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Thursday, November 15, 2018

The overwhelming side to puppetry and animation filmmaking



The overwhelming side to
puppetry and animation
filmmaking

By

Erica Crooks


I’m not exactly sure how to begin this blog post. But it’s something that came to my mind this evening as I little by little unpacking and organizing things in my new apartment.
As I now relax and take it easy this evening in my new apartment , I think about a little bit about my previous apartment. For those who don’t already know this , I was living out of my mother’s bedroom as a temporary apartment ( me and my mother live in the same neighborhood ) because I was being bullied by transphobic middle aged men in my neighborhood and no one really did anything about it so the only solution was to let the landlords know that I’d like another apartment which I did feel pushed out of my other one which I was at since 2010. 
So it’s a relief to have an apartment again , even though my own mother is my next-door neighbor ironically. lol , still this 30 year old wants to live an independent life even though my mom still acts like a mom. 
But that’s not exactly what I wanted to talk about in this blog post ,
The other thing I wanted to mention was when I rebuilt my puppets for The Erica Crooks Show again from 2013 / 2014 - 2016 . 
And I think I mentioned this in my somewhat recent behind the scenes blog videos where I mention that I work out of my own apartment . It’s one thing if you have a little home office.
It’s another when you turn it into a puppet film studio and workshop.
Not only was the show funded out of my own personal money , but many times I would work late nights and crash into bed with barely any sleep at all.
Also I had the bad habit of not really cleaning after myself after filming because I was so exhausted . In a recent video I did showing how I go about building my puppets , I mentioned my awareness that the puppets are cheaply built which I like to compare my puppets to crash-test dummies . However the best puppet builders know that when you build a puppet , you want to make sure that they will last because puppets do wear out. 
The Muppets did this all the time , they kept rebuilding current characters as well as new ones.
And since we live in a hierarchical capitalist society , yes things cost money.
And many times I felt like a single parent raising many kids ( my puppets ).
So as you can already tell , this may not be a normal average person living in an apartment.
Sure it was fun but at the same time it was overwhelming probably due to social media.
Social Media encourages people who create online content not only quality content but quantity but sometimes there’s people who put out quantity over quality.
I tried to do my best to deliver both but I know I’m not the only one to feel the “ Burn-out “ .
Even the biggest YouTube stars get burned out . 
I still remember when I had a public access television show which of course was The Erica Crooks Show from 2006 - Spring 2009 , I filmed the show like an independent mini-movie technically making my own television program out of my own room or the basement of my abusive father’s house ( usually when he was asleep or not home ) . 
And since I did video editing and things , This was No simple public access TV show , I was doing my best to make a quality comedy show with a shoe string budget. 
And the show went from once a week , to every other week , to bi-weekly , to once a month , to bi-monthly , etc. And I think even doing online stuff I tend to fall into the same trap the more quality I load into something. 
Hollywood has got all the money and only a lucky few get in if at all , one moment someone would be part of a show loved my many and the next they end up trying to make the bills even with their comic con career. 
Now back to my apartment situation , it’s often difficult to record sound and I’m just lucky no one ever complained about me being too loud. Lol 
I’m thankful for the work I got done from 2013 - 2016.

However I did have a thought that came to my mind many times in recent months.
Just how many people are trying to imitate the 30 minute half hour television show format and doing it in their videos as a one person show ? 
And if doing this format with a sketch comedy show featuring over 100 puppets is challenging and a lot of hard work , try doing the South Park challenge by trying to make a 30 minute animated comedy show within 6 days however unlike South Park , you do it by yourself. That’s even more insane.

Noticed how my Halloween comedy special ended up being 1 minute long ? And also I had a planned Halloween special in 2014 that eventually got abandon.

The Ask Dr LeBrick Halloween Special was probably the fastest I ever came to doing anything relating to making a movie by myself with the exception of doing my show of course.
The fun thing about that special as well as The Ask Dr LeBrick Holiday Special was about 99% of it all was improv and adding stuff through editing and things like that.
It was so wild , creative and fun to do no matter how low brow.
And it kind of brought me back to my roots before my show became more and more of a satirical comedy show then the silly comedy show that made no sense like it was when I started going on 20 years ago.

Here’s the thing about television , it’s pretty much as good as dead unless someone was doing something necessary . Because when puppets and cartoon animation is made for television , technically it’s filmmaking.

The differences between what’s available to us within the last 20 years ( which is pretty much as old as the internet itself ) is that filmmaking equipment has became more advanced and affordable while before if you weren’t in the mainstream you couldn’t do it.

However like I said due to capitalism , it’s hard to resemble anything with the same quality unless of course someone successfully fundraises it with something on the lines of Kickstarter , indigogo , Patreon , or some form of online crowdfunding .

It’s just that even though it may look easy , it’s really a lot of hard work and effort that goes into what I do . Also a lot of time to make too.

When I was in my 20s and even younger , I had so much more energy than I have now at age 30. And I know it might sound silly and perhaps I’m sounding older then I am , but again what I was trying to achieve was making my own television show and I did achieve that even though at times it was hit or miss.

I love the work that I’ve done and still love to do it , although brainstorming many possibilities of trying new things and formats out is a good idea. There’s a saying “ Quality over Quantity “ which sounds like a good idea , however it takes forever and I loose my concentration and it might get abandoned if I’m too bored. That’s why when I do something such as The Ask Dr LeBrick specials , I would constantly add more new ideas and creative stuff into it so I would still have interest in completing the project.

There’s so much freedom in what I do which makes it so much fun to do , however sometimes I write down so many ideas that a lot of them need to be thought into consideration before I decided to go and create a new project without abandoning it.

I think the life lesson that I’ve learned within the past 3 years was to take better care of myself and take breaks when I need them. And sometimes that can be hard to do because I would work in huge bursts of energy and then burn out , and then I get the second wind after having thoughts of quitting for awhile and the whole cycle happens again. 


I think the most important aspect in what I do is to remember why I do what I do. Because if it ain’t fun , why do it ? And sometimes when taking breaks I get re-energized and re-inspired.
Also it good to plan stuff instead of doing a life balancing / juggling act where one works on a new film project while things in the personal life get in the way.

One of the things that I’ve been doing since the 2017 Season of my show was not to go into production all year round and take the rest of the year off if I feel like I need time to re-charge and stuff . But even making shows in bulk like I was trying to do didn’t work out for me exactly.

It’s interesting because if you look at how certain television shows are made now a days , many shows take on that filmmaking format and like movies , some are made in the matter of months while others take longer. But one person does everything independently outside the Hollywood system , perhaps it depends on what they do , but perhaps it would take longer.

As an anarchist , I strongly feel that art in such a free society such as an anarchist society / 5D Earth because without the worry about money , artists will have the maximum unlimited freedom to do what they want to do as well as meet like minded artists that won’t screw them over.

So in conclusion , when you set your body , mind and soul into something , perhaps an indicator of if something you do is meant to be , perhaps see if you fall into such a loop that I go into. lol

_ Erica

For more hilarious puppet and cartoon animation parodies , Dark Comedy humor , satires and funny stupid videos for adults
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Unhealthy INFP / Unhealthy INFPs : Myths Debunked ?









What if some people are wrong about Unhealthy INFPs ?
Is what determines Healthy and Unhealthy ? Is it related to what's best for an INFP or is it related to what's best for social norm conformity ?
Would John Lennon be considered to be an unhealthy INFP ?




Here's INFP blogger Erica Crooks to mention her opinions about it from observation and even personal experience .

From the INFP blogger that brought you

" INFP idealism : Are INFPs Lightworkers with a mission ? "
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRPeaRhUf9c
and This other INFP blog video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rAMCKoQemqo

And for more INFP blog videos by Erica Crooks
check out the INFP blog video playlist in which new ones will be updated to this very playlist :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FSRMQnHG8A&list=PLJLbzpbdP5rkTMbyBQVuwthaEiJozcm3x

And for content by Erica Crooks
check out http://youtube.com/user/officialericcrooks/videos and http://youtube.com/user/officialericcrooks/playlists
( if you liked this video , make sure to like , subscribe and click on the notification bell ) 
as well as
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Simplifying the Heart

Love Erica Crooks


Simplifying the Heart
By
Erica Crooks



What would an Anarchist Society and 5D Earth be like as well as people being aware of New Thought / New Age Spirituality such as being able to manifest and attract anything happy into your life’s existence through The Law of Attraction as well as the abundant freedom that life has to offer where hierarchy becomes obsolete . 

I can’t help but notice that the world is like a big giant heart puzzle that was once but together and ha been shattered. Some were able to fill in a big piece of the puzzle while others may have been trying to destroy individual pieces or perhaps hoarding it for themselves ( hierarchy ) and trying to make people deny that it doesn’t exist so no one would take that puzzle piece away from them EVER AGAIN ! And when I refer to “ puzzle piece “ , I’m talking about love.

Love has it’s many variants and for the most part it’s so tender and strong that some shy away from it , some deny it’s existence , and perhaps try to replace it with something cheap , superficial and distracting such as building a business in order to earn money to by things to satisfy good in your life in a world gone mad. There’s addicts that get hooked just to access that feeling of ease into their body in a way where they think is the logical way to access such love and if it’s illegal , they will defend it with violence.

Perhaps what I’m trying to say is this . “ Perhaps love IS the answer “ .

Even people who watch current movies no matter how capitalist Hollywood it gets with movies in the genre of “ Slice of Life “ where it’s just about someone else’s life other than your own and it’s filled with laughs and positive satisfaction , something perhaps you wish to experience … maybe a little bit. So you defend that movie even though there’s better movies that achieve the same goal , perhaps it’s something you remember from childhood that cheered you up when you had abusive parents and barely any friends that are any good and aren’t sociopaths that took advantage of you , which you didn’t realize until it was too late. AKA television is your only friend because it can hurt you as much as people did in your life .

Even Rik Mayall as mentioned that the world needs laughter , even when people go to a funeral , someone could fart and many fear the rudeness of busting out laughing. A laugh is kind of like someone needing a drink , but when we are happy , we can laugh out of joy instead of coping with life.

There’s a light-worker mission purpose which I keep repeating myself over and over about the awareness of MBTI , Numerology , Self Determination theory , the pyramid of human needs , Libertarian Socialist Anarchist and New Age / New Thought Spirituality ( Law of Attraction ) , etc Perhaps these elements are like big completed puzzle pieces in which if we all act as a collective to corporate with ourselves and each other can help complete the heart puzzle which is unconditional love - Heaven on Earth.

“ Perhaps I’m a Dreamer , but I know I’m not the only one. “ _ John Lennon ( Imagine )

Even as brutal as satirists can be , it’s a literature that can make people laugh as well as entertain and think . “ Art should disturb the comfortable and comfort the disturbed. “

When I was going up to becoming a teenager , my mindset still is “ Look at this mess , who’s responsible and how come no one is bothering to clean it up “ . However now a days , I see it’s a more complicated situation that I thought. But love isn’t complicated , love is simple .
Hate and fear is complicated. 

Through years of research to current , it’s obvious that hate and fear is indeed hierarchy and it needs to be stopped. When we grow up , we are taught to hate and fear things. 

There’s a quote I’ve heard awhile back regarding the most cruel people in the world which goes like this. “ ( These kinds of people ) need the most love but deserve it the least . “

This kind of forgiveness from a distance is related to everything I’ve talked about even in “ Adults Get Bullied Too ! “ https://www.officialericcrooks.com/adults-get-bullied-too.html


Libertarian Socialist Anarchism is the most perfect political structure in life globally I think. Because the only structure there is , is freedom but respecting your fellow others.

New Age / New Thought Spirituality ( Law of Attraction ) is great because no matter where your at if your living a good life which keeps getting better or your homeless or in jail , all you need is to think feeling that feel good and you attract your own life and create it with your thoughts and feelings. We need to think from the inside out instead of the outside in. That’s why it’s called new thought. If we can apply this spiritual phenomenon to anarchism and vice versa , perhaps it would help a social revolution happen that much peacefully and perhaps it’s possible. If I can manifest my Twin Flame who I only knew 9 years in telepathy in my mind and meet her face to face afterwords , I know AS FACT this stuff works ! It’s just takes practice and dedication to master it.


And finally I find MBTI ( Myers Briggs Personality Type Science ) , Astrology / Zodiac , Numerology quite accurate .

MBTI : Explains your personality. I’m an INFP myself and I know in my heart this is a personality which relates to my soul. However I wonder if this is the same with other people or if their personality type is a product of the effects of hierarchy such as the ESTJ .
Because there are personality types that are open to this stuff and there’s those who accept hierarchy as human nature which is anything but. It can be a great tool in the here and now to know yourself be true even a little better as well as those around you.
As an intuitive , I know that intuitive and sensors think differently. It’s almost like a different language. Perhaps it’s all about finding that middle ground of communication where both opposites can not only understand one another but can agree on something humanitarian .
That’s most certainly related to the idealist founder Isabell Briggs Myers ( also an INFP ) .

Astrology / Zodiac : I find it very accurate , especially if it’s the day something happens. However it can be vague . I say The Law of Attraction , you do determine it’s intensity. 

Numerology : It’s like both MBTI and Astrology together . It’s related to your energy I feel. Which is why I said in previous blog videos and blog articles on the reason why say that if someone had the same MBTI type , they can still differ slightly as well as their own individual life experience. 

But what’s great about MBTI is it gives you an idea of the kind of soulmate would best fit into your life as well as the kind of friends you would best get along with. However if you don’t know yourself in detail and in full , you could be slightly off but practice makes perfect . In 2015 I thought I was an ENFP not an INFP . Likewise I thought my Twin Flame might be an ENTP . Though when I meet my Twin Flame , I realized that perhaps what I found attractive in ENTPs wasn’t related to the T part of their personality type , maybe it’s just the ENP part , I don’t know. Sense of humor I suppose , but I’m an NP so I have it. lol 
For now I would say my Twin Flame is in fact an **FP . She might as well be an INFP too but I’ll know for sure at Twin Flame Union / Twin Flame Reunion .


In conclusion , if people are consciously aware of it or unconsciously aware , people need love. However due to the damage that hierarchy does every single day from any area we suffer in life if major or minor as it might seem. From someone destroying your car in a car accident who refuses to admit it was their fault so they place the blame on you for hitting them even though their car has barely damage on it if at all to a pet fish that only lived for months in a fish bowl which Chlorine water came from the sink with no filter , I hope someday the world will wake up to the bigger picture and not treat it as a individual problem that stands alone.


Perhaps this is relating to just how an iNtuitive such as myself might see things which is to see the patterns in which everything fits into a bigger picture .

But this isn’t about iNtuitives vs Sensors ( MBTI ) , this is about something we all need.


When we were babies , we would be co-dependent on our mother’s love. However when we get older , we are miseducated about how life truly is and what we can do to change it.

I think people would be interested in solutions rather than focusing on the problems of the world without any answers to it which is exactly what the news does all the time.

I would stay away from listening to the news , until last year when I got into Rachel Maddow because she makes it fun and entertaining even though I’m a spiritual anarchist . Ok , I watch it for Rachel Maddow . lol

But the point I’m trying to make is this , love comes from within not outside of yourself.
Perhaps that’s where all the problems , hate , fear and complexity is.

Look at Trump . What if his achievements of power are just an expression of the lack of love and or an attempt to gain love instead of an expression of love .

Like politics , why are we relying on co-dependency of others for our happinesses ?
Do we read other people’s comments of what they think of us or if they gives us a thumbs up or down on our uploaded videos and online content determine our self worth for ourselves ?

Perhaps this can relate to my personal Twin Flame journey which I’ve been working on every single day since 2016 which I’m currently learning to fill my own up , perhaps we all are.

It’s in the matter of inner stability , and I know that I’m not alone , we are all in this together.

It’s in the matter of inner discipline of self and personal growth. 

As I stated before , New Age / New Thought Spirituality ( Law of Attraction / Twin Flame ) teachers can tell you this stuff however very few will not only NOT CHARGE YOU ANYTHING but also bring awareness about THE NEGATIVITY ENERGY OF HIERARCHY !

That’s what most of them get wrong. And I’m sure I’ve written about this topic alone more than once . https://www.facebook.com/pg/officialericcrooks/notes/

Perhaps the ruling class who are on top of the hierarchy pyramid if capitalists , royalty , secret societies or perhaps invisible malevolent extraterrestrials ( The New World Order )


There’s a big debate which people know about which is the fight of Good vs Evil . 
But there are some who don’t even want to think about it or are indifferent to it saying that such duality doesn’t even exist because in human nature we both have a devil and an angel on our shoulder in our mind.

My perspective on this is that if you translate Good and Evil , you get Soul vs Ego , which finally reveals to be Love vs Hate & Fear .

So if people were pro-love and peace , perhaps it relates to what left wing people support university if American , British , French , anywhere .

Perhaps we need to look at The Ruling Class who runs hierarchy in a way someone in psychology does at toxic personality disorders and mental illnesses that can harm self and others , and it’s not like many of these people are going to cooperate with you or anyone if they aren’t gaining what they think they want. 

Also there’s sociopaths , narcissists , psychopaths , dark triad , https://darkpsychology.co
Who can lie and do lie online or offline. 
And we’ve all been victims of such abuse in many areas in our life if someone who was close to us if family or social circle of friends or even a lover to perhaps some jerk in the neighborhood that pushed you out of your apartment which no judge , no lawyer , no cop , no landlord would be there for you.
We’ve all gone through situations like this.
I sure have.
9 years ago , I might not have been alive to bring awareness about all of this as I am.

But as I mentioned before , the crueler someone acts , the more love they need.
The question is how do we do it from afar ? 


I think I received something from my spirit guides awhile back which they tell me that they try to reach everyone in a matter which they can understand them but some choose to listen to their subtle voice and others dismiss it completely as a random thought in their head.

How interesting is it that the world finds actions more important than the science of the mind. The mind just is. Either it feels good or it feels bad. So who are we to judge.


My spirit guides I believe let me know that there’s people who are so mentally in bondage that the only way they are going to learn is when karma gives them a good kick in the butt.

And I think I know of a certain song that relates to what I just said.


_ Erica

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