Squid Ink Blog --->

My freezer is still empty, and my days available for hunting are getting scarce.

As I type this, we have entered firearms season and that always increases one’s chances for filling tags, so I’m hoping the weather cooperates at this point and allows me to get in the woods over the weekend. This is, of course, dependent on finding time around holiday shopping and decorating and the regular assortment of weekend chores that always seem to be lingering.

My last outing resulted in a long and frigid morning on the stand in a 30 mph wind straight out of the north, but unfortunately nothing in the game bag. I was happily surprised to see a few deer out and about… generally speaking they don’t like those high winds any more than I do. However the sightings were brief and from distances way beyond anything I reach with my bow. Regardless, it’s always nice to see them moving around when you’re out there, and somehow that makes the day seem like it was still something of a success.

So, I’ll be breaking out all of the extra-warm clothes and bundling up for what I’m sure will be another deep-freeze sunrise, and hope that my luck changes for the better. Now if I could just remember where I left my Thermos and quilted long johns…

Derek Pletcher, Creative Director

Growing up, if there was a K-State game on, it was a safe bet you could find my dad watching it on TV or walking around with his portable radio headset listening to it. I remember the seemingly never ending trips in the car listening to those games, and if they were losing the trip home was even longer! Growing up I never thought I would have the opportunity to make graphics for the very team my dad followed so closely.

Squid Ink was asked to produce the digital graphics for the video board, ribbon board and the 30×30 marquee board at INTRUST Bank Arena for the K-State vs. West Virginia basketball game. All I could think was, “What a fun project to work on!” Needless to say, I really enjoyed researching and developing these items (research involved watching ESPN and other sports channels!), and seeing the graphics as we tested them at INTRUST Bank Arena. Tomorrow, on December 8th, I will be able to check out my work in person with a special guest… my dad!

Squidette, Meegs, Auntie Meemee (I have a very adorable little 19-month old nephew), Director of New Business… we Squids wear many hats over here in the Squid Cave, but do you ever wonder what, outside in the fish tank of life, occupies our spare time? For this Squidette, it’s a mix of family, friends and dance rehearsals… after all, if you have the tentacles, you may as well boogie!

I believe dance is a way to not only exercise the body but also the mind. It’s athletic while also enabling a form of great personal expression; everyone should try to cut a rug once in a while, it’s good for you! Over the years, I’ve danced professionally for local sports teams such as the Wichita Thunder and Wichita Wild, as well as for charity and benefit performances. Through these great organizations I’ve been blessed to participate with these local charities, have met many wonderful people and close friends and have also gained a further appreciation of Wichita and the people that live and work in our wonderful city.

Even if you’re not a dancer by nature (even those with two left feet!), or a footloose and fancy-free kind of person, I hope you can take time to boogie on down with your friends and loved ones this holiday season; it will at least help us burn off all the turkey and stuffing!

Meeghan Dunleavy, Director of New Business

This time of year, I sometimes have a hard time concentrating on what sits before me on the desk. While I know that there are many priorities and many clients vying for attention, the recent nip in the air and changing of the leaves has signaled the arrival of hunting season, and plenty of distraction to go with it.

Fall is one of my favorite times of the year. I get to spend some extra time outdoors with friends and family, and connect with nature in ways most people don’t get to experience. There really is no good way to explain the effect of watching a Kansas sunrise and feeling the temperature drop as the first rays break the horizon, or how it’s enhanced by the yipping of coyotes and gobbling of wild turkeys. There’s no adequate description for the solitude or spiritual refreshment that occurs while sitting in stand watching and listening to the world wake up without the ring of alarms, honking of horns, or hum of our everyday electronic gadgetry.

I’m sure volumes could be written to describe the benefits of being able to unplug, even for just a short time, but suffice it to say that, for me, it’s a tonic with no comparison. The anticipation of a crisp and cool morning, waiting for the warmth of the sun to reach your face and signal the start of a new day is almost overwhelming by the time the weekends arrive. And regardless if the deer show up or not, I know where I’ll be come Saturday… and priorities will change.

Derek Pletcher, Creative Director

This morning, I set out to astound you with my thoughts about the Elton John & Billy Joel concert I saw the other night.  I figured what a great thing this is to blog about; two ROCK LEGENDS live on stage, “Face 2 Face,” turning out classic song after classic song, sending every fan into their own nostalgic musical frenzy.  After completing what I thought was going to become my blog entry, I passed it on to my lovely wife (the true writer of our crew and whom I dearly respect and love) to get her always honest opinion. “It sucks”, was the response I received. “Too much like a review”.  So I sat back down and thought hard about what I was really trying to do.  Explain the experience of a concert of this caliber, a musical experience, something that you need to experience with your senses, with a few words on a blog.  IMPOSSIBLE!

Unable to bring my usual plethora of equipment into this venue-precision lenses, tripods, etc.-I was forced to use my wife’s point and shoot. Once again, I turn to my passion for photography and leave you with a photo from the concert.

If you listen real close you can you can still hear the sound of 15,000 strong belting out “Piano Man”.

The crowd arrived early Saturday night, ready to storm the new Intrust Arena with enthusiasm for their own Wichita Thunder as they set out to wipe Tulsa off the weather map.

The shiny new arena sports huge screens, bright lights and notable venders including an Irish Pub stand and more tasty morsels than the avid food junkie can sink a tooth into.  Only a few red padded seats remained after over 13,000 fans aging from 3 months to 93 years poured into the arena, filling it nearly to capacity and waited in anticipation for the competition to commence.  Donning Thunder jersey’s old and new, with Guinness’ and pretzels in hand, fans were eager to roar when the Thunder made their entrance.  It all set the stage for a remarkable fight (better make that several fights) and a superior show for all!

The Squid showed his face from the start, featuring an exciting video introduction on the Big Screen, welcoming the Thunder onto the ice, while preparing the crowd to fire up for an extraordinary contest between these rivals.   Before the game got underway, the players began their first scuffle, a carry-over from 24 hours earlier, where in Tulsa this same match-up ended in a huge Thunder win!  No doubt, some obvious unfinished business was in need of settlement.  For the Squid, these brawls translate to enticing video clips, edging on the feisty crowd and giving us a chance to show off our creative genius each time the Thunder rolls out another fist or slams another opponent’s helmet onto the frozen tundra.  Are we encouraging physical endangerment to human kind here?  You bet your sweet funnel cakes, we are!  Hey, we’re not even sure if these guys are human in the first place.  What man withstands obsessive nose gashing and head bashing abuse to lift himself up off the ground and go back for more?  Thank you Sir, may I have another?

The Squid had his hands in all kinds of great video throughout the night, from the intro up until the very end.  This arena is alive with stimulation down to every last detail, including a video ribbon which encompasses the entire perimeter of the stands, where Squid Ink producers had the privilege to create some fantastic plugs for Thunder and Intrust Arena sponsors as well as some amazing close-up shots of each player as they were introduced onto the rink. We showed up on the big screen during icing penalties, in between periods and each time the Thunder scored.

Unfortunately for most, a bittersweet ending would wrap up the night, with only one video clip revealed to celebrate a goal scored for our mighty Thunder.  Not enough to beat Tulsa this time around.  Overall though, Wichita put up a snarling fight, entertaining and full of heart was this Thunder team in their snazzy new home.  If you missed it, I encourage you to come out and support the Thunder (and us) this week or every week if the mood strikes you.  They’ll be plenty of excitement to make it worth your while and win or lose, I can promise you this.  This Squid certainly knows how to play the game!  Come to the next Thunder game to see more great Squid work just like this.