Episode 14 has dropped at

A very different kind of episode.  Buckle your seatbelts.  It'll have an impact...

Happy National Gingerbread Day everyone! Make some gingerbread cookies and celebrate!  😋 

So Episode Sixteen of A Writer’s Life has dropped at   https://www.youtube.com/@jackolesker247/podcasts and I’ve got a hunch you’re gonna love it! 

I’m back talking about my career in animation at DIC Entertainment during the Golden Era of Television Animation – the 1980s.  In this episode I’m going to start introducing you to some of the characters I lived with every day during my yeas at DIC.  But no, I’m not talking about Heathcliff the Cat or Inspector Gadget or the Power Rangers.  I’m talking about the real life characters I worked with every day at DIC.  And trust me, they were every bit as fascinating, compelling and often amusing as Mario, Luigi, He-Man and Hello Kitty! 

Today’s episode covers Howard Cohen, a large-than-life story editor at DIC who had a fabled career even before he came to DIC, directing films for legendary Hollywood B-films producer Roger Corman.  I guess it was inevitable Howard and I would clash swords, but I think the outcome will surprise you.

I hope you enjoy the episode.  🙂 

Here we are with Episode 17, dropping at https://www.youtube.com/@jackolesker247/podcasts

We’re getting back to the elements of writing, for a brief respite from my career in animation.  In this episode all you future bestselling authors – or those who admire them – are going to learn how they do it, through their characters, getting in touch with their own feelings and also their characters’ feelings. 

And I think you’ll be a little surprised and maybe even shocked when I give you some tips about how to achieve that.

Enjoy!

Episode 20 has dropped at https://www.youtube.com/@jackolesker247/podcasts   and my life at DIC Entertainment is changing in a number of ways.  Come with me now, back 1984, to learn more about how the television business works and how a television production company works. 

Oh it’s all very exciting…until your show is coming to an end, as Care Bears was for me.  I’d ridden the high road, but I recall that line from Wall Street when a broker tells Charlie Sheen’s Buddy Fox “You’re on a roll, kid.  Enjoy it while it lasts…because it never does.”

Fortunately, as I’d learn, when you’re good at what you do and you do it fast, there’s someone to catch you when you’re about to fall…at least for the time being.

Check it out in this episode and find out what baseball has to do with it!  

Episode 21 has dropped at   https://www.youtube.com/@jackolesker247/podcasts. And things are going very smoothly for me, Heathcliff and The Catillac Cats at DIC Entertainment. 

In this episode I make a big decision when it comes to how I’m going to handle being a story editor at DIC.  And I get to meet a whole cadre of new writers for this new series I’m working on.

I’m in the infancy of working on Heathcliff and The Catillac Cats when I come to a pretty startling realization about why this series is different from any other in animation…and why I like it so much.  

I hope you enjoy the latest episode, and, just for fun, go back and view a couple of earlier ones.  

My marriage counseling is going okay and things have improved a little. We are more patient with each other and the stupid fights weve been having is decreased. We still don't have anything to talk about during date nights. The silence gets awkward and sometimes we wish our kids were there or they had TV in the restaurant. 🤣

@he-dad good to hear. You know, that’s what I worry about when my kids are older and out of the house. Just silence between us since by that time we will probably have told the  same stories a dozen times haha

It is important to have shared interests because that, in turn, gives you something to share and "talk about" on date nights.  It doesn't matter if it's golfing together, working out together, cooking together, taking a foreign language class together, joining a church study group together.  Scrapbooking together is a great outlet and the tangential benefit is that you get to look at phots that remind you of great memories and good times together.  The operative word is "together".  It also helps if you have a likeminded couple to sometimes join you on date nights because they will help too taker up the slack in those moments of "awkward silence".

That said, it seems to me that you're on the right path.  Take it slow and build.  Remember that the journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step.  It looks like you've taken yours.  Keep at it, build upon it.  And every couple of days text your wife a couple of hearts, with no other written message, just to let her know you are thinking about her.  She will be surprised and touched.    

When Kim and I were first dating -- I was living in the Bahamas and she was living in Kansas City -- after a great weekend in Nassau, she sent me a small bouquet of flowers to thank me for the weekend.  No one had ever sent me flowers before.  It's over a quarter of a century ago and not a week goes by that I don't think about it.  Small, kind gestures mean a lot.

Good luck to you both.  

Posted by: @brasco

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@he-dad good to hear. You know, that’s what I worry about when my kids are older and out of the house. Just silence between us since by that time we will probably have told the  same stories a dozen times haha

Someone told me to pretend it's our first date. Like seriously role play and pretend we don't have kids or all this history. I might try it. 😂

Episode 22 has dropped at   https://www.youtube.com/@jackolesker247/podcasts

Buckle your seatbelts because we’re going to cover a lot of ground in this installment as I jam on story editing Heathcliff & The Catillac Cats scripts.  Those two series are going sooooooo smoothly, it’s almost like I’m riding on greased rails.

With everyone for Heathcliff & The Catillac Cats on track, Lori Crawford throws me an unexpected but most pleasant curveball.  And speaking of curveballs, separately, we’ll revisit DIC Entertainment’s softballs team with yours truly on the pitcher’s mound again the vaunted Warner’s softball team.  And you’re not gonna believe who I have to pitch to at home plate!

Happy 4th of July! I'm lighting some fireworks tonight!

Episode 23 has dropped early  https://www.youtube.com/@jackolesker247/podcasts <because we’re getting ready for our annual 4^th of July Party.  So Happy 4^th to one and all.

This was the most difficult episode I’ve recorded and, truth be told, it was hard for me to get through it and I came close to losing it a few times because I’m talking about a real body blow I took as a writer and a huge challenge I faced because of it.

Still, when I started this Vlog I promised I’d tell you about all sides of my writer’s life and that what I’ve done in this installment.  It took a lot out of me to record it and I hope you enjoy it.

And along the way you’ll meet true Animation Royalty.  It’s funny how, sometimes, the Lord sends you exactly what you need at the exact moment you need it…. 

Hot Mustard Doritos  ITS LIFE CHANGING🔥 🥵 😋 😍 ♥️ 👌 

Episode 25 has dropped at https://www.youtube.com/@jackolesker247/podcasts and I want to ask everyone who’s been following my Vlog to please check out this one because I’m asking for interaction with all of you. 

You’re also going to learn about my least favorite animated series I ever worked on. It’s weird, it’s wacky and, lo and behold, even though it started out as my least favorite, I got one heckuva lot out of it.

Wow

https://twitter.com/ForEternia_com/status/1811734381033058429?t=lJa-ZdUBSE2G_hBbMroNsQ&s=19

@he-dad thats messed up. People be like that

Got about half the parts I need to put together my PC for 3D modelling and animation. Hopefully I get everything together by autumn.

Episode 26 has dropped at https://www.youtube.com/@jackolesker247/podcasts

After briefly explaining the one reason why Heathcliff & The Catillac Cats was a truly groundbreaking animated series, I’m taking a bit of a break from talking about animation so I can focus on the process of writing – specifically writing novels.

Yeah, I know not everyone thinks they’re interested in that, but I also think once you go on the ride and see how writers – or at least this writer – write novels, you’ll enjoy the trip.

Episode 27 has dropped at https://www.youtube.com/@jackolesker247/podcasts

Today I’ll be spending another episode talking about the process of writing, before getting back to the television series I have worked on during a career that has spanned over forty years. 

I get that not everyone is a writer, but I’m guessing, as I’ve said before, a lot of you like to know what goes on in the demented -- 🙂 -- minds of those who do write, and what that process entails.  And as a bonus, I'm showing a screen shot of me and Kim on my iPhone!   So check it out…and enjoy. 

The in-laws are staying with us for the weekend. Hooray for me. My wife's Grandfather came with them and he just saw my toy collection for the first time and you can tell he instantly thought less of me. He called it childish. I know I shouldnt feel embarrassed but I did. And my face got all red. I'm angry that I let him get the best of me. This sucks.

@he-dad you could be doing drugs or gambling.  People that don’t share the same interests don’t understand. I get what you’re feeling but I wouldn’t let it bother you too much. Who cares what other people think. It’s a hobby that makes you happy. 😃

Posted by: @brasco

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@he-dad you could be doing drugs or gambling.  People that don’t share the same interests don’t understand. I get what you’re feeling but I wouldn’t let it bother you too much. Who cares what other people think. It’s a hobby that makes you happy. 😃

Exactly! As long as it makes you happy who cares what other people think.

He-Dad I can tell you for one not all Grandparents would look down on collections. All of mine seemed to have some sort of collection of a kind. Like it's been said don't let it get you down. You worked hard to get what you want.

So Episode 28 has dropped.  It’s a different kind of episode for two reasons.  First, you’ll see me wearing a suit and tie, something I rarely do.  And no, I’m not going to a wedding or a funeral; just coming from a very important meeting and, as Kim says, I clean up good. 

But much more importantly, this is the first episode in which I trace my Hollywood career that I embark on something very different than animation series scripts and, yes, it’s still with DIC Entertainment.  So it’s an interesting detour, and one I think you’ll enjoy.

Check it out at https://www.youtube.com/@jackolesker247/podcasts