I have been neglecting my movies. Last year I made 12 movies, 7 in the last six months alone. Compared to most other machinimators, I have hardly been idle. So never fear, I'm still here, and though I am concentrating on my studies and my future, my hobby of machinimating will probably not leave me for very long. Once you get the bug, it is very hard to get rid of.

After all of that, I suppose you won’t be surprised that I haven't had a chance to write the next chapter in my Ænurin. I'll make it up to you. I'll try to have it done by next week, and additionally, I will post a new story that I wrote for a class this quarter.

Anyhow, here is the sixth and final historical fiction piece I wrote for a class back in 2005:

Athenian Conversation about Lysistrata

I wrote a column on sex and marriage last week which was published on Friday, and I have had more comments on it than anything else I have ever written. You can read most of the reader's comments from The Daily link. Here it is:

Marriage is the right way for sex

And here is the unedited version:

Sex is Marriage

Sorry for the delay, and I'll be sure to have more for you next week!

01/29/07

Thanks to everyone who went over to BestFilmOnCampus.com and viewed, rated and commented on my movies! Many of my movies are still on the Most Watched list, including Racing the Grimtotem, which has 5/5 stars and is the second most viewed movie on the site. You all rock!

I have some rather exciting news (well, for me, at least.) I went to dinner with a friend of a friend who works at a press here in Seattle. She found out that I was a writer and that I had a completed manuscript that I was trying to get published and she asked to read it. I printed out a copy for her and if she likes it, she will give it to her superior who works for Simon & Schuster. Of course, I'm all giddy inside at the prospect of finally getting my book published and am hoping that something actually comes from this.

Anyhow, I spent all week editing and tweaking my book. I added a prologue and an additional chapter, as well as an appendix and a glossary, and I reworded a number of places within the story. It is now over 80,000 words, which is the size of an average novel. Because I spent all week writing in my book, I did not have a chance to update my Ænurin this week. Sorry, but I'll be sure to have the next chapter done by next Monday.

I ran out of room on the front page (I didn't even know I could run out of room) so I archived all news from 2004-2006. They can be found in the new Archives section of the web page.

Here is the fifth historical fiction short story I wrote back in 2005 based on Thucydides' history of the Peloponnesian War:

Athenian Assembly

Here is my article that came out in The Daily last friday:

The Ashley Treatment: A big decision for a little girl

And here is the unedited version:

The Ashley Treatment

See you Monday!

01/22/07

I need your help! MTVU has invited me to put up a page on their "Best Film On Campus" site were my movies are hosted and where people can rate them. I've uploaded a number of my movies and if you could head on over and rate them for me, I'd be in your debt! Click the link below and when the page loads, choose the movies to the right to view them. You can select more of them by pressing up or down on the arrows. Be sure to refresh the page before rating a new movie:

Best Film on Campus

Here is the fourth historical fiction story I wrote in 2005 based upon Thucydides' account of the Peloponnesian War:

Revolution in Corcyra

Here is a link to my article that ran in The Daily last Thursday:

The combustion when religion meets state

And here is the unedited version:

Church and State

Here is the second chapter of The Histories section of my Ænurin:

Chapter Two - “Wak, Wak”

Lastly, here is an interesting article I read earlier this week that you all might enjoy:

Casual sex is a con: women just aren't like men

Well that was a rather large update! I hope I am leaving myself enough material for future updates, heh. See you next week!

01/15/07

I've begun writing the second book in my expansive Ænurin called "The Histories". I'll post a new chapter from it every week, just like I did for "The Foundations". Here is the first chapter.

Chapter One - The Foreman's New Toy

Here is my article that was published in The Daily last week:

Readers beware: the myth of bias-free media

And here is the unedited version:

No Such Thing as 'Unbiased'

Here is the third historical fiction short story I wrote back in 2005, based on the Peloponessian War:

The Attack of Platea

That's it for now! Enjoy the Burning Crusade!

01/08/07

Gah, I almost forgot about the update!

My column in The Daily last Thursday can be read here:

The bloody consequecnes of open borders

You can find the unedited version here:

More U.S. Citizens Murdered by Illegals than Killed by War

I also updated the Awards, Honors &c. section on the webpage.

And here is the second historical fiction story based on the Peloponnesian War: Pericles and the Cause of War.

I just finished my Christmas children’s story and as soon as I get some feedback from friends, I'll post it here. Maybe next week.

01/01/07

Happy New Year!

If you missed it last week, I released The Anti-Elf Anthem, which you can watch here:

The Anti-Elf Anthem

Classes start up again for me on Wednesday, and due to working overtime at the hotel, writing for The Daily, finishing my movies and submitting my applications to graduate school, I have been unable to work on The Histories of my Ænurin. So instead, today I will upload one of six papers I wrote in 2005 based on Thucydides’ account of the Peloponnesian War. In the class I took, I had to write a short story based on the events we had covered that week. Here is the first one and each week I will upload a new one:

Athenian Democracy