I've been playing with the idea of making a movie entirely with my Gameboy Camera. You know, that bulky old thing. It was a pretty novel idea at the time... no one else had tried anything like that on a handheld system. However, the idea proved a bit lofty for that era in gaming... the Gameboy printer produced seriously shitty renderings of the actual photos you took. It was funny to use the Gameboy as a camera at the time, but now that I've stopped laughing, I think it would be cool to actually turn this into art.
The images the Gameboy produces are heavily pixelated, and strangely haunting... not entirely recognizable, but somehow familiar. However, it only holds up to 30 frames at a time. That would be about a second of footage... unless I slow down the frame rate. I guess that would add to the creepy ambiance a little, but I hate having to deal with technological barriers. Still, it's an interesting thought... so I whipped out the Gameboy printer, and I'm going to try to produce some images. Hopefully I'll have those up on deviantART soon.
Status regarding my band: we still need a drummer (with a kit that s/he's willing to pack up for gigs) and a keyboard player, preferably with some synth experience as well. I've already got my good buddy Lucas signed on as the bassist, and Eric and I will play sax... I'm hoping Eric will consider playing baritone, I think two alto's might be too much. Our plan is to make a sort of jazz-fusion video game cover band, remixing old favorites. We already decided on a name. We are Action52. And hopefully we'll get this show on the road before long.
Doodle Jr. is still alive and well... but today he's been a little sick. He isn't as lively as usual, and he's been floating in one place a lot. I've read online that this could be a symptom of ammonia poisoning, a result of too much fish waste in the water, but that's impossible since I just recently cleaned out his tank. Maybe he's just having a rough night, fish are allowed to have rough nights, too.
My night was actually really lovely! I was originally supposed to tag along on a double-date with Shana/Kyle and the dreaded Michelle/Larry, but Shana's new friend from school, Kevin, was making a guest appearance. After much begging on Shana's part, I agreed to come with and meet Kevin, despite the potentially unbalanced suck-to-fun ratio (in suck's favor, of course). Upon my arrival, I was introduced to Kevin, and my was he a tall glass of cherry Coke!
All kidding aside, Kevin was marvelous: funny, intelligent, charismatic, a bit nervous, but that was understandable. To be honest, I was shocked that he could keep up with my usual brand of ridiculousness, and respect him a lot for that... as well as his shocking ability to turn a suck>fun situation into a fun>suck scenario.
Sometimes, I feel like I'm having the most fun when I'm meeting new people. It isn't that old friends aren't great, but getting to know someone that I previously wasn't aware of is downright fascinating... and as I get to know them, I get to experience bits of life from their perspective. I believe that the more people you talk to, I mean really communicate with, the more you begin to understand the world around you.
Bleaugh. I'm just not very funny tonight, either. Whenever I sit down to write this blog, I end up spouting all this philosophical nonsense or boring you with the details of my day. God damn, do I have nothing of interest to talk about? I guess I really don't. Oh right, and I apologize for not posting... at all... this week. Wow. I'm bad. I don't even have an excuse, I was just lazy.
Well, maybe I have one interesting thing to say: I've ordered my Sony Professional HVR-A1U, and it's on its way. I can't wait to get my hands on that puppy! No more fucking Gameboy Camera for me after that, I'll tell ya! But I'm also looking at investing in a JAG 35mm adapter, as well. That would provide me with a greater depth of field, not to mention more of a filmy look... which I think is really nice.
Anyway, that's all I've got going on right now. I kind of wish I had a girlfriend, but then I remember how much I hate other people, and how no one understands me, and I feel so much better. Who says being antisocial has to be a bad thing? :)
Oh! I almost forgot! I'm going to stop with the viewer participation shit. It just felt awkward asking you guys to respond... and I have a sneaking suspicion Connor doesn't read the blog anymore. So maybe it would be more accurate to just speak directly to Shana when I make a post. Whatever happened to the important English people reading my blog? And why isn't anyone clicking the goddamn advertisements? Aagh!
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Strange Dream... and Spackle Day
You all remember Wall-Washing Day, right? Well, today was the follow up. At times, when trying to yank that darned paper from the wall, little chunks of drywall would come out. Now, your otherwise smooth wall is covered in tiny craters. You can't paint that. So, you pull out a bucket of spackle, and get to work filling in your little mistakes. Once the spackle is dry, you take a rough sponge or a wet cloth and make sure that the spackle is nice and smooth up against the wall. This will probably ruin more than a couple of your spackled spots, so once the walls are dry again, it's time for more spackle. Continue this cycle until you have nice smooth walls. This should take several hours. Oh goody! And when you're all done, it's time to primer the wall! It's like warming up for actually painting the goddamn thing!
That's what took up the better part of my day today. However, last night's bizarre romp through dreamland is what I really want to discuss. Normally, I have pretty crazy dreams, but this really affected me. It started off with my friends and I going to the Museum of Science and Industry. Apparently there's some kind of exhibit there that everyone is really excited about, and we want to check it out. The line is huge for the exhibit, and it's easy to see why: the exhibit is a sort of zombie apocalypse simulator, where you sit down for a short introductory movie, then are given laser tag equipment and sent into a haunted house area where you have to "shoot" fake zombies. This seemed like it was going to be one of the most fucking awesome dreams I've ever had! I was all excited to get in... but while I'm waiting in line, I find a key on the ground. It's solid black, and longer and skinnier than an average key. I didn't think much of it at the time, just put it in my pocket. Anyway, we got to the front of the line, and we watched the little movie (I was kinda scared at this point, so I covered my eyes... in a dream... because the movie that my brain had designed was too scary for me). Afterwards, we got our gear on and started tagging. It was pretty much zombie killing fun... until I got separated from the group. Things got real quiet real fast, so I started calling out. I guess no one heard me, and I started to wonder how big the exhibit was. Just then, I fell through the floor.
It was some kind of trap door I guess, and it led into what appeared to be a basement area. As I recovered from the fall, I realized I wasn't alone in the room. Across from me was a girl, about my age, blond hair, fairly attractive. She wasn't a zombie... but there was something wrong about her. She started attacking me as if she were one of the living corpses, trying to bite me and thrashing around. But she was intelligent; she tried kicking, and I had to try and restrain her. Likewise, she tried to strangle me with her legs. We were stuck in a kind of pretzel on the floor, a stalemate for the time being. At this point, I tried to communicate with her. I don't remember what I said, or what she said, but the point is that she could talk. She did say something about spilling my blood, I remember that pretty clearly. In terms of strength, we were fairly matched, but when it came to speed I was hopelessly outclassed. I could either try and fend her off until someone found me down here, but that didn't seem practical. Since she was clearly out of her mind, there would be no talking my way out of this. I was going to have to kill her.
I didn't think I'd be quick enough to break her neck or strangle her, she would only use that as an opportunity to strike at me. My mind racing, I suddenly remembered the key in my back pocket. It dawned on me that I would have to use the key to kill her. The thought revolted me, but it was my only hope for survival. Drawing my improvised weapon, I began shaking uncontrollably. I had no idea where to start. She laughed at me, and started mocking me. "What, you can't kill a girl?" I was still trembling. I raised the key and started slashing at her throat, but it was too blunt. I was going to have to stab her in the heart if I wanted to live through this. So, lifting the key one last time, I prepared myself for the blow. It was going to have to be fast and hard, to break through her sternum; the key wasn't sharp, but it was pointy, and with enough force I could certainly end her life. So I plunged it into her chest, and she screamed. I threw her down and sprinted to the door. It yielded to my touch, and, running up a flight of stairs, I made my way to freedom.
The rest of the dream is still pretty weird: when I get to the surface, everyone is waiting for me. Following me up the stairs, it turns out the girl not only survived the wound, but she's now perfectly alright... whatever spell that had bound her to the chamber had broken when I shoved the key into her heart. So that was pretty cool, I guess. At least my good ol' brain wrapped the whole thing up in the end.
Still, I was really terrified for a little while about the whole experience of having to kill someone. I'd thought about it before, but I could never have anticipated the terror and revulsion of the ordeal. Even faced with someone I had no connection with, who was trying to murder me, it took me such a long time before I was ready to actually execute that kind of decision. In the dream, the entire fight with the girl took about a half hour. Not because I couldn't figure out what to do, but because I didn't want to kill her.
Anyway, that was one of the most disturbing dreams I've ever had, and I figured I might as well share it with you guys. Sorry about not being funny today... and if you thought that was funny, you're really, really fucked up.
So, instead, of ME being funny, how about YOU tell us about your funniest dream? Shana was a good sport about the last audience participation post, but I'd like to see Connor pitch in this time, too.
That's what took up the better part of my day today. However, last night's bizarre romp through dreamland is what I really want to discuss. Normally, I have pretty crazy dreams, but this really affected me. It started off with my friends and I going to the Museum of Science and Industry. Apparently there's some kind of exhibit there that everyone is really excited about, and we want to check it out. The line is huge for the exhibit, and it's easy to see why: the exhibit is a sort of zombie apocalypse simulator, where you sit down for a short introductory movie, then are given laser tag equipment and sent into a haunted house area where you have to "shoot" fake zombies. This seemed like it was going to be one of the most fucking awesome dreams I've ever had! I was all excited to get in... but while I'm waiting in line, I find a key on the ground. It's solid black, and longer and skinnier than an average key. I didn't think much of it at the time, just put it in my pocket. Anyway, we got to the front of the line, and we watched the little movie (I was kinda scared at this point, so I covered my eyes... in a dream... because the movie that my brain had designed was too scary for me). Afterwards, we got our gear on and started tagging. It was pretty much zombie killing fun... until I got separated from the group. Things got real quiet real fast, so I started calling out. I guess no one heard me, and I started to wonder how big the exhibit was. Just then, I fell through the floor.
It was some kind of trap door I guess, and it led into what appeared to be a basement area. As I recovered from the fall, I realized I wasn't alone in the room. Across from me was a girl, about my age, blond hair, fairly attractive. She wasn't a zombie... but there was something wrong about her. She started attacking me as if she were one of the living corpses, trying to bite me and thrashing around. But she was intelligent; she tried kicking, and I had to try and restrain her. Likewise, she tried to strangle me with her legs. We were stuck in a kind of pretzel on the floor, a stalemate for the time being. At this point, I tried to communicate with her. I don't remember what I said, or what she said, but the point is that she could talk. She did say something about spilling my blood, I remember that pretty clearly. In terms of strength, we were fairly matched, but when it came to speed I was hopelessly outclassed. I could either try and fend her off until someone found me down here, but that didn't seem practical. Since she was clearly out of her mind, there would be no talking my way out of this. I was going to have to kill her.
I didn't think I'd be quick enough to break her neck or strangle her, she would only use that as an opportunity to strike at me. My mind racing, I suddenly remembered the key in my back pocket. It dawned on me that I would have to use the key to kill her. The thought revolted me, but it was my only hope for survival. Drawing my improvised weapon, I began shaking uncontrollably. I had no idea where to start. She laughed at me, and started mocking me. "What, you can't kill a girl?" I was still trembling. I raised the key and started slashing at her throat, but it was too blunt. I was going to have to stab her in the heart if I wanted to live through this. So, lifting the key one last time, I prepared myself for the blow. It was going to have to be fast and hard, to break through her sternum; the key wasn't sharp, but it was pointy, and with enough force I could certainly end her life. So I plunged it into her chest, and she screamed. I threw her down and sprinted to the door. It yielded to my touch, and, running up a flight of stairs, I made my way to freedom.
The rest of the dream is still pretty weird: when I get to the surface, everyone is waiting for me. Following me up the stairs, it turns out the girl not only survived the wound, but she's now perfectly alright... whatever spell that had bound her to the chamber had broken when I shoved the key into her heart. So that was pretty cool, I guess. At least my good ol' brain wrapped the whole thing up in the end.
Still, I was really terrified for a little while about the whole experience of having to kill someone. I'd thought about it before, but I could never have anticipated the terror and revulsion of the ordeal. Even faced with someone I had no connection with, who was trying to murder me, it took me such a long time before I was ready to actually execute that kind of decision. In the dream, the entire fight with the girl took about a half hour. Not because I couldn't figure out what to do, but because I didn't want to kill her.
Anyway, that was one of the most disturbing dreams I've ever had, and I figured I might as well share it with you guys. Sorry about not being funny today... and if you thought that was funny, you're really, really fucked up.
So, instead, of ME being funny, how about YOU tell us about your funniest dream? Shana was a good sport about the last audience participation post, but I'd like to see Connor pitch in this time, too.
Monday, December 7, 2009
Wall-Washing Day
If you've never experienced the pure ecstasy that is attempting to scrub dried glue off of a wall, I implore you to tear the wallpaper from your family room walls, heat up some old dish clothes and wash like you've never washed before. You don't even need soap, just scrub, rinse, heat the water back up, and repeat. Over and over again. Until you give up, because not only are you exhausted and covered in paste, but the glue is still all over the walls. All you've done is considerably moisten the family room and spread sticky ooze all over the fucking place.
Just take one guess what I've been doing since I woke up. Yeah. Unpleasant.
So I'm getting an external hard drive for Christmas... one whole terabyte of excitement and holiday cheer! I'm also looking at cameras... I'm thinking about going the digital SLR route. Lately, companies like Canon and Nikon have been producing digital cameras capable of recording 30 FPS 1080i HD footage. That's pretty fucking amazing for such a small, affordable machine. I just don't know what to get... so more research is going to be necessary before I can make an educated decision. I actually had the good fortune of screening a film made with a Canon Rebel a few months ago in my digital cinema class, and the picture quality blew me away... and made my film look like a soup can filled with donkey piss in comparison, but hey, whatever.
Oh crap! I just realized I never recorded this in my blog... Doodle died. Yeah, it was awhile ago, and since then I got a new fish: Doodle Jr. Cause of death? While I was away at Youmacon, I left Doodle in my room and gave my suite mate Wally the key. Wally took fabulous care of him, fed him every other day like I asked, and was an all around great guy about it. However, my sadistic RA's decided that the dorm was far too cold. They turned the heat up to a sweltering 80 degrees. The optimum temperature for goldfish is about 55-60 degrees, and the extreme shift in temperature killed the poor little guy. Wally, realizing this, quickly wrote me a note explaining what happened (because I got home around midnight) and bought me the new goldfish. He also left me Doodle's body to flush for myself, which I think was a really thoughtful gesture of him. Wally's really awesome!
Alright, I don't have anything else to talk about today... but I wanted to bring something up with you, viewer(s). Have you noticed the ads below each post and in the side bar? Maybe try clicking those. I mean, don't click them just because, but if you see one that strikes your fancy, just go ahead and check it out. I like money, and clicking the ads is like giving me money... actually, it's more like you giving me Google's money. Long story short: if you want Google to give me money for doing nothing, click the ads! :)
Just take one guess what I've been doing since I woke up. Yeah. Unpleasant.
So I'm getting an external hard drive for Christmas... one whole terabyte of excitement and holiday cheer! I'm also looking at cameras... I'm thinking about going the digital SLR route. Lately, companies like Canon and Nikon have been producing digital cameras capable of recording 30 FPS 1080i HD footage. That's pretty fucking amazing for such a small, affordable machine. I just don't know what to get... so more research is going to be necessary before I can make an educated decision. I actually had the good fortune of screening a film made with a Canon Rebel a few months ago in my digital cinema class, and the picture quality blew me away... and made my film look like a soup can filled with donkey piss in comparison, but hey, whatever.
Oh crap! I just realized I never recorded this in my blog... Doodle died. Yeah, it was awhile ago, and since then I got a new fish: Doodle Jr. Cause of death? While I was away at Youmacon, I left Doodle in my room and gave my suite mate Wally the key. Wally took fabulous care of him, fed him every other day like I asked, and was an all around great guy about it. However, my sadistic RA's decided that the dorm was far too cold. They turned the heat up to a sweltering 80 degrees. The optimum temperature for goldfish is about 55-60 degrees, and the extreme shift in temperature killed the poor little guy. Wally, realizing this, quickly wrote me a note explaining what happened (because I got home around midnight) and bought me the new goldfish. He also left me Doodle's body to flush for myself, which I think was a really thoughtful gesture of him. Wally's really awesome!
Alright, I don't have anything else to talk about today... but I wanted to bring something up with you, viewer(s). Have you noticed the ads below each post and in the side bar? Maybe try clicking those. I mean, don't click them just because, but if you see one that strikes your fancy, just go ahead and check it out. I like money, and clicking the ads is like giving me money... actually, it's more like you giving me Google's money. Long story short: if you want Google to give me money for doing nothing, click the ads! :)
Friday, December 4, 2009
Phone Support Warranty? Really?
Hey guys, sorry I'm late.
Seriously, I apologize for my absence for the past couple days (weeks?), I've been having some serious computer issues, and I've been Internet-less for longer than I was comfortable with.
It all started shortly after I finished my latest YouTube video, actually: the computer shut off, and any attempts to resuscitate it ended in nothing but failure. My roommate Austen and I spent hours trying to figure out what was wrong with my poor Macbook, but you can't just open up the hood and see what the problem is. We eventually concluded that it wasn't a battery issue, and that Macs are very, very difficult to fix.
So, I decided to call up the fine people at Apple. Surely they would know what to do... right? Well, the woman I reached on the other end asked for all my information, punched it all into her computer, and informed me that my phone support warranty had expired. Phone support warranty? What the fuck? She wouldn't even tell me what was wrong with my computer, she just told me that I had to make an appointment at the local Apple store. The local Apple store happened to be 30 minutes away by train. I made my appointment and left.
Having arrived at the Apple store, the place was packed with unhappy customers. Apparently NO ONE knows what to do if their Mac breaks. Anyway, I approached the desk, where they took my name an kindly informed me that my clock is 10 minutes slow. I pointed out that their clocks are 10 minutes fast, and that they could at least take a look at the damn thing, at which point I was promptly escorted from the premises. Swell.
So we took it to one of Austen's fine female friends, Kat, a tech support person at the school of computing and digital media. After a quick once over and an in-depth description of why the computer is fucked up, she deduced that it's probably a monitor issue. Although she's mostly a Windows expert, she explained that many laptops are wired in such a way that the keyboard and the monitor are wired on the same circuit, and that the problems I had described with my machine were indicative with a wiring problem. This was very, very good news, because it meant that the issue probably had nothing to do with my processor and hard drive, so the repairs would be fairly simple and, more importantly, all my files would be a-okay. Probably.
Well, I wanted to get a second opinion at Best Buy and try to get someone to repair the damn thing, so we stopped by the Geek Squad booth. There was no line, and the Geek Squad employees were actually very helpful. They explained that it may very well be the wiring, but that they weren't authorized to open up the silly little box because Apple says so. They offered to send it in for repairs, which would take up to 2 weeks, but I decided that I would rather hold onto it until I got back home (I was still away at school at this point, and in two days I was headed back home).
Fast forward past two of the most awful, stressful days/nights of my entire life, and I'm at a different Apple store. Still crowded, still late for my appointment, but these guys knew me, so I at least received an audience. After a short wait, an employee came out, I explained what the problem was, and he said it was most likely an issue with the logic board. So they got my info, sent it to the shop, and less than a week later, ol' lappy was back, good as new!
So that's why I haven't posted anything in awhile. Again, for everyone who actually read this and cares about whether I write something or not, I apologize, and I'll try to get back to a more regular schedule.
Also, regarding vlog entries: blah. I'm not inspired, so whatever... for now. Likewise, I'm thinking about introducing the last couple of characters to Vertigo, as well as a surprise addition to the cast, before I completely screw up the plot by tossing them all into a mine shaft in Greenland. Connor, I think you know what I'm talking about, and believe me, I'm totally doing it... maybe.
Ok, I'm done now. Oh, and happy Friday! If you did anything fun this Friday, tell me about it in the comment! (Oh my god, audience participation! That's new!)
Seriously, I apologize for my absence for the past couple days (weeks?), I've been having some serious computer issues, and I've been Internet-less for longer than I was comfortable with.
It all started shortly after I finished my latest YouTube video, actually: the computer shut off, and any attempts to resuscitate it ended in nothing but failure. My roommate Austen and I spent hours trying to figure out what was wrong with my poor Macbook, but you can't just open up the hood and see what the problem is. We eventually concluded that it wasn't a battery issue, and that Macs are very, very difficult to fix.
So, I decided to call up the fine people at Apple. Surely they would know what to do... right? Well, the woman I reached on the other end asked for all my information, punched it all into her computer, and informed me that my phone support warranty had expired. Phone support warranty? What the fuck? She wouldn't even tell me what was wrong with my computer, she just told me that I had to make an appointment at the local Apple store. The local Apple store happened to be 30 minutes away by train. I made my appointment and left.
Having arrived at the Apple store, the place was packed with unhappy customers. Apparently NO ONE knows what to do if their Mac breaks. Anyway, I approached the desk, where they took my name an kindly informed me that my clock is 10 minutes slow. I pointed out that their clocks are 10 minutes fast, and that they could at least take a look at the damn thing, at which point I was promptly escorted from the premises. Swell.
So we took it to one of Austen's fine female friends, Kat, a tech support person at the school of computing and digital media. After a quick once over and an in-depth description of why the computer is fucked up, she deduced that it's probably a monitor issue. Although she's mostly a Windows expert, she explained that many laptops are wired in such a way that the keyboard and the monitor are wired on the same circuit, and that the problems I had described with my machine were indicative with a wiring problem. This was very, very good news, because it meant that the issue probably had nothing to do with my processor and hard drive, so the repairs would be fairly simple and, more importantly, all my files would be a-okay. Probably.
Well, I wanted to get a second opinion at Best Buy and try to get someone to repair the damn thing, so we stopped by the Geek Squad booth. There was no line, and the Geek Squad employees were actually very helpful. They explained that it may very well be the wiring, but that they weren't authorized to open up the silly little box because Apple says so. They offered to send it in for repairs, which would take up to 2 weeks, but I decided that I would rather hold onto it until I got back home (I was still away at school at this point, and in two days I was headed back home).
Fast forward past two of the most awful, stressful days/nights of my entire life, and I'm at a different Apple store. Still crowded, still late for my appointment, but these guys knew me, so I at least received an audience. After a short wait, an employee came out, I explained what the problem was, and he said it was most likely an issue with the logic board. So they got my info, sent it to the shop, and less than a week later, ol' lappy was back, good as new!
So that's why I haven't posted anything in awhile. Again, for everyone who actually read this and cares about whether I write something or not, I apologize, and I'll try to get back to a more regular schedule.
Also, regarding vlog entries: blah. I'm not inspired, so whatever... for now. Likewise, I'm thinking about introducing the last couple of characters to Vertigo, as well as a surprise addition to the cast, before I completely screw up the plot by tossing them all into a mine shaft in Greenland. Connor, I think you know what I'm talking about, and believe me, I'm totally doing it... maybe.
Ok, I'm done now. Oh, and happy Friday! If you did anything fun this Friday, tell me about it in the comment! (Oh my god, audience participation! That's new!)
Sunday, November 22, 2009
1,001!!
I've been really stressed out the past couple of days, what with the papers and the projects and the late assignments and the crushing, debilitating realization that I have to do all this work sooner or later.
But then, this happened:
Thank you all so much. You have no idea how much I needed that.
That's all for now. Wish me luck.
But then, this happened:
Thank you all so much. You have no idea how much I needed that.
That's all for now. Wish me luck.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Critical Thinking: Boondock Saints 2
Alright, look, just hear me out for a second. I want you to close your eyes, and think back to a time long ago. When you were a kid, what did you want to do more than anything else? What was your dream?
I can't speak for you, but I can say this: I wanted to be badass. I wanted to wear sunglasses and a black coat and somersault through a window, pistols blazing in slow-motion, tearing my enemies to shreds. I wanted to be like that more than anything else... and I think that's what Boondock Saints is all about. It's about raunchy, offensive humor, sure, but it's primarily about new-age cowboys. You could almost say that the Saints follow a sort of chivalrous, knightly code of honor. They won't tolerate the killing of innocents, they demand justice where others are too weak or afraid to tread, and they drink. A lot.
No, they aren't good examples. No, I would never suggest doing any of the things they do. But hot damn, they're just so awesome. That's why I will always love the Boondock Saints movies. Now, on to the part where I actually analyze the film:
Senseless violence, crude humor; senseless violence, crude humor; flashback with Rocco, crude humor, senseless violence. Yeah, that pretty much sums it up. From the beginning, the film comes across as ridiculous, to say the least. We find our two heroes bearded, herding sheep across the plains of Ireland. Really? Well, not for long. A priest back home in Boston was killed, and the murder was set up in an attempt to frame the Saints. Of course, the boys aren't going to let that slide, so they quickly shave their beards and shower (in one of the most pointless displays of nudity I've ever seen in a movie) in preparation for their departure. Oh, and on the way there, they pick up a Mexican guy who's apparently got connections in Boston. Yay plot device!
While this introductory sequence evokes a fair deal of groans, nothing could possibly be worse than Julie Benz' phony Southern accent. It just... bothers me. Benz plays the role of Willem Dafoe's understudy, a bitchy, "independent" female federal agent. Duffy seems incapable of writing for females, but any character would seem grossly inferior compared to Smecker, anyway. Her redeeming performance would have to be her Western-style shoot-em-up scene, in which Benz does some pretty neat tricks with a revolver.
I'll just skip to the meat of the critique: Boondock Saints 2 is pretty much a carbon-copy of the original, with staler jokes and even less of a plot. Every shot was a testosterone-injected parody of every action movie ever made, and even the music was basically lifted and remixed from the original Boondock Saints. And I loved it. Duffy gave the audience what they wanted, and that was Boondock Saints... again. Even the campy, ridiculous title, "All Saint's Day" was an indicator that this movie was, indeed, as sequel, and nothing more. What's more, it's only the second movie in a trilogy.
Oh, did I forget to mention? There's going to be a third one. Trust me, Saints fans, the ending is going to BLOW YOUR MIND.
Boondock Saints 2 is little more than a bridge spanning the first and third movies. The plot is poorly developed, the cinematography isn't groundbreaking or even particularly compelling, and the whole fiasco plays out like a video game, but is that really such a bad thing?
I was laughing and enjoying myself the entire time, even though I knew the movie wasn't that great. I still thought the fight scenes were cool, and I still want to wear those sunglasses. No, this movie isn't going to make you think. No, it doesn't really tackle any major social issues or weave an unforgettable tale. It's just straight-up, concentrated badass awesomeness.
I give the movie a C+. Just go see it. Your inner child will thank you.
I can't speak for you, but I can say this: I wanted to be badass. I wanted to wear sunglasses and a black coat and somersault through a window, pistols blazing in slow-motion, tearing my enemies to shreds. I wanted to be like that more than anything else... and I think that's what Boondock Saints is all about. It's about raunchy, offensive humor, sure, but it's primarily about new-age cowboys. You could almost say that the Saints follow a sort of chivalrous, knightly code of honor. They won't tolerate the killing of innocents, they demand justice where others are too weak or afraid to tread, and they drink. A lot.
No, they aren't good examples. No, I would never suggest doing any of the things they do. But hot damn, they're just so awesome. That's why I will always love the Boondock Saints movies. Now, on to the part where I actually analyze the film:
Senseless violence, crude humor; senseless violence, crude humor; flashback with Rocco, crude humor, senseless violence. Yeah, that pretty much sums it up. From the beginning, the film comes across as ridiculous, to say the least. We find our two heroes bearded, herding sheep across the plains of Ireland. Really? Well, not for long. A priest back home in Boston was killed, and the murder was set up in an attempt to frame the Saints. Of course, the boys aren't going to let that slide, so they quickly shave their beards and shower (in one of the most pointless displays of nudity I've ever seen in a movie) in preparation for their departure. Oh, and on the way there, they pick up a Mexican guy who's apparently got connections in Boston. Yay plot device!
While this introductory sequence evokes a fair deal of groans, nothing could possibly be worse than Julie Benz' phony Southern accent. It just... bothers me. Benz plays the role of Willem Dafoe's understudy, a bitchy, "independent" female federal agent. Duffy seems incapable of writing for females, but any character would seem grossly inferior compared to Smecker, anyway. Her redeeming performance would have to be her Western-style shoot-em-up scene, in which Benz does some pretty neat tricks with a revolver.
I'll just skip to the meat of the critique: Boondock Saints 2 is pretty much a carbon-copy of the original, with staler jokes and even less of a plot. Every shot was a testosterone-injected parody of every action movie ever made, and even the music was basically lifted and remixed from the original Boondock Saints. And I loved it. Duffy gave the audience what they wanted, and that was Boondock Saints... again. Even the campy, ridiculous title, "All Saint's Day" was an indicator that this movie was, indeed, as sequel, and nothing more. What's more, it's only the second movie in a trilogy.
Oh, did I forget to mention? There's going to be a third one. Trust me, Saints fans, the ending is going to BLOW YOUR MIND.
Boondock Saints 2 is little more than a bridge spanning the first and third movies. The plot is poorly developed, the cinematography isn't groundbreaking or even particularly compelling, and the whole fiasco plays out like a video game, but is that really such a bad thing?
I was laughing and enjoying myself the entire time, even though I knew the movie wasn't that great. I still thought the fight scenes were cool, and I still want to wear those sunglasses. No, this movie isn't going to make you think. No, it doesn't really tackle any major social issues or weave an unforgettable tale. It's just straight-up, concentrated badass awesomeness.
I give the movie a C+. Just go see it. Your inner child will thank you.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Monday, November 2, 2009
3:10 to Youmacon
Alright everyone, Youmacon 2009 was amazing.
Right now, however, I haven't got any pictures. My camera wouldn't function for a single one of the three fun-filled days I spent at the convention, so I'm waiting for my accomplice to upload them to the net for me. Until then, I can tell you a little bit about my experience at the con:
So, this was my first convention, so I'm not going to be the best judge of the size or quality compared to others, but I had a simply fabulous time. The dealer room was stocked with various goodies for my purchasing pleasure, and the panels looked interesting (I missed pretty much every one due to my scheduling retardation), but the coolest part for me was the live musical performances and, of course, Potter Puppet Pals LIVE. I got Neil Cicierega's autograph, and took a photo with him and the puppets.
Also of note, the steampunk party held in the con suite. This was were I heard about the World Steam Expo 2010, held at the same hotel. So I signed up! Anyone else attending, feel free to comment! I really can't wait for Memorial Day weekend!
So yeah, that was pretty much it. An exciting weekend, and one helluva convention! Michiganites really know how to party it up otaku-style!
As an aside, I would like to caution you, dear readers, against visiting Detroit. Ever. The city is a filthy, disgusting little stain smeared across an otherwise beautiful state. The people are gruff and unfriendly, the air is foul, and I'm almost certain you'll be robbed. Seriously, take pains to avoid that god forsaken place.
One last quick question for anyone who actually pays attention to my blog: what did you think of the first vlog entry? Should I make more? I've been receiving a great deal of negative feedback from my YouTube subscribers, who apparently hate the vlog, so I'm interested in hearing your opinion(s). I would appreciate the input of my reader(s).
Right now, however, I haven't got any pictures. My camera wouldn't function for a single one of the three fun-filled days I spent at the convention, so I'm waiting for my accomplice to upload them to the net for me. Until then, I can tell you a little bit about my experience at the con:
So, this was my first convention, so I'm not going to be the best judge of the size or quality compared to others, but I had a simply fabulous time. The dealer room was stocked with various goodies for my purchasing pleasure, and the panels looked interesting (I missed pretty much every one due to my scheduling retardation), but the coolest part for me was the live musical performances and, of course, Potter Puppet Pals LIVE. I got Neil Cicierega's autograph, and took a photo with him and the puppets.
Also of note, the steampunk party held in the con suite. This was were I heard about the World Steam Expo 2010, held at the same hotel. So I signed up! Anyone else attending, feel free to comment! I really can't wait for Memorial Day weekend!
So yeah, that was pretty much it. An exciting weekend, and one helluva convention! Michiganites really know how to party it up otaku-style!
As an aside, I would like to caution you, dear readers, against visiting Detroit. Ever. The city is a filthy, disgusting little stain smeared across an otherwise beautiful state. The people are gruff and unfriendly, the air is foul, and I'm almost certain you'll be robbed. Seriously, take pains to avoid that god forsaken place.
One last quick question for anyone who actually pays attention to my blog: what did you think of the first vlog entry? Should I make more? I've been receiving a great deal of negative feedback from my YouTube subscribers, who apparently hate the vlog, so I'm interested in hearing your opinion(s). I would appreciate the input of my reader(s).
Saturday, October 31, 2009
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
OH MY GOD, I ACTUALLY STARTED THE VLOG! BEHOLD, THE DESTRUCT-O-VLOG 5000™ IN ALL OF ITS GLORY!
EXPECT MORE WHERE THIS CAME FROM!
EXPECT MORE WHERE THIS CAME FROM!
Thursday, October 22, 2009
The Student and The Monk, Cont.
My previous post, written this morning, was a tale of spiritual exploration and two individuals sharing a moment of each others lives. That passage was written by a happy Andrew. Happy Andrew left awhile ago. I am an angry Andrew. I will explain to you why I'm an angry Andrew in just a bit: I would just like to call attention to the fact that this is a cynical, every-silver-lining-has-a-cloud rant, and if my original post uplifted your spirits and brought a little warmth to your soul, you might just want to walk away with that and ignore this hasty addendum. If you're still reading, you've probably already made your choice, but don't say I didn't warn you.
Minutes, minutes after wrapping up "The Student and The Monk," I again ventured forth to the Student Center. I wanted to get to class early so that I would have some time to work on my animation project (yes, I have a paper to write AND a project to animate, I'm one busy motherfucker). Of course, in writing my first post of the day, I neglected to buy lunch. To correct this, I ordered a hot dog. As I sat, enjoying my beef cylinder, a student approached me and asked if I was busy.
Immediately, red flags went up. Say you're busy, common sense cried, for god's sake say you're busy! But my heart said, you know, this has been a good day, I think I'll humor him. I told him I wasn't busy. And that's when I unwittingly boarded the train to Shitville.
The student, asian, a few years older than myself, introduced himself as Mike. Mike was not a DePaul student, he was enrolled at some Catholic school and was training to become a preacher or something. He asked me if I am, or have at any point in time ever been, a devout Christian. Again, I answered truthfully: yeah, I used to. Not anymore. This simple action, this little slip of the tongue, was like opening the floodgates. He started with questions, like "why did you stop?" and "what do you think of this and that?" I was still too cheerful from my previous encounter with the monk, and so I went along with him, talking about how I've studied a multitude of religions and their philosophies, and have found that in all cases the religions' belief systems and regulations were too intrusive and restraining to me. At this point, I probably should have also explained my theory regarding a strict belief and adherence to the supernatural quadrant of religious belief: in other words, if you seriously expect me to believe that it is not only plausible, but one hundred percent, bonafide truth that an invisible, omnipresent, all-powerful man in the sky and his magical zombie son decide which good little girls and boys get to go to the wonderful sky-kingdom when they die, you're an idiot. I can't even argue with you, because your logic is based on fairy tales. Of course, at the time, my new friend Mike here had no idea. So he decided to take me on a twenty minute long verbal tour of Evangelism, full of metaphors and personal experiences and pauses where he would ask if I understood. Twenty. Minutes.
Don't get me wrong, his oratory was pretty good. His speaking skills were excellent, he never stuttered, and he certainly sounded like he was making sense. The whole Jesus thing was working out great for him, and that's fabulous. Who am I to tell people what they should do with their lives? If pretending like there's a God and that he's got this great big plan for all of us makes you feel better, then go ahead and dress up for church every Sunday. Go score some more points for the afterlife, if that floats your boat. Because I know that when you're dead, that's it. Game over. You lose. You're fertilizer, end of story. It just seemed to me like he was missing the point. Religion shouldn't be about "my God is better than yours" or "the only way you can achieve eternal salvation is..." Religion to me is about having a code of conduct, sticking to it, and finding happiness among people who love you. That's why I see no need to affiliate myself with any specific religion (not even atheism... because yes, it is a religion). I already have everything a religion has to offer without all of the downsides.
Of course, friend Mike wouldn't understand. After his twenty minute long sermon, there came that point at which I was supposed to rise from my seat, thrust my hands into the air and shout, "Jesus has saved me!"
I didn't.
Instead, I told him that I need some more time to think about it (a blatant lie: at this point, I wanted him to go away) we shook hands and he left.
I picked up my hot dog. It was cold now. Damn. Outside, it was raining.
Of course, that was some time ago. The anger has passed now, but still, I was in such a great mood after talking to the traveling monk that having to deal with this overzealous theology student really brought me back down to earth. Hard.
Anyway, that was it. Hopefully you didn't read it, and you still have a positive outlook regarding religious faith. I, on the other hand, am permanently jaded. Except around December 25th, then I suddenly become a church-going Christian once more! MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Minutes, minutes after wrapping up "The Student and The Monk," I again ventured forth to the Student Center. I wanted to get to class early so that I would have some time to work on my animation project (yes, I have a paper to write AND a project to animate, I'm one busy motherfucker). Of course, in writing my first post of the day, I neglected to buy lunch. To correct this, I ordered a hot dog. As I sat, enjoying my beef cylinder, a student approached me and asked if I was busy.
Immediately, red flags went up. Say you're busy, common sense cried, for god's sake say you're busy! But my heart said, you know, this has been a good day, I think I'll humor him. I told him I wasn't busy. And that's when I unwittingly boarded the train to Shitville.
The student, asian, a few years older than myself, introduced himself as Mike. Mike was not a DePaul student, he was enrolled at some Catholic school and was training to become a preacher or something. He asked me if I am, or have at any point in time ever been, a devout Christian. Again, I answered truthfully: yeah, I used to. Not anymore. This simple action, this little slip of the tongue, was like opening the floodgates. He started with questions, like "why did you stop?" and "what do you think of this and that?" I was still too cheerful from my previous encounter with the monk, and so I went along with him, talking about how I've studied a multitude of religions and their philosophies, and have found that in all cases the religions' belief systems and regulations were too intrusive and restraining to me. At this point, I probably should have also explained my theory regarding a strict belief and adherence to the supernatural quadrant of religious belief: in other words, if you seriously expect me to believe that it is not only plausible, but one hundred percent, bonafide truth that an invisible, omnipresent, all-powerful man in the sky and his magical zombie son decide which good little girls and boys get to go to the wonderful sky-kingdom when they die, you're an idiot. I can't even argue with you, because your logic is based on fairy tales. Of course, at the time, my new friend Mike here had no idea. So he decided to take me on a twenty minute long verbal tour of Evangelism, full of metaphors and personal experiences and pauses where he would ask if I understood. Twenty. Minutes.
Don't get me wrong, his oratory was pretty good. His speaking skills were excellent, he never stuttered, and he certainly sounded like he was making sense. The whole Jesus thing was working out great for him, and that's fabulous. Who am I to tell people what they should do with their lives? If pretending like there's a God and that he's got this great big plan for all of us makes you feel better, then go ahead and dress up for church every Sunday. Go score some more points for the afterlife, if that floats your boat. Because I know that when you're dead, that's it. Game over. You lose. You're fertilizer, end of story. It just seemed to me like he was missing the point. Religion shouldn't be about "my God is better than yours" or "the only way you can achieve eternal salvation is..." Religion to me is about having a code of conduct, sticking to it, and finding happiness among people who love you. That's why I see no need to affiliate myself with any specific religion (not even atheism... because yes, it is a religion). I already have everything a religion has to offer without all of the downsides.
Of course, friend Mike wouldn't understand. After his twenty minute long sermon, there came that point at which I was supposed to rise from my seat, thrust my hands into the air and shout, "Jesus has saved me!"
I didn't.
Instead, I told him that I need some more time to think about it (a blatant lie: at this point, I wanted him to go away) we shook hands and he left.
I picked up my hot dog. It was cold now. Damn. Outside, it was raining.
Of course, that was some time ago. The anger has passed now, but still, I was in such a great mood after talking to the traveling monk that having to deal with this overzealous theology student really brought me back down to earth. Hard.
Anyway, that was it. Hopefully you didn't read it, and you still have a positive outlook regarding religious faith. I, on the other hand, am permanently jaded. Except around December 25th, then I suddenly become a church-going Christian once more! MERRY CHRISTMAS!
The Student and The Monk
Today, as I walked across the quad towards the Student Center, a man in a large hoodie approached me. He asked if I was a student here. I didn't see any harm in the question, so I answered yes. He then asked me if I'd ever meditated before. It was a strange question, but again I answered yes, I had meditated before at the Myoshinji Great Plains Zen Center in Wisconsin.
He then reached into his bag and handed me a new, hardcover book. The book was titled "Bhagavad Gita As It Is." The book documents a philosophical conversation held between Krishna and one of his disciples, and is apparently very important... the book was also a key piece of literature for Emerson and Thoreau. The man introduced himself to me then as a traveling monk, spreading the word of his beliefs for a small donation. I was, for some strange reason, very interested in the book, and gave a donation of five dollars (I didn't mean to be stingy, but I was going to go get lunch, and I didn't have much to offer in the first place) and took the book. I talked to the monk a while after that. He asked what my major was, and we talked about film for a bit. I asked what group he was affiliated with, and he gave me his card. He was with The International Society for Krishna Consciousness. After some time, we shook hands and parted ways.
I don't know much, but what I could glean so far is that Krishna, the main focus of the book, is an important figure or deity in Hinduism, with many different roles from differing perspectives. I'm going to read the book and see what else I can learn about Hindu philosophy, because I'm really curious now. Also, it's pretty sweet that I got a book for five bucks.
Just wanted to share that. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have an animation reaction paper to write.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Youmacon (Preview)
I'm getting very excited for Youmacon!
My goggles showed up in the mail (finally) a couple of days ago, marking the completion of my steampunk outfit. You can't really call it a cosplay... I'm not dressing up as anybody. I guess you could say I'll be a Neo-Victorian version of myself.Anyway, pics:
Trust me, way more to come... WHEN I COVER YOUMACON 2009!
But yeah, so that's going to happen. Likewise, not tomorrow, not the day after, not any time this weekend and probably at no point next week, but sometime in the foreseeable future, I will commence production of the Destruct-O-Vlog 5000™ and post it on YouTube. I dunno. Maybe?
Oh yeah, and I one day wish to obtain a theremin and learn how to play it. END TRANSMISSION.
My goggles showed up in the mail (finally) a couple of days ago, marking the completion of my steampunk outfit. You can't really call it a cosplay... I'm not dressing up as anybody. I guess you could say I'll be a Neo-Victorian version of myself.Anyway, pics:
Trust me, way more to come... WHEN I COVER YOUMACON 2009!
But yeah, so that's going to happen. Likewise, not tomorrow, not the day after, not any time this weekend and probably at no point next week, but sometime in the foreseeable future, I will commence production of the Destruct-O-Vlog 5000™ and post it on YouTube. I dunno. Maybe?
Oh yeah, and I one day wish to obtain a theremin and learn how to play it. END TRANSMISSION.
Monday, October 5, 2009
On Not Having Posted In Awhile
So I had a bit of a jarring experience today. First of all, I'd like to apologize for my infrequent posting. I've been lazy. Or, rather, lazier than usual. Anyway, now that I put that out there, I would like to relay my jarring experience:
I've come to the realization that people actually read this blog. This conclusion was drawn as a result of a previous post, my Steampunk DnD in the Classroom caught the attention of Mr. Marcus Rowland, the creator of Forgotten Futures (if that name isn't ringing a bell, read the original post). A pleasant surprise indeed! I'm shocked that my humble blog is receiving such attention!
I suppose before this revelation I was under the impression that no one would ever find my blog; that it was a little haven where I could post clever witticisms, day-to-day observations, current events, and of course the occasional critique without censoring myself like I do on Facebook. I saw the truly menial, ridiculous tidbits for Twitter, but the interesting stuff goes on the Destruct-O-Blog.
I don't know where I'm going with this. I guess it's cool that I'm broadcasting myself, it makes me feel all warm inside.
That's really all I have to report. I haven't been posting primarily for a lack of content to post... I mean, I could tell you about the Streetlight Manifesto concert, or how I've been experimenting with Hungarian minor scales in my improvisation, or how director Stan Brakhage has produced some of the most awful, pretentious, boring films in the entire history of film making. But that would only bore you, the viewer.
Besides, if I feel like what I have to say isn't worth saying on the internet, then it isn't worth saying. This blog is, first and foremost, me running off at the mouth: if I'm not in the mood to say anything, then the blog goes silent.
I don't know. Maybe I just need to write more often. It isn't as though my life is less interesting than when I started the blog, I've simply stopped noticing.
Oh, and I don't think I'm going to finish Vertigo. I just can't bring myself to do it! Gluuuuuh!
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Laundry Day
Alright, so technically laundry day was yesterday. This was my first attempt at laundry, and I've learned several important lessons:
- Bring lots of quarters
- Try to limit yourself to about 4 loads max
- I HAVE A LOT OF JEANS
- I MEAN REALLY, WAAAAAAY TOO MANY PAIRS OF JEANS
The only real good that came of laundry day (besides fresh, clean clothes) was that I was able to read more of Speaker For the Dead, the sequel to Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card. Phenomenal books, both of them, and I highly encourage that you read them, especially if you're going to be doing laundry for about 3 hours.
Anyway, exciting news! Two new movies on YouTube! Huzzah! Go see them NAO!
NOTE: I should really stop using this blog as my personal diary... I mean, I've been pretty good about it in the past, but anymore it just seems like I'm posting stupid shit as opposed to interesting shit. Must take that into consideration.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Red Line
Today, I was on the El. Taking the red line from Jackson to Fullerton, the only thing on my mind was lunch. Would I have a hot dog or a cheeseburger once I got to the student center? Or maybe chicken strips? The options seemed endless, an innumerable sum of burritos, pizza slices and combo meals stretching on into infinity. I could have stood there all day pondering my order if Daryl hadn't stepped onto the train.
At Monroe, a tall black man clumsily made his way onto the red line, the clacking of his white cane breaking through the silence. Since when was the El silent? I could have sworn people were talking. But the car was dead with the exception of Daryl's walking stick. It became clear that the man was blind: his eyes bulged from their sockets, looking nowhere in particular, as his cane tapped the floor and his cup jingled. Filled with nickels and pennies, Daryl began to beg. There are lots of homeless people in the city, and it only makes sense that some of them are blind, but before I could ignore him, he said something that I will never forget: "Ladies and gentlemen, my name is Daryl. Please, can I have your attention? I am blind. Please, if you have any change or food, drop it into my cup... please. Acknowledge me."
What an odd thing to say. "Acknowledge me, please" he repeated again and again.
I began to wonder how terrifying life must be for Daryl. His entire world, his perception of reality, is darkness. Nothing at all. He never had a choice, no say in the matter, his world is darkness, and he will never see the light. Daryl, a stranger to our reality, alone, has come to us begging not just for money or food, but to be recognized, to be given some kind of assurance that he isn't alone.
As he staggered from row to row, pleading to catch a fleeting glimpse of our light, I was sad that I had nothing to give poor Daryl. Not a cent, not a scrap of food. I wanted desperately to pat him on the back, reassure him, let him know that, although his world is dark, he isn't alone... instead, I held onto the rail and turned away.
On the opposite end of the train, a girl, roughly my age, was sitting in the back corner of the train. Her eyes were closed, and her ears were covered by a pair of monstrous, pink headphones. I bet they canceled out everything but the buzz of her iPod. She, too, lived in darkness, seeing her world through closed eyelids. She had given up on reality, imposing blindness and deafness on herself. She chose this path, forsaking the light and those who follow it, blurring the sights and sounds around her with synthetic noise.
As I stepped off the El platform, I was shaken by this revelation. With all of the privileges I've been given, all the opportunities I have, it is my responsibility to seek the light, to embrace the world and those who live in it and try to make a difference for those who can't... and for those who choose not to. To a degree, we are all blind to one another, incapable of seeing reality as others perceive it... but I feel like, if we make the effort to try and understand one another, we can overcome these differences and live together.
Or maybe I'm just stupid. Anyway, I got a hot dog. While I was making these observations, I accidentally squirted tabasco sauce on my bun instead of ketchup. Damn. Anyway, that's my thought of the day. Just wanted to share that.
At Monroe, a tall black man clumsily made his way onto the red line, the clacking of his white cane breaking through the silence. Since when was the El silent? I could have sworn people were talking. But the car was dead with the exception of Daryl's walking stick. It became clear that the man was blind: his eyes bulged from their sockets, looking nowhere in particular, as his cane tapped the floor and his cup jingled. Filled with nickels and pennies, Daryl began to beg. There are lots of homeless people in the city, and it only makes sense that some of them are blind, but before I could ignore him, he said something that I will never forget: "Ladies and gentlemen, my name is Daryl. Please, can I have your attention? I am blind. Please, if you have any change or food, drop it into my cup... please. Acknowledge me."
What an odd thing to say. "Acknowledge me, please" he repeated again and again.
I began to wonder how terrifying life must be for Daryl. His entire world, his perception of reality, is darkness. Nothing at all. He never had a choice, no say in the matter, his world is darkness, and he will never see the light. Daryl, a stranger to our reality, alone, has come to us begging not just for money or food, but to be recognized, to be given some kind of assurance that he isn't alone.
As he staggered from row to row, pleading to catch a fleeting glimpse of our light, I was sad that I had nothing to give poor Daryl. Not a cent, not a scrap of food. I wanted desperately to pat him on the back, reassure him, let him know that, although his world is dark, he isn't alone... instead, I held onto the rail and turned away.
On the opposite end of the train, a girl, roughly my age, was sitting in the back corner of the train. Her eyes were closed, and her ears were covered by a pair of monstrous, pink headphones. I bet they canceled out everything but the buzz of her iPod. She, too, lived in darkness, seeing her world through closed eyelids. She had given up on reality, imposing blindness and deafness on herself. She chose this path, forsaking the light and those who follow it, blurring the sights and sounds around her with synthetic noise.
As I stepped off the El platform, I was shaken by this revelation. With all of the privileges I've been given, all the opportunities I have, it is my responsibility to seek the light, to embrace the world and those who live in it and try to make a difference for those who can't... and for those who choose not to. To a degree, we are all blind to one another, incapable of seeing reality as others perceive it... but I feel like, if we make the effort to try and understand one another, we can overcome these differences and live together.
Or maybe I'm just stupid. Anyway, I got a hot dog. While I was making these observations, I accidentally squirted tabasco sauce on my bun instead of ketchup. Damn. Anyway, that's my thought of the day. Just wanted to share that.
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Critical Thinking: "REPO! The Genetic Opera"
Ok, let's do this:
I really enjoyed REPO, which, to my surprise, was actually a really good musical. It starts off with a series of comic book panels introducing the plot (the art direction is really brilliant: the vivid colors contrasted by chiaroscuro lighting techniques establish this corrupt, dystopian world of 2056) followed by a short introductory song explaining the Repo Man by a reoccurring character, the grave robber. The grave robber seems almost omnipresent, popping up at just the right times to narrate and add commentary to the plot, all the while remaining uninterested in the events unfolding around him, like a futuristic Puck... not to mention he gets some of the best songs! The singing all around is fabulous, the actors did a great job in that respect! The plot is interesting, and does a good job examining the relationships between all the different characters... although I really wish they could have elaborated on Mag a little bit more. Still, the father/daughter story, the CEO of GeneCo's dilemma, the quarrel between Rotti and Nathan over Marni's love and murder, and of course between Mag and Rotti all give the musical an almost Shakespearean feel to it. The formula feels familiar, what with all the intertwining, sometimes comedic interactions between characters all equating to the same theme, but the addition of futuristic special effects, a dark, sci-fi world and gruesome gore and makeup effects lend the film a fresh twist.
There isn't much more I can say about the movie except that I loved it! It was well done, held my attention, and made me really think about the future of mankind and the society that we've established (as any good sci-fi movie that isn't Star Wars should). And I normally hate musicals! There isn't much I didn't like, with the exception of the song "Seventeen" and its implementation in the film... it was just... gross. But it's easily skipped and non-essential, so the mistake isn't too bad!
All in all, I give it an A-
Now what are you waiting for? Go rent a copy, find a friend who has the DVD, look it up on YouTube, do anything to see it!
Monday, September 14, 2009
New Pet! Introducing... Doodle!
HEY EVERYBODY! I HAVE A NEW PET!
That's right! He's a cute little fishy named Doodle! He was a free gift from some Christian ministry group or something... there was an involvement fair type thing at the student center yesterday showing off all the different clubs at DePaul... which means lots of free handouts, so of course I was there! I never expected to see free fish, though. Very odd. Of course, I realized quickly that the little fella only had about 2 hours before it was curtains (I heard that's how long they last in the bag) so I pretty much ran to the nearest Petco. The nearest Petco was 3 miles away, not including the time spent getting lost, so I was pretty exhausted. After purchasing the necessary materials, I found the nearest El station, got back to my dorm, and, seeing that Doodle was still alive and well, established a permanent residence for my new pal.
He was a little shy and nervous at first (not to mention malnourished) but now he's swimming around and eating like a happy little fishy! I'm just glad I can give him a good home... I don't know what happened to all the other fish, but I can't imagine many of them fell into the right hands... and I'd rather not imagine what has become of the leftover fish. Maybe they got released into a pond or something to be eaten by local predators or die of starvation. But, I digress: Doodle is now safe and sound in his new tank, and it looks like he may have gained a little weight! (I overfed him yesterday, but it looks like he's doing fine now.)
Extra credit if you can figure out why I named him Doodle. Hint: "The Scarlet Ibis." Oh, and I got a Bible from the club, too. So far, the fish has proven more useful. I think I'm going to thumb through it and highlight the funny parts.
That's right! He's a cute little fishy named Doodle! He was a free gift from some Christian ministry group or something... there was an involvement fair type thing at the student center yesterday showing off all the different clubs at DePaul... which means lots of free handouts, so of course I was there! I never expected to see free fish, though. Very odd. Of course, I realized quickly that the little fella only had about 2 hours before it was curtains (I heard that's how long they last in the bag) so I pretty much ran to the nearest Petco. The nearest Petco was 3 miles away, not including the time spent getting lost, so I was pretty exhausted. After purchasing the necessary materials, I found the nearest El station, got back to my dorm, and, seeing that Doodle was still alive and well, established a permanent residence for my new pal.
He was a little shy and nervous at first (not to mention malnourished) but now he's swimming around and eating like a happy little fishy! I'm just glad I can give him a good home... I don't know what happened to all the other fish, but I can't imagine many of them fell into the right hands... and I'd rather not imagine what has become of the leftover fish. Maybe they got released into a pond or something to be eaten by local predators or die of starvation. But, I digress: Doodle is now safe and sound in his new tank, and it looks like he may have gained a little weight! (I overfed him yesterday, but it looks like he's doing fine now.)
Extra credit if you can figure out why I named him Doodle. Hint: "The Scarlet Ibis." Oh, and I got a Bible from the club, too. So far, the fish has proven more useful. I think I'm going to thumb through it and highlight the funny parts.
Doodle's new tank. Just thought you'd all like to know
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Steampunk DnD in the Classroom
So, I've been toying with the idea of a pet octopus. I can't keep him in the dorms, though... they are, in fact, poisonous. Never knew that before, but I guess an octopus bite is actually poisonous. They're smart animals, and I'd really love to keep one!
Anyway, on to the point: my ethics professor, a man by the name of Johnny Wilson, is going to be utilizing the unlimited, untapped potential of the tabeltop RPG as a means of education. The game we'll be using, Forgotten Futures, is a steampunk variation of the DnD formula (taking place in mid-19th century to early 20th century Victorian England) and also contains elements of alternative history science fiction depending on the DM and what you want history to be. It makes sense, since the game places an emphasis on non-combat solutions to problems and a realistic health system, complete with wounds, infections, and even broken bones taking a toll on your abilities. So it forces you to really think about the decisions you make in the game world.
I just think it's really interesting that the two media are being mixed to give the students-turned-roleplayers a better idea of how decisions are made and what role ethics or morality play not just in the game but in real life as well.
My character's name is Ilchymis Theodore Adlam, and he is basically an engineer/medic/scientist. He has some first aid abilities, can repair machines and use computers (or Babbage Engines), and has extensive knowledge on a variety of subjects that should come in handy. Plus he has a badass fuckin' weapon, the .40 LeMat handgun/shotgun. And he can use swords. Aw hell yeah. This may be an ethics class, but I'm too good at RPG's not to kick ass.
Oh, and I auditioned for the jazz band... didn't go so well. We'll see what happens.
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Vertigo
Alright! I'm at DePaul now!! The quality of my life has increased at least tenfold, and I have college to thank! (Not to mention the hordes of awesome DePaul students at University Hall! Seriously, the two guitar guys on the second floor are fucking AWESOME!)
Anyway, down to business: I made a webcomic. This is just page one. More to come later. Enjoy the hell out of it.
Anyway, down to business: I made a webcomic. This is just page one. More to come later. Enjoy the hell out of it.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Critical Thinking: "Versus"
Hooray! Liquidation sale at the local Blockbuster! What does this mean? Well, it means several sorry individuals have lost their jobs and that the economy has claimed yet another video rental location... but it also means RIDICULOUSLY CHEAP DVD'S AND MOVIE POSTERS!!
Although disappointed that the Cowboy Bebop movie was nowhere to be found (damn... I was too late), I did stumble across a few interesting treasures: Neon Genesis Evangelion Death & Rebirth (the movie), season one of 30 Rock, and a rare Japanese movie called "Versus."
Of course, I was curious. Is "Versus" going to be any good? It looks like it has potential. For $3.99, why not? So, I took a risk, and here are the results. (Warning: spoilers.)
The movie, at first glance, seemed fairly typical. The director's choice not to name any of the characters or develop an overarching backstory beyond the protagonist's role as a prisoner serve to establish the characters as ideas rather than actual human beings. This significantly weakened the emotional impact of the plot for me right off the bat; however, the choice makes sense, especially considering the genre. Action movies are based heavily off of adrenaline and emotions easily triggered through camerawork and pacing rather than creating pathos for the characters or enveloping the audience in a complex plot. However, a plot progression and evolution of sorts is generally preferred by directors so that the tempest of emotions peaks during the climactic, awesome super-battle at the end. And that is exactly what Ryuhei Kitamura did here. The protagonist apparently evolves as he gets to know the female lead, who seems shockingly devoid of any kind of history. She acts as more of an object than a character, helping the protagonist to move along and giving the story some kind of direction. The characters (and the interplay between the characters) don't seem to matter that much, since many of them die in the first quarter of the movie anyway. The plot branches at times as characters come and go, join forces or separate (or simply die), but the branches go nowhere and, unfortunately, lead to death for all of the minor characters. Although much, if not all, of the humor in the film is derived from these tangents, they remain for the most part useless. The movie is also riddled with moments of incredibly cheesy acting and lame sound effects (i.e. the fight towards the end between the crazy Yakuza knife guy and the hero).
As typical action movies go, however, this one had some surprisingly well done fight sequences. Think "The Matrix" except with zombies. Oh yeah, and there are zombies. The makeup work is excellent throughout, kudos to the gore and special effects teams as well! The lighting and camerawork in other scenes made up for a lot of the disappointment elsewhere (the entire movie is filmed outdoors, so it must have been really difficult to set up the shots just right depending on the time of day), especially in some of the more intense fight scenes... and they start to get pretty crazy. Really, the only parts that disappointed were whenever the actors opened their mouths to do anything but spit blood. I feel like a more formalistic approach would have been much more effective in this sort of situation, and clearly the director is capable of pulling it off. This sieve-like, porous plot is often the result of an action movie wandering too close to drama. Also, it seemed like some of the fights took a little too much inspiration from anime... while a certain level of "that's impossible" is acceptable, I can only suspend reality for so long... especially when the cartoon physics are enough to make me groan.
I was enjoying the movie, and was ready to give it a B-/C+ when the hero and his gal defeated the evil dude (I think he was the protagonist's brother?) rode off into the tunnel on a motorcycle and the screen washed to white... and then the real ending happened. For those of you following along at home, I beg you to hit the "stop" button right now and pretend that the movie is just over, because what you're about to see dropped the movie a full letter grade.
The screen faded to black, and the words "99 Years Later" appeared on the screen. "Oh shit," I cried, realizing that the movie was now ruined. This gigantic jump, an entire century into the future, led into the first indoor shot in the entire film. The protagonist had his girlfriend hostage, and she was begging for the assistance of the bad guy. The hero declares that he has destroyed the world, and that he now wishes to possess the power that the bad guys had been seeking from the other side. The two dudes clash swords, and movie ends. I sob a little, dry my tears, and crack the DVD in half.
Okay, it's not that bad, but let's face it, the conclusion is a bit of a bust (I hear there's a sequel in the making... let us pray that the budget is higher). What really shocked me about this film is that apparently Hideo Kojima was an extra at some point... Kitamura and Kojima are friends, and Kojima later invited him to direct MGS: The Twin Snakes... WOAH. Talk about six fuckin' degrees of separation! I wonder if Kitamura ever met Kevin Bacon? By now, I wouldn't be shocked.
All in all, I would say that the film is a fun action flick with some intense, well-choreographed fight scenes and zombie action. The plot remains unintrusive for the most part. Don't walk in expecting a masterpiece of a script: if you're looking for a high-octane, hella fuckin' balls-to-the-walls awesome gun-toting, sword-swinging action adventure flick, then you've come to the right place. C+
Now get out of here before I change my mind. (I want to go watch Neon Genesis Evangelion now, while I'm still in the mood for Japanese.)
Friday, August 28, 2009
Friday Night Escapade
I just got back from Dominican University, and let me just say this: Broken Bride was a BLAST!
It was by no stretch of the imagination the best play I've ever seen. The singing was "meh" at best, due to frequent mistakes made by both the director and the actors, and many of the roles were cast poorly (i.e. having a female play "The Boy," assembling a group of primarily tone-deaf singers, etc.) And, while I recognize and appreciate the traditional, minimalist approach to scenery and props, I think the rock opera called for somewhat more than what the stage delivered.
But that's not what I want to focus on. Regardless of any technical errors, the play was not only enjoyable, but actually a really fun time! The zombies marching through the aisles, the dragon wheeling in from stage right, The Traveler spinning wildly in his time machine, even the spotlight pterodactyls made me smile! And I was also impressed by the Mayor's performance, albeit short, especially the part where he killed himself. The use of moveable, stackable cubes as scenery was also a good idea given the various fantastic locations of the play.
All in all, it was a great experience for myself and all the other Ludo fans who attended. It was really heartwarming to see that these people created something not for money or profit of any kind, but for the sheer love of creation and the desire to share that creation with others. Everyone in the audience loved hearing the zombies sing, and you could hear a pin drop when The Traveler was singing "Morning in May": the fans enjoyed every minute of the performance, and all of us had a really fantastic time... for no cost. We didn't have to pay to get in, it was the performers' treat to us! It was so nice to walk in, sit down, and feel like I'm watching something that someone else made because they really, really wanted to do it, not because they wanted to take my money and get on with the show.
Well, that and, "BROKEN BRIDE BROKEN BRIDE BROKEN BRIIIIIDE!!"
Everyone has their own vision of what Broken Bride is supposed to be... like whether "Save Our City" is a part of the plot or just an extra song added to the album, or what The Traveler and his wife are supposed to look like. I think when you get down to a really emotional level, those sort of things become very personal. I guess what made Broken Bride special was that, no matter who you are or where you're from, Ludo is giving you the story and the music, but the rest is up to the individual, and a lot of the appeal of this play is giving life to that aspect of Broken Bride.
Of course, giving life to the dragon was somewhat difficult, but I had a good laugh, so when all's said and done I had a fabulous evening! This is the perfect warm-up for the Chicago leg of the Broken Bride tour, coming to town on October 23rd! (Everyone got your tickets?)
I'd really like to personally thank the directors, Katie Moss and Ian Watts, for putting together such a great performance, and Anthony Patryn, for playing the best damn Traveler we'll ever see! I love what you did with the hair, by the way; channeling Andrew Volpe, I assume? (Of course, they're never going to read this... actually, I really only think 4 or 5 people will ever see this, and only one of them is a Ludo fan.) Anyway, great job!!
Sunday, August 23, 2009
I Wish They Were All This Awesome...
Okay everyone, we're going to be doing things a little differently today.
So I made another Facebook quiz... based on my favorite turn-based fantasy RPG of all time: Skies of Arcadia!
The link to the quiz (as well as several other popular SoA themed quizzes I've made) can be found below.
What Moon Were You Born Under?
Which Admiral of the Valuan Armada Are You?
What Skies of Arcadia Character Are You?
I hope you enjoy them all, because I've spent a lot of time on each of them. The fans seem to like my quizzes, so I may just keep making them.
Anyway, as you are no doubt aware, I'm playing through SoA: Legends again... you know, the Skies of Arcadia remake for the Gamecube? (If you'd clicked the dancing link, you'd know by now that the original game was made for the Sega Dreamcast, and it wasn't until later that the remake, SoAL came out for the Gamecube). It's still just as phenomenal as the first time!
Alright, so the graphics are dated. They were dated when they came out on the Gamecube, too... they didn't do much to improve it there. But this is one of those games where it wins so hard that you don't notice. The music (although low sound quality in places) is beautifully arranged, simply moving at times. The story is pure awesomeness, the characters unforgettable. And the battle systems... that's right, TWO (monster fights and pirate ship fights)... keep the random battles from becoming too sluggish and repetitive. It is still a turn-based RPG, after all, but for a game of that genre it's surprisingly exciting and fresh, even by today's standards.
My favorite aspect of the game, however, is the in-game world. It's big... real big. Lots of room to explore and, the best part is, lots of stuff to do. Not only are there optional bounty encounters and side quests galore, but there is a "Discovery" system that I've fallen in love with all over again. Scattered across the map are hidden goodies... when you happen to come across one, your compass begins to spin wildly, and a quick press of the A button reveals what you've discovered. Of course you are rewarded for your finds, but there are just so many discoveries out there on this massive map, you've got hours of entertainment right there! I've always adored games that gave you this great big world with a big, fascinating history behind it, and just turned you loose to explore. Granted, some areas are off limits until you progress further in the story, but that keeps it balanced so that the player has some sort of guideline... otherwise, you'd easily get lost in the fantastic realm of Arcadia.
I'm striving for 100% completion, but I fear that may still be too much for me. 60 hours into a game that took me 100 hours to beat the first time through, and I've already found so many Discoveries and items and even characters that I'd never met before, and I still have so much more to go! My only regret is that there aren't more RPG's out there like this... it is as though SoA has ruined me for all the other nice young games on the market.
Nevertheless, I wait in joyful hope. Perhaps a sequel, Sega? It isn't like you don't have material... you left it wide open. Perhaps a second generation, with Marco as the lead character? Or even a prequel delving into the dark past of Ramirez and the rise of Admiral Galcian? You could even go as far back as the Old Ages... how did those Purple Civilization guys just disappear? And who called down the Rains of Destruction? I'm sure there's a fascinating story behind all that, as well.
Oh geez, sorry guys, I went on a great big rant.
Just stop me next time, okay?
Friday, August 21, 2009
The Interconnectedness of All Things
So tonight was interesting in more ways than one.
For starters, I was jamming with the Music Workshop gang (Dimitri on keyboard, no Max or Ron however, which made "Josie" kind of difficult) and was introduced to our vocalist, James. However, James didn't sing: he was a rapper. We play mostly jazz, latin, swing, some funk, things like that, so I wasn't sure how having a rapper added into the mix was going to work. I could tell that some of the other members were a bit hesitant as well.
We were all pleasantly surprised when things worked out phenomenally well. The spoken lyrics were not only in time with the rest of the music, but a fresh new approach to songs we'd been familiar with for ages. Of course some were more difficult to work around than others, but for the most part the music and lyrics integrated splendidly to create a more contemporary, modern sound.
This fascinated me: as I played my sax, I started to realize what a contradiction this really was. Jazz and rap are supposed to be near polar opposites on the musical spectrum. But here they fit perfectly. I saw then firsthand the interconnectedness of all musical genres, that all music derives from the same basic roots, and that no matter how far apart you think two points are, there is always a degree of sameness.
This same principle of interconnectedness can extend to people, as well. All people, no matter their background or skin color, are derived from the same basic roots: the same basic DNA patterns and organ tissue formations, the same needs for survival and primal desires. There isn't that much difference between us... it's the difference between jazz and rap.
It's all music, baby.
(In an unrelated side note, we blew the hell out of "Beautiful Love," easily 100 beats faster than it's normally played. As usual, Hunter's solo was poetry in motion, but Matt and I were fighting just to keep up! Now, I'm really tired.)
Broken Bride
Alright, so this is really exciting!
Ludo's emotionally charged, epic rock-opera, "Broken Bride," has been adapted into a musical by the brilliant men and women at the Dominican University in River Forest, Illinois! If you haven't clicked the dancing link above you, the production will be taking place from August 27-29 and 8PM, and admission is FREE! You heard me: FREE!
This is a super special awesome event for Ludo fans (what with the Broken Bride tour close at hand... everybody got your tickets?) and lord knows when we'll get this kind of opportunity again. So, I encourage you, if some act of divine providence has led you to my humble blog, you are a rabid Ludo fan, and you live in the Chicago area, I implore you to come see the show!
I will be attending on Friday the 28th, and I hope to see you there!
Alright, now, in actual blog-related news, after much fucking around with what little knowledge of HTML, CSS, and Javascript that I've collected over the years, I've fashioned a primitive Random Word Generator on top of the posts (in a snazzy highlighter-yellow border, no less!) and I hope that it provides you with as many hours of entertainment as it did for me.
Also, please take a moment to admire the deviantART widget I added in the sidebar, as well as my beautiful artwork. Input is appreciated: if you feel that all these add-ons are simply too much and that they've bastardized the blogging experience for you, speak up in the comment box! However, I do so enjoy self-promotion, so until I get a significant number of complaints, the widgets stay!
EDIT: I find that, instead of drawing attention and enticing viewers, links that travel from one side of the page to the other are somewhat of an eyesore and are more often than not ignored altogether. Life is just easier when you don't have to deal with such aggravating links. To counteract this, I've programmed the link atop this post to not only crawl across the entry, but also blink. The result, however, gives me a headache. I'm going to leave the offending material up, but I believe this will be the last time I utilize this function.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
What Do You Think?
I really love the new look! The blog was just missing something... a certain flair before. It was the sidebar, it just looked so ugly. Much better now! As you're no doubt aware, I'm going for a minimalist, somewhat saturated tone. I think it suits me well. Anything else would just look gaudy and over-the-top in my opinion.
I guess, if you think about it, blogs are all about opinions. What else is a blog besides a virtual diary, where people write about what they're thinking and what's going on in their lives? The same goes for Twitter and Facebook. I guess it's interesting to think that I'm putting my thoughts and feelings out there, and someone else is reading them. It's an ego trip, really, an act of vanity and selfishness; still, I think it's fun. I'm taking up someone else's server space, and I love it!
Well, no matter. I don't have any followers, and it isn't like anyone is actually reading this.
I'm talking to myself out here!
Oh well. Thinking about starting the vlog. At least then this blog will have a purpose beyond sucking up a fraction of my spare time.
Ah well.
EDIT: The new color sucked. Changing it back to "pastel green." And props to Jon for helping with the HTML! I can change font colors and do the "marquee" thing, but spreadsheets blow my mind!
I Think I'm Alone Now
Just a special note, the link I have hovering above the post is different every time, so go ahead and click it.
So, this is it. My two best friends left for college a couple days ago. They're getting settled in to their respective, way-too-far-away-from-me locations. So now I'm alone: 16 days until I get to leave. School has started again for the little ones, so the high school juniors and seniors I had hung with before will not be available again until the weekend. And I'm stuck here. With nothing to do but work. Damn.
Well, now I know how life would feel if I simply wasn't going to college. It's awful, I really have to admit. Well, back to the spice mines for me. When I said I have nothing to do here but work, that's code for my father is PUTTING ME to work.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Two Posts in One Day
Okay! Steps have been taken in an attempt to beautify this skin-and-bones blog. In its current sorry state, I seriously doubt anyone would listen to what I have to say (which, admittedly, isn't much, so the visual presentation becomes all the more pertinent).
I'm sure there's something important I'm supposed to be doing right now... but this is important to me. Well, at the moment. Hopefully it will retain its significance, but I can't help but wonder if I'm going to wake up tomorrow thinking, "that blog was a ridiculous idea, I should just delete it right now."
Probably not.
Mm... yeah, probably not.
उम... हेल्लो?
Alright... first day with my fancy new blog. I don't know what I'm going to use this for just yet. I'm kind of making it on a whim... I'll figure it out as I go, I guess. All this code crap makes little to no sense to me... I can change the color of my text, that's an accomplishment I guess. What do normal bloggers blog about? Hm... as if I care.
Anyway, we'll just need to see what we can do with this. It's probably just going to turn into my idea dump. It would be... smarter... for me to make a vlog. At least then I can tie it in with my YouTube account... hm... idea... fufufufufu...
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