Thursday, July 29, 2004
Lack of Consistency
Although I've been pretty slow of late to add more frequent posts to the blog, I'm glad that there's actually some new creative material here. I guess it speaks to the fact that I'm getting a little more right-brained lately, but the lack of posts means I'm also getting more left-brained because I've been busy at work. From here on out, I promise to attempt at least 3 a week, and the promise shoudl work a little better now that the crazy weekend schedules are slowing down a bit. Oh, and maybe I'll finish my website, then there'll be more interesting stuff to see more often.
Friday, July 23, 2004
Probable Prose
The weekend approaches, and I'll be departing for an adventurous time, but before I go, perhaps there will be a short passage...
Bedtime Story
Remember those old stories your parents used to tell who's validity was somewhat questionable? The ones where there was always a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow or a tooth fairy to give you money for your teeth? Well, there were the other stories too. The ones not meant to comfort, but to scare the living hell out of your young body.
Yea, they thought it was funny, telling you about the monsters under your bed or the vampires lurking outside your window. These were stories they'd tell you around the campfire or right before bedtime. Yes, and you enjoyed it too. See, they weren't sadistic anti-parents, but fulfilling a sick request for a scary story every once in a while. When young, you don't care, you just tremble under your Star Wars comforter, waiting for sleep to overtake your brain and shut you down for the night. You don't care that the nightmare you're going to have will wake you up breathing hard and sweating. No big deal, it's entertainment.
Entertainment when it's not real, at least.
There was a time when you'd hear things outside your window; things tapping, scratching, screaming quietly through your bedroom window. Coal-black night stared at you from behind the bedroom curtain, broken open each time you heard a disturbance. "Please, please, let me fall asleep." You'd say to yourself, hoping it would go away. Did it ever? Did you fall asleep before it stopped, or did it continue to haunt your wicked dreams?
Yea, they thought it was funny, telling you about the monsters under your bed or the vampires lurking outside your window. These were stories they'd tell you around the campfire or right before bedtime. Yes, and you enjoyed it too. See, they weren't sadistic anti-parents, but fulfilling a sick request for a scary story every once in a while. When young, you don't care, you just tremble under your Star Wars comforter, waiting for sleep to overtake your brain and shut you down for the night. You don't care that the nightmare you're going to have will wake you up breathing hard and sweating. No big deal, it's entertainment.
Entertainment when it's not real, at least.
There was a time when you'd hear things outside your window; things tapping, scratching, screaming quietly through your bedroom window. Coal-black night stared at you from behind the bedroom curtain, broken open each time you heard a disturbance. "Please, please, let me fall asleep." You'd say to yourself, hoping it would go away. Did it ever? Did you fall asleep before it stopped, or did it continue to haunt your wicked dreams?
Temptations to peek outside were so strong. Just one look to know there was nothing out there saying your name. Peel back that deep grey sheet, strain your eyes through the ink and rest assured no misshapen demon was stalking the backyard back and forth, tapping its yellow nails across the panes protecting you. Was it there? You'll never know because you always fell asleep.
What about the stories I heard, the ones where a wailing wraith haunted young children looking for her babies? The one where a monstrous creature destroyed wolves and cattle for the taste of their flesh? I never believed them. Oh yes, there was a time I would hear that voice calling my name, it HAD to be nothing. Always, whenever heard, it had to be nothing, or I'd never drift off on my dream-laden cloud. This I believed to be true, this I believed would hide me from my nonsensical, outrageous imagination. At least...
until I looked outside...
What about the stories I heard, the ones where a wailing wraith haunted young children looking for her babies? The one where a monstrous creature destroyed wolves and cattle for the taste of their flesh? I never believed them. Oh yes, there was a time I would hear that voice calling my name, it HAD to be nothing. Always, whenever heard, it had to be nothing, or I'd never drift off on my dream-laden cloud. This I believed to be true, this I believed would hide me from my nonsensical, outrageous imagination. At least...
until I looked outside...
Thursday, July 15, 2004
Summer Movie Mania: Week 5
Halfway done with July and I've only seen FIVE movies so far this summer? Something wrong with this picture? To tell the truth, I don't think it's really that surprising as many of the movies so far this summer have been few and far between in the high quality points. The variety of types of movies though has been refreshing. This last weekend, we took part in a view of Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy. Second to none, this is the funniest movie I've seen all year. Dodgeball, you say? Not even close, this movie blows Ben Stiller out of the water.
Will Ferrel is indeed going to be the next Mike Myers type star to break out of the Saturday Night Live curse of low quality movies produced from their alumni. Adam Sandler is acceptable, but he's really hurting for something new to build on the critical acclaim from Punch-Drunk Love. Mr. Ferrel is quite charismatic as the immortal Ron Burgundy. He's infinitely got the look of a supremely confident, if dull, journalist of the '70's, bushy moustache and all. He carries this movie on his shoulders and all of his supporting players play off of the energy so well.
There are so many cameos and insanely outrageous lines in this movie that it's unjustly impossible to recollect all of them. Needless to say, Tim Robbins' appearance as a competing Public Broadcasting journalist was aptly punctuated with his turtleneck and matching pipe. If you're going to see any comedy at all this summer, go see Anchorman.
Final score: 4 out of 5 stars.
Will Ferrel is indeed going to be the next Mike Myers type star to break out of the Saturday Night Live curse of low quality movies produced from their alumni. Adam Sandler is acceptable, but he's really hurting for something new to build on the critical acclaim from Punch-Drunk Love. Mr. Ferrel is quite charismatic as the immortal Ron Burgundy. He's infinitely got the look of a supremely confident, if dull, journalist of the '70's, bushy moustache and all. He carries this movie on his shoulders and all of his supporting players play off of the energy so well.
There are so many cameos and insanely outrageous lines in this movie that it's unjustly impossible to recollect all of them. Needless to say, Tim Robbins' appearance as a competing Public Broadcasting journalist was aptly punctuated with his turtleneck and matching pipe. If you're going to see any comedy at all this summer, go see Anchorman.
Final score: 4 out of 5 stars.
Monday, July 12, 2004
Illustrative Dilemma
This week's project for my illustration class was driving me batty, so I thought I'd share. Originally, what seemed to be quite a rudimentary exercise instead unseated my brain from its usual hiding space in my skull and floated it about 30 feet high into the air, because that's where I imagine it was as I could not find a suitable solution. Why so hard you might ask? I really have no clear answer.
Our assignment: to design 3 separate illustrations, one 2 inches by 2 inches, another 4 by 4 inches, and the last 6 by 6 inches. Three squares even, dealing with different themes, using different color schemes. The first two were relatively easy, but when it came to do the last, I was dumbfounded.
Now, one would think that doing a simple black and white pattern, with any theme at all would be easy, but not I apparently. For some reason or another, the prospect of outdoing myself each and every time I complete a project made this impossible as I wanted to make something mundane terribly complicated. Black and white made me think of Escher, and when one thinks of Escher, one starts to go mad. After perusing many, many, MANY images of Escher on Google Images, and even trying to ape a few myself, I decided it could not be done. So what did I do instead? I consulted an old habit of mine: Tilemachine.
For those who don't know, Tilemachine is a flash-based website that allows the user to create a number of patterns using a simple interface and then submit them to the gallery. It's mindless fun, and helped me to flex a creative muscle I hadn't used in quite a while. For once, I actually stopped trying so hard, and just let it happen. Fancy.
There must be a lesson in here somewhere, but in most instances, I like to think to myself, "Let it be." Ack, that IS the moral.
Our assignment: to design 3 separate illustrations, one 2 inches by 2 inches, another 4 by 4 inches, and the last 6 by 6 inches. Three squares even, dealing with different themes, using different color schemes. The first two were relatively easy, but when it came to do the last, I was dumbfounded.
Now, one would think that doing a simple black and white pattern, with any theme at all would be easy, but not I apparently. For some reason or another, the prospect of outdoing myself each and every time I complete a project made this impossible as I wanted to make something mundane terribly complicated. Black and white made me think of Escher, and when one thinks of Escher, one starts to go mad. After perusing many, many, MANY images of Escher on Google Images, and even trying to ape a few myself, I decided it could not be done. So what did I do instead? I consulted an old habit of mine: Tilemachine.
For those who don't know, Tilemachine is a flash-based website that allows the user to create a number of patterns using a simple interface and then submit them to the gallery. It's mindless fun, and helped me to flex a creative muscle I hadn't used in quite a while. For once, I actually stopped trying so hard, and just let it happen. Fancy.
There must be a lesson in here somewhere, but in most instances, I like to think to myself, "Let it be." Ack, that IS the moral.
Thursday, July 08, 2004
Apologies
Sincerely sorry if the story is at all unsettling. It's an idea that's been sitting in my head for a while and decided to actually commit it to the page. Can't say that I'm entirely satisfied, but the results are pretty interesting, eh?
Story Time
My face is the last thing you see when you die.
Remember that story of the light at then end of the tunnel? Not true. For what people claim to be near-death experiences is nothing more than the last crackle of synaptic activity releasing your brain from this existence. No, it's not heaven, it's your power source and on-board computers shutting down. *Bing*
My face is the last thing you see when you die.
Popular thought has it that your friends and family who've passed on will be there to greet you in the great beyond. Wouldn't that be great? Grandpa's there to shake your hand and give you that comfy hug, your dog's there (because all dog's go to heaven) ready to play catch, and even your old math teacher Mrs. Wormwood is there for old time's sake. Nope, none of them are, as your brain shuts down, it rifles through the images you've held onto most vividly, that being the most emotionally responsive memories in your brain. We can all pretend that those who've passed on are really There, but really, all we do have are memories.
My face is the last thing you see when you die.
That last death rattle you get? Once upon a time it was construed to be your soul making its last escape to the netherworld. From there it was either heaven, hell, or that hospital waiting room in limbo, purgatory. Some believe that ghosts are ectoplasmic refugees gliding across the astral plane, forever haunting their past live's acquaintances. There's talk of will o' the wisps, La Llarona, the Headless Horseman, all myths. You imagine it to be the creature under the bed, the monster in your closet. It's not. Let's pretend is a game you play when you're underdeveloped. Your mind is malleable, fresh for the chisel that sculpts imagination. Gas anomalies, old women's parables, and unsettled houses make pretty statues to crowd the empty halls of young brains.
My face is the last thing you see when you die.
Who am I? Let's say I'm your subconscious conscience. Every inkling of doubt you feel when you approach that high-dive ledge? That's me. I'm the one who sets you against yourself, the self-deprecating wound that eats you from the inside when you need it the least. Whenever there's a deal to be made, a life to be saved, or an itch to be scratched, I'm there to keep it from happening. When you're there on your deathbed, thinking of your life and what you've accomplished, I'm the one you'll be cursing. The one you'll be cursing for all the procrastination, all the missed opportunities, and all the unfinished business. You're really cursing yourself, because the last thing you see when you die is your own face.
In the mirror.
Forever.
Friday, July 02, 2004
Summer Movie Mania: Week 4
Oh yes, this was the movie to end all movies this summer and I was not disappointed.
Spider-man 2 was the title we screened this week, and to say my anticipation for this movie was great would be an understatement. I was immensely excited to see the movie, not just because I'm an avid fan of the comic book, but because there was so much hype. If critics and normal everyday people on the street claimed the movie to be a disappointment, I wouldn't have been as jazzed of course, but with all the hooplah, it was hard not to get carried off by the wave of acclaim. This is all besides the point, let's talk about the movie.
Plot-wise, the movie was quite strong. Although the green goblin was certainly a good villain for the first movie, Doctor Octopus' motives and actions seemed less arbitrary and more effective. His story was barely as much a centerpiece as was the story of Peter Parker's struggles to deal with his dual identity. One could see the stress that he was putting upon himself as he was weighted down by his self-induced responsibility. Sam Raimi did a good job of showing Parker's hard luck, and his angst at not being able to be with the one he loved. It drove the picture to be something more than a normal action movie, and much more than any comic book movie I've seen so far.
The acting was stellar. Alfred Molina was a tremendous casting choice from the beginning and he nailed the character down. It seemed he was enjoying the role quite a bit from a viewer's perspective, and it remains to be seen whether he comes back for a future stint. Kirsten Dunst as Mary Jane was more serviceable this time around as she had more to do than scream and get mad at Harry Osborne/James Franco. The actor who holds this picture together though was Mr. Toby Maguire. I said it when he was cast, and I'll say it now again, "Perfect choice." I don't think anyone else could maintain the duality of being so forlorn and also so brave at the same time. When he's intense, he IS intense.
All of this, the effects, the story, the acting, and even the theater made this movie the winner so far this summer. The ending obviously sets up the sequel, and although it's doubtful, I would love to see Raimi come back for another few installments, or as long as he can keep making these movies. Right now, he owns the franchise.
Final score: 5 out of 5 stars.
Awesome.
Spider-man 2 was the title we screened this week, and to say my anticipation for this movie was great would be an understatement. I was immensely excited to see the movie, not just because I'm an avid fan of the comic book, but because there was so much hype. If critics and normal everyday people on the street claimed the movie to be a disappointment, I wouldn't have been as jazzed of course, but with all the hooplah, it was hard not to get carried off by the wave of acclaim. This is all besides the point, let's talk about the movie.
Plot-wise, the movie was quite strong. Although the green goblin was certainly a good villain for the first movie, Doctor Octopus' motives and actions seemed less arbitrary and more effective. His story was barely as much a centerpiece as was the story of Peter Parker's struggles to deal with his dual identity. One could see the stress that he was putting upon himself as he was weighted down by his self-induced responsibility. Sam Raimi did a good job of showing Parker's hard luck, and his angst at not being able to be with the one he loved. It drove the picture to be something more than a normal action movie, and much more than any comic book movie I've seen so far.
The acting was stellar. Alfred Molina was a tremendous casting choice from the beginning and he nailed the character down. It seemed he was enjoying the role quite a bit from a viewer's perspective, and it remains to be seen whether he comes back for a future stint. Kirsten Dunst as Mary Jane was more serviceable this time around as she had more to do than scream and get mad at Harry Osborne/James Franco. The actor who holds this picture together though was Mr. Toby Maguire. I said it when he was cast, and I'll say it now again, "Perfect choice." I don't think anyone else could maintain the duality of being so forlorn and also so brave at the same time. When he's intense, he IS intense.
All of this, the effects, the story, the acting, and even the theater made this movie the winner so far this summer. The ending obviously sets up the sequel, and although it's doubtful, I would love to see Raimi come back for another few installments, or as long as he can keep making these movies. Right now, he owns the franchise.
Final score: 5 out of 5 stars.
Awesome.
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