Redneck Jellyfish!!!

The Modern Father: iPhone the Focus of Family Projects
A father’s father taught him to program when he was 10, and now he passes it on to his own kids.
Asheville North Carolina, June 10, 2011 – Model airplanes, trains and tree houses are the types of projects typically done with ‘dad’, but in a world full of iPhones and Xboxes, Keith Phillips knew what would excite his kids. Together they created an iPhone game.
On May 30, 2011, the Phillips’, Keith (Dad), Greyson (12) and Iva (11) released “Redneck Jellyfish” into Apple’s iTunes store. Gus Hickey is a jellyfish. His job is to build coral reefs. Simply tap the screen to make him swim and pick up coral seeds which he uses to grow more coral. Sounds simple, until he starts losing his tentacles to barnacles, crabs, sea urchins and other sea hazards!
“So many games today focus on destroying and tearing something down. With this game, I wanted to be sure the goal was ‘building’ something up”, says Keith. They can’t remember how it started with a jellyfish, but the coral idea came from Greyson, who had done some cool sketches with a Sharpy marker that looked like abstract coral.
It took about four months to develop the game. Each played a part in the development. In typical “dad” fashion, Keith wrote most of the code. He used Ansca mobile’s Corona SDK, which made development a breeze. The language was easy to learn and there is a wonderful online community to help solve problems and share code. Iva did the concept sketches for the main character, and Greyson is the voice of Gus. They all collaborated on ideas for over 60 levels.
Keith says, “We kept getting more and more ideas for the game, like eating plankton and shooting fart bubbles at the crabs. Iva was learning about undersea vents and fault zones so she wanted a Volcano World. Greyson came up with pepper plankton, that gives you a speed “power up” to help battle the current. Eventually I had to say ‘enough’! And so we wrapped it up and submitted it to app store”.
Keith’s dad, Fred Phillips, taught him to program when he was 10, almost 30 years ago. “We didn’t even have a computer yet. We would sit down for an hour after dinner, and I would write simple Basic programs in a spiral notebook. Dad would go through the logic and tell me where there were problems.” Eventually they bought one of the first home computers, a Timex Sinclair 1000, and started writing real programs. The difference in technology today and back then is staggering. The Timex Sinclair’s graphics had a resolution of 8 pixels per inch(ppi), and two colors – black and white. The iPhone 4 boasts 326 ppi and millions of colors.
The music for Redneck Jellyfish was provided by a family friend, Shane Hickey, aka Ukulele Guy, who composed it and played a banjo ukulele. “It was a perfect compliment and we felt it really put a shine on the game”. To compensate Shane for his contribution, we named the main character after his son.
The Phillips’s have some more ideas and plans to eventually enhance the game, but when asked if they wanted to work on it over the summer break, and they said “In the summer, we’d rather play outside.”
About the Phillips Family, aka MudStuffing Industries
Keith Phillips is a potter and artist working in Asheville, North Carolina, working under the business name MudStuffing Industries. Greyson and Iva Phillips attended Claxton Elementary School and next year will both be attending Cane Creek Middle School. Redneck Jellyfish is actually MudStuffing Industries’ second app in the app store. The first release,“SimpleList”, helps artists sell their handmade products on Etsy. For more information, visit http://www.mudstuffingindustries.com & http://khphillips.etsy.com
About Ukulele Guy
Shane Hickey is Ukulele Guy. About 6 years ago, his mother-in-law gave him an ukulele they had gotten on a visit to Hawaii. Being a guitar/bass player, he was instantly drawn to it. Unfortunately, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get it tuned correctly. Fortunately, this started him down a life-long obsession with all things ukulele-related. For more information, visit http://www.ukuleleguy.com
About Ansca Mobile
Ansca Mobile is enabling everyone to create mobile apps. Their Corona SDK is the world's most advanced development platform and is quickly becoming the industry-standard choice for games, e-books, and other interactive content. Whether you are an enthusiast or a professional, a small team or a big studio, a publisher or an agency, you can quickly and easily create great mobile experiences with Corona. http://www.anscamobile.com/
Contact:
Keith Phillips 21 Spring Lake Drive Fletcher, NC 28732 828-279-0572 keith@mudstuffing.com http://www.mudstuffingindustries.com
Resources:
Redneck Jellyfish YouTube Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUXNKzw81SQ
Redneck Jellyfish media assets: http://www.mudstuffingindustries.com/joomla/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=68&Itemid=71

Jesus is my Friend

Indictment

(Lyrics from "Cans" by Tunng)
By Amy Phillips

young girl, swimming in the remains of a youth lost
seeing him standing there, drunk with sickness
nothing between you but his hunger and blindness
he will never be what he is believed to be
what he believes himself to be, even in your room at night
where he wrecks and ruins the girl inside
he is a leper in hiding and no one knows his truth
only you and you won't tell

If you find you feel you're falling through the floor just
Put your hand out in the dark and feel the bones inside you.

darkness finds you through the cracks in the floor
underneath another broken man
who leaves you with nothing but a belly full
kicked around by the scum of life, you've vanished
nothing left behind your eyes
losing every moment gained to self loathing and fear

If you find you feel you're falling through the floor just
Put your hand out in the dark and feel the bones inside you.

words flew from your mouth like bats from a cave
tears flooded the space between you and mother
you hammered at your self from the inside
your truth was released and couldn't be taken back
not even when the hurt was placed on a shelf
you sat, in black, watching people speak of him with love
as if his destruction had been erased by cancer
the smut in his lungs, the only hint of justice

If you find you feel you're falling through the floor just
Put your hand out in the dark and feel the bones inside you.

Life after Youth

by Amy Phillips

Once, toes gripped bark

fingers clung to branches,

the two wheels of my bike

rode hard over gravel

& guided me unharmed

past the rose bushes.

Once, day-old scabs

were opened & fresh blood

mingled with the blood

of a classmate, creating

a bond that lasted

all through recess.

Once, we smoked joints

at Union Dam with our

legs hanging over the side

of the tower, standing erect

50 feet out of the water until

we found the nerve to jump.

Once, I stood facing the earth

from 12 thousand feet above

the dirt before I dove into

free fall, the wind so strong

breathing became impossible

just before the parachute release.

Now, life is routine

& moves at breakneck slows,

the sound of the alarm

brings the reality of long days

of work & pay is sustenance

for electric bills.

Now, a car is an expense

rather than a thrilling new

freedom, & impractical road

trips on a whim are instead

planned & timed flawlessly

in order to fit a weekend.

Now, parents & grandparents

are constant reminders of our

own mortality, & steady

decline into cautious living

leaves little space for imaginative

displays of spontaneity.

Now, the thrills of childhood

have slowed to a crawl

the fully developed person

awakens from a thick fog

& becomes acquainted

with the world beyond her nose.

Accidents

by Amy Phillips

It's getting late
bladder brimming
these two lazy
eternally selfish
assholes don't budge
feeling desperate
squirming
if only, if only, if only
the phone would ring
loudly in their ears
the buzzer answers
I am saved

The spotted one stumbles
steps on me, curses
I will have my turn to defecate
just not before her
tremble all over
imagine the blades
of grass beneath me
so close
I can smell the piss
of the neighbor
through the door

life spent waiting
for food, for walk, for release
this is it
I can wait no more
the warmth trickles
spreads beneath my feet
my shame is pungent
on the linoleum
I slide back into bed
bury my head
wait
her wrath
just a flush away.

The Early Shift

by Amy Phillips

Morning is still black
my skinny legs dangle
from the plastic milk crate.

Eyes still crusted with sleep
my red hair lay in tangles
about my freckled face.

The stink of stale hot dogs
burnt coffee, mopping detergent,
and fresh sweat lingers in the air.

My beautiful sleepy mother
smelling of Jergens and cigarettes
stands on aching feet at the counter.

Men in dirty uniforms come
for the early morning cup and speak
too sweetly to my pretty young mother.

Through each coin exchange
men press her dainty work-worn hands
and she recoils from their oppressive touch.

With my thumb in my mouth
and California Skipper in my lap
I watch the yellow bus round the corner.

I move slowly from her
the stench of gasoline starts to fade
but her sad eyes behind the register remain.

My Dad is Cooler than your Dad!

Hi all,

I just wanted to share this delicious holiday greeting from my formerly republican father. Read the original email first then delight in my Dad's fantastical response!

To All My Democrat Friends

Please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit, my best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low-stress, non-addictive, gender-neutral celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, or secular practices of your choice, with respect for the religious/secular persuasion and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all. I also wish you a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2008, but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures whose contributions to society have helped make America great. Not to imply that America is necessarily greater than any other country nor the only America in the Western Hemisphere. Also, this wish is made without regard to the race, creed, color, age, physical ability, religious faith or sexual preference of the wished.

To My Republican Friends:

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Dad's Response:

To my Republican Friends,

And a Merry Christmas to all of you! After the first of the year, when you have finished paying homage to your alleged Christian principles, please continue on with the raping of the environment, the exploitation of your fellow human beings, bringing war and destruction to the farthest reaches of the planet, holding smugly to the idea of your own superiority, believing that your God is the only true God, and in believing that your imagined success is evidence enough of your moral righteousness. Continue to believe that you, as a good, white, scrubbed-behind-the-ears Republican are the final, perfect product of all creation. Do these things, as you always have, in the holy name of profit and exploitation, because now that you have dispensed with the sham, over-commercialized, consumer-obsessed Christmas holiday of your own creation for another year, you can get back to what all Republicans really worship...THE DOLLAR. The meaning of Christmas can be determined, using your usual standards, by how many of those you made.

Yada Yada

My brother in law is an artist and he is having an opening and is asking everyone to title his work. While I realize most of you can't make it to Montana, you can take part in the festivities via his blog right here... http://kneelingbullmagic.blogspot.com/

So, check it out and throw him some titles!!! Thanks!

Early Morning Intruder or The Aquatic Messiah's Resurrection

Dave and I had just turned off the lights in our bedroom and had laid our heads on the pillow when Freud started growling, next he began to bark, then Dave and I heard footsteps outside of our bedroom door. I am prone to worry and have a bit of a fear of the dark so my reaction of fright was not out of the ordinary. When Dave, however, grabbed my hand and whispered, "I think someone is in the house." I was immediately shaking and sick to my stomach. I begged Dave to stay in the room and then I insisted on following him. All we had to protect ourselves was a glass bottle.

We slowly left the security of our bedroom and began to look about the house, turning on every light we passed. Freud was sniffing around but not acting concerned which made me feel a bit better. Dave opened the closet door and just as he did I looked down on the floor and I saw our little Red Tail Pink Chelsea (fish) lying still in a tumbleweed of Freud hair that often litters our floors.

Dave quickly picked the little guy up and began to clean the hair off of him. He felt the slightest movement in the fish and put him into the water but it showed little sign of recovery at first. Dave kept rubbing him and attempting to move the fish in the way that it would normally do on its own. He slowly began to perk up though he was still floating upside down and on his side. We watched him for a bit, laughing at ourselves for the panic when clearly it was this fish that we had heard from our room. We congratulated each other and Freud in our attempts to save the little fish's life and then we decided to go back to bed and hope for the best.

When I awoke this morning the first thing I did was check on the Red Tail assuming I would find him dead and perhaps half eaten by our other 12 fish. I was delighted to find him fully recovered and swimming around just as before. Dave, Freud, and I feel like heroes and are certain we now have a ticket into God's golden gates. ;)

Due to the Red Tails miraculous resurrection we have decided to christen him Jesus (pronounced Hey-Zeus).

sleepiness makes me stupid

I am so busy lately that I haven't the time to breathe. or sleep. School is wholly encompassing now. I feel like a real student for the first time since high school and that's fun, but I am just so tired. At the moment I am procrastinating. I should be reading some mind numbing book about literary theory but I am an"English Traditionalist" and Theory makes my brain hurt. So instead I am thinking about farming.

I know I have mentioned in more than a couple blog entries that my Dad is buying a farm in a few years but I am not sure if you guys know that Dave and I are planning on building our house on the property soon after Dad and Theresa settle in. All of this will begin to happen in about four years. So time would be much better used if I instead focused my meandering mind on homework. I just get so excited thinking about the whole idea of the natural life. Picking our dinner fresh from the yard and playing with goats and sheep and pigs. I totally revert back to a giddy, giggling four year version of myself.

Dave and I have been day dreaming about building an earthship on the farm. For the vast majority of you who don't know what an earthship is you must be thinking that I have lost my mind entirely and plan on taking a first class trip to outer space in a rocket. But an earthship is actually a house. A fully functioning, yet 100% off the grid, self sufficient home. It supplies it's own water from rain and snow, collects wind and sunlight for electricity, and best of all is built from mostly recycled materials - tires, bottles, and cans! It sounds insane and probably hideous but they are actually really beautiful, though certainly unique. Check them out at www.earthship.org or watch the video below... Maybe you'll be daydreaming instead of doing what you should just like me!

This and That

It's definately too soon to be talking about it but as those of you who know me understand, I cannot keep a secret. No, Jackie, I am not pregnant. ;) Dave and I are working together on a children's book. I am really super excited about it. I am doing the writing, he is illustrating and we came up with our idea while driving to Virginia. I am not going to go into too many details just yet but I had to say something. It's been great finding a project that Dave and I can work on together that we both enjoy equally. I have helped him here and there with some of his animations (I stress "here and there") but this is "ours."

I don't have much else to report right now. I start classes next Monday and I am pretty nervous because it will be my first semester as a full time student. I will also still be working 30+ hours a week with Katie so it's gonna be a bit tricky managing it all at first but I am determined to keep my 3.8 GPA. I will just have to learn to deal. My classes sound pretty interesting at least and hopefully that will carry me through to Christmas. Anycrap, if you don't hear from me for a while, now you know why.

I am reading a great book right now called Robbing the Bees by Holley Bishop. My Dad has started beekeeping in his backyard until he can officially retire and become a farmer. I have been fascinated with his newest obsession oddly enough. I actually have a bit of a bee phobia. So at the very least he seems to be helping me to overcome this fear. Bees are ridiculously interesting creatures. So check out the book sometime.

Waitress

The Spectrum Theatre is a little art house theatre a few blocks from our apartment. It is one of the best spots in Albany and certainly one of my favorite things about living here. The crowd is always ecclectic, the place is always packed and the parking lot is always full. There is a little coffee shop right next door that serves horribly bitter coffee and has a perfect atmosphere. Next door to that is a little art shop that sells great local and not-so-local artwork at super reasonable prices. The kind of prices that the working poor like Dave and I can afford. This block is in a scary part of town which makes it all that much better. Dave and I spend an excessive amount of time checking out the art, sharing a cup, and watching movies.

Tonight Dave was feeling in the mood to stay in and I was feeling in the mood to go out with my good lady-friend Karen. So we did little shopping and then headed over to Spectrum to see a movie that I have been interested in, called Waitress. I had heard about it online and read that it had been really well received at Sundance. Keri Russell stars as a waitress in a miserable marriage. Jeremy Sisto plays her dead beat husband.

Jeremy Sisto was spot on and though I hated him intensely he also gave the character this underlying sadness. So he was this intolerable tyrant but was also just so human. He was heartbreaking as well as infuriating. Keri Russell too was so amazing as the dispirited, luckless wife who was just getting kicked around by life.

I won't go any further into it as I don't want to ruin it for anyone who may want to see it. I just hope that everyone wants to go see it! It was really funny and moving and sort of gut wrenching. Truly this movie has been placed in my top ten.

The really sad part about this film is the story behind the writer/director Adrienne Shelly. Her apartment building was being renovated and she went down to a construction worker to complain. The argument got pretty heated and she slapped him. He punched her in the face and knocked her out. Because he was an illegal immigrant he was scared of being deported. He took her to her apartment and staged a suicide and hung her in her shower. She was murdered prior to her movie being released. She made an amazing movie and it's so tragic that her talent was cut short. It seems to always be the case that the most talented people seem to die far too soon. ie: John Lennon, Nick Drake, Elliott Smith...

Anyway, this ended up being a rather depressing blog. My point was just to convince you to see the movie... Hopefully I did that and didn't bum you out too much. ;)

The possible new ride.

So I think Dave and I are getting this car to replace the old as long as our insurance company doesn't completely screw us... Whatdya think? I know - orange is a bit garish but it's sort of grown on me. It'll look good with my freckles. It has everything we wanted in a car; cruise control, remote keyless entry, MP3 jack, and space for Freud. Like I said, no guarantees but I will be really happy if it works out. In fact, I won't even cry over the loss of the Spectra anymore.

the car.

This doesn't look totaled to me but that's the word from our insurance company. This would have been paid off next month. Fairly typical, huh?

So Dave and I are pretty frustrated about the whole thing as you might imagine. I keep trying to be positive about it... I could be dead, or hurt somebody else, yada yada yada. But I always go back to the fact that we were so close to paying it off.

I crashed my car...

and I am really sad about it. This was my very first at fault accident and I am 28... That's not a bad record, right? I was sobbing and I called my Daddy for a comforting word or two; though I claimed it was because I didn't know what to do.

Days like this make me wish that I lived closer to my family. All I wanted was for my Mom or Dad and Theresa to come rescue me on the side of the road. Instead I had to wait for officer Mike. Is it just me or is our generation incapable of severing the umbilical cord?

It's probably just me.

I feel like I am in constant need of my parents advice, guidence and/or monetary assistance. When my parents were my age they were already married, parents, divorced, remarried, and parents again. I on the other hand cannot keep a house plant for more than a month or two.

It's been a while... Let's play catch-up.

Did you know that drive in movie theatre's still existed? Cause I had no idea. I am pretty sure that all the drive-ins in Northern Virginia were closed down a long time ago but they are alive and well in Albany. Dave and I finally checked one out this Friday. It was great because we could bring Freud along. He's happy anytime he can go for a car ride. We saw Evan Almighty - it was crap and Room 1408 - it was okay... I think I may actually prefer the drive in to the more traditional theatres. Except for the wonky screen and the fog rolling in toward the end of 1408 we loved every minute of it. So if you are lucky enough to have a drive in close to you, you should definately give it a visit.

We also went to see the New York City Ballet's Romeo & Juliet at the Saratoga Performing Art Center. It was not that great. But the venue is really nice. We had a great spot under a big shady tree, we packed a great picnic, we got there early and stayed through the first intermission. I have always wanted to see the New York City Ballet and now I am not so sure why. I think it is that I have seen Romeo & Juliet SO many times that I was just completely bored. There were some cool moments but over all we mostly enjoyed the picnic.

Dave and I recently got a 55 gallon aquarium and have 9 fish in it so far. Truly this is the reason for so few blogs as of late. I am completely obsessed, sadly enough. What has my life come to? I sort of feel like a retiree with too much time on my hands.

Let's see what else is new... I signed up for classes for the fall semester. I have lost my mind and I will be taking 6! That will be in addition to the 30+ hours a week I still work as a nanny. Sheesh. If you think it's been awhile for a blog now, just wait till September.

Okay folks, I know you are dying to read more but this is all I have to report at the moment. Such is the life of the old boring lady I have so rapidly become.

Anyone else as crazy as I am?

It is after midnight and I work tomorrow morning. This may not seem strange to anyone but I am someone who relies on a full night of sleep to function. I don't mean I need 8 hours to be at my mental peak; I mean I need at least 8 hours so that I don't lose all sense of coordination and lose my ability to speak in coherent sentences. So my being up this late on a Sunday night is a bit unusual.

I am scared of the dark. There, I've said it and I will simply live with the consequences of having spilled my embarressingly childish secret.

If I am a uneasy for any reason before going to bed, the night is effectively shot. I spend the sleepless night laying in the fetal position facing the bedroom door imagining all the ways in which the psychopath who breaks into my home will torture Dave and me. I imagine what I will do to thwart his murderous attempts. I plan how I will get Dave, Freud and myself safely out of the house. How I will call 911 without being caught. The intimate details of the rest of my twisted imagination are better left unsaid.

I suppose I should explain what happened tonight that has me so scared to go to sleep. My brother and sister-in-law were in town a few months ago and we all went out and drank far too much. We shared a taxi with two girls on our way home later that night. We were very drunk and so needless to say we made fast friends. When the cab driver dropped the three of us at my house the girls asked for my number. I immediately and happily shouted it to them as the cab was pulling away. When I awoke the next morning my pounding headache was accompanied by the inexplicable dread at having given these complete strangers my cell number. I couldn't explain why it was a big deal I just felt like it was.

I never heard from them and I had almost put it out of my mind, until tonight. Dave comes in to the living room this evening where I was reading with a strange look on his face and says, "there is a call for you. The number is local but I have no idea who it could be." I take the phone and the person on the other end says, "Amy... what are you doing?" I was silent for a moment and then responded, "who is this?" To which the person on the other end hung up the phone. Now I can't sleep. Thanks weird cab girls for ruining my night. :(

Oh Freud, Not Again...

First let me start by giving you a little background info on our pooch. When Dave and I moved to Albany we were a little lonely as we didn't know many people so we decided adopting a puppy was in order. So we began by trying to figure out what kind of dog we should adopt. We decided stupidly to get a pure breed golden retriever. They are known for their gentle demeanor and there ease at training.

We looked on craiglist everyday waiting for the perfect golden to come up. A few weeks into our search I found an ad for a four month old retriever pup in need of a quicky adoption and the breeder was only asking 250 for him. Red flag anyone??? Dave and I spoke and decided we would go look at him and if he wasn't exactly what we were looking for we would leave pet-less.

We arrived to find this absolutely gorgeous puppy having diarreah all over the house. So we said where do we sign up? Allegedly Freud had been adopted previously and been returned as the child was "allergic."

Two months after we brought him home, Freud began limping. We took him to an emergency vet and were informed that he had hip dysplasia and would require an expensive surgery and a lengthy recovery. Again we said, where do we sign up?

This was all about a year and a half ago. Freud has many little health quirks (such as vomiting when hungry) but he is relatively healthy. Today, however, we noticed that his ear was leaking. Again we loaded him into the car and brought him to our emergency vet. Turns out he has a "hot spot." He needed to be sedated, have his faced shaved, be on medications for the next week, and wear an elizabethan collar. His second elizabethan collar in a year and a half.

When he came out of the procedure he was so doped up he could barely walk and his eyes were ridiculously droopy. He looked exactly the way he did when leaving the hospital after his hip surgery, only his bald spot was on his face. Here is a picture of our poor little cash drain.

Transdermal Celebration

This song is by Ween and it had an original video. Dave's friend Adam Phillips took the song an animated another video for it and when he showed it to the band, they paid him to use it! Insane, right??? It's a super cool video so check it out!

Vacation Blues

Even a wonderful life is hard to return to after a super relaxing ten day vacation. Dave and I have been home for two days and we are both finding it difficult to adjust to working. I think we'd both prefer to be out on the lake in a canoe. Alas, here we are.

I am sort of in stress out mode as I have much to do before I start at University at Albany in the Fall. And as I am sure all of you know, colleges are very adept at making things difficult. So there is a lot of running around and filling out forms. Do I really need to fill out a form to do everything? Can't we make it easy and do it all online? I am already sick of bouncing back and forth between these two schools and it is just the beginning. Grrr.