Mehhh, I don't feel like doing a post today because when the phone was for me, I was expecting a follow-up update on the filming schedule or something but it turned out to be an Indian gentlemen polling about my political opinions on the presidential candidates, only I thought it was just like one of my friends putting on a fake accent to mess with me so there was much confusion and "you suck, man!" when he didn't drop the accent, even though it turned out that was his real accent. So I feel like a jerk or worse even though pollsters probably get that a lot, though he did seem like a genuinely cool guy and I told him as much when the poll got over. I hope that made up for it.
To prevent future mishaps like this: Indian accents are among the coolest accents in the world, but it's really not nice to put them on humorously over the phone because such a thing leads to exactly these kinds of misunderstandings.
Sunday, May 20, 2012
Saturday, May 19, 2012
A Behind the Scenes Sneak Peek (No, Really, Sneak Peek; I'm Not Sure If I'm Allowed to Give This Much Away)
So, I spent my day today shooting for the upcoming director's cut extended edition remake of On Our Own, the indie post-apocalyptic on-the-road drama about two brothers trying to make it and reunite with their father and uncle in a near-future America where hyperinflation has led to chaotic anarchy after the dollar becomes worthless and everyone quits their jobs. Yeah. That's the one. Since I had literally any experience with cinematography, I was personally tapped by the director to consult, best boy, boom and grip on the film. Basically, I'm about half of the entire crew. Maybe a third or a fourth, counting editing and other post-production stuff, but anyway. The full length remake is going to be far superior to the 45-minute original version, with such new features as better acting, more character development, and not looking like it was shot with the camera that's built into your standard cell phone. I've heard estimates saying it's going to be up to an impressive ten times better than the original. Since I don't know whether or not that's going to be true, I didn't usually like talking about how I'm on this project, but from the quality of film-making I've seen today from behind the scenes, meh, why not. If the movie fails, it won't be my fault. It's still an impressive thing to have on your résumé for when you're considering the career paths I am.
We really got to shoot in some of the most devastatingly remote and beautiful locations, and it was a real pleasure to set up some of the shots, trying to capture the majesty of nature. Every view was an absolute postcard, as they say, as compositionally unbalanced as some of the postcards may be. The desert is truly its own character in the film. It's just a pity that the film's not in 3D, because the absolute grandeur, how mindbogglingly large the locations are compared to the characters, is hard to capture without the aid of depth perception. I think we pulled it off, though. The angle of the sun surely helped, what with the shadow-making.
Our first location for today was the exterior shot for a trading post-type deal, an old shack that had been around since at least 1890, which is the date that the earliest "... was here" graffiti I could find on the building had. The building was right next to this cliff, right where the fields turned into mountains. Very scenic. The interior scenes were shot on an entirely different historic location, but I think the continuity should match very well, seeing as how other people seemed to have the exact same idea to sign and date the engravings on their wall carvings there as well. Huh. I think the bricks are made of limestone or something. Something soft like that. Anyway.
What was really exciting was the shooting we did in the afternoon. It detailed a confrontation with bandits (who wanted the stuff from the trading post) that takes place in what amounts to be a canyon (I say "amounts to be" because desert trails between the mountains are crazy; needless to say, another gorgeous location.) This shoot lasted from around four or five until sunset, but the continuity on this should be alright as well because the canyon was bathed in shadow as it is, the non-cell-phone-looking camera we're using has this built-in light adjustment technology, and we can always color correct in post if the difference becomes too noticeable (the discovery that we have color correction technology on hand is really what makes me willing to divulge that I'm on this film in the first place; too many similar-budget films have colors that are all muddy which really mars the entire film-going experience because you're constantly being reminded that you're watching a no-budget film, especially knowing that good post production or indeed any post production at all can make the project look far more professional (I tried making the 2003 Alex Kendrick film Flywheel look like notcrap just yesterday and it took me literally five seconds on Photoshop to do so.)) Anyway, in this scene, the bullets are flying (or at least the bullets will fly, with (once again) a little post-production) and there is much corn-syrup-and-cocoa-powder-with-red-food-dye blood. It was exciting for everyone, I think. It will definitely be exciting for the audience (yay take-off-your-shirt-to-use-it-as-an-impromptu-bandage scenes.) We had to do that shot in one take, understandably (the shirt was all fake-bloody after that.) Other than that, we had to do a lot of reshoots. (Our poor lead actor just doesn't know how to do a good serious face, for one. But I digress.)
The film still needs a soundtrack it would actually be legal to use. The fact that the director apparently has Moby's "Porcelain" on his playlist (to which we listened on the long car rides there and back, and man does he have a much better taste in music than the music in the original On Our Own would have you believe) reminded me that Moby leases his songs free to independent non-profit filmmakers, but I don't think that the full-length version of the film is going to be non-commercial. So we still need a composer for this movie. I suppose that as the frontman of my own band, I could do it, but it's a tad more ambitious than anything I've before attempted. In my capacity as that, all I've got is a few chords, the truth, a set of better-than-average pipes, and a keen ear for songwriting, with "song" meaning of course "that which is sung." I don't think I'm up for doing a full-length film score quite yet. Maybe after we're actually on iTunes or something. I don't know. Comment below- What do you guys think? And, barring me, do you know anyone else who could compose a film score?
Either way, a very good, productive day today.
We really got to shoot in some of the most devastatingly remote and beautiful locations, and it was a real pleasure to set up some of the shots, trying to capture the majesty of nature. Every view was an absolute postcard, as they say, as compositionally unbalanced as some of the postcards may be. The desert is truly its own character in the film. It's just a pity that the film's not in 3D, because the absolute grandeur, how mindbogglingly large the locations are compared to the characters, is hard to capture without the aid of depth perception. I think we pulled it off, though. The angle of the sun surely helped, what with the shadow-making.
Our first location for today was the exterior shot for a trading post-type deal, an old shack that had been around since at least 1890, which is the date that the earliest "... was here" graffiti I could find on the building had. The building was right next to this cliff, right where the fields turned into mountains. Very scenic. The interior scenes were shot on an entirely different historic location, but I think the continuity should match very well, seeing as how other people seemed to have the exact same idea to sign and date the engravings on their wall carvings there as well. Huh. I think the bricks are made of limestone or something. Something soft like that. Anyway.
What was really exciting was the shooting we did in the afternoon. It detailed a confrontation with bandits (who wanted the stuff from the trading post) that takes place in what amounts to be a canyon (I say "amounts to be" because desert trails between the mountains are crazy; needless to say, another gorgeous location.) This shoot lasted from around four or five until sunset, but the continuity on this should be alright as well because the canyon was bathed in shadow as it is, the non-cell-phone-looking camera we're using has this built-in light adjustment technology, and we can always color correct in post if the difference becomes too noticeable (the discovery that we have color correction technology on hand is really what makes me willing to divulge that I'm on this film in the first place; too many similar-budget films have colors that are all muddy which really mars the entire film-going experience because you're constantly being reminded that you're watching a no-budget film, especially knowing that good post production or indeed any post production at all can make the project look far more professional (I tried making the 2003 Alex Kendrick film Flywheel look like notcrap just yesterday and it took me literally five seconds on Photoshop to do so.)) Anyway, in this scene, the bullets are flying (or at least the bullets will fly, with (once again) a little post-production) and there is much corn-syrup-and-cocoa-powder-with-red-food-dye blood. It was exciting for everyone, I think. It will definitely be exciting for the audience (yay take-off-your-shirt-to-use-it-as-an-impromptu-bandage scenes.) We had to do that shot in one take, understandably (the shirt was all fake-bloody after that.) Other than that, we had to do a lot of reshoots. (Our poor lead actor just doesn't know how to do a good serious face, for one. But I digress.)
The film still needs a soundtrack it would actually be legal to use. The fact that the director apparently has Moby's "Porcelain" on his playlist (to which we listened on the long car rides there and back, and man does he have a much better taste in music than the music in the original On Our Own would have you believe) reminded me that Moby leases his songs free to independent non-profit filmmakers, but I don't think that the full-length version of the film is going to be non-commercial. So we still need a composer for this movie. I suppose that as the frontman of my own band, I could do it, but it's a tad more ambitious than anything I've before attempted. In my capacity as that, all I've got is a few chords, the truth, a set of better-than-average pipes, and a keen ear for songwriting, with "song" meaning of course "that which is sung." I don't think I'm up for doing a full-length film score quite yet. Maybe after we're actually on iTunes or something. I don't know. Comment below- What do you guys think? And, barring me, do you know anyone else who could compose a film score?
Either way, a very good, productive day today.
Friday, May 18, 2012
Thomas Novotny is a PC, Apparently
So, I was just checking the stats on who reads my blog, and what referring site should I see (traffic source, on what sites the people who visit my site come from (in case you didn't know what "referring site" means))? None other than ohnitsch.net, which I told you about earlier. Apparently Thomas Novotny (of whom, if you'll remember, I am extremely jealous) does the same thing with his traffic sources, and he saw that I referred you to him with the referring sites on his stats. It's deeply humbling that such a thing would happen, that he would visit me like that. I wonder what he thought of me...
No matter. Here, you can see the evidence that led me to figure out what had happened, screencaps of my blog stats:
 |
| A hit from Ohnitsch WordPress admin, under "traffic sources." |
 |
| A couple of hits to that post. |
 |
| Traffic sources again. Twice from Ohnitsch. |
 |
| All PCs. |
To top that off, I am finished with school for the summer, I got to watch the explosive (unfortunately literally) Prison Break finale, and a UPS dude waved at me while I was walking down the road. I am making so many connections here, some of them global, it's like a stinking episode of Touch or something (though without all the numbers and stuff.)
So, all in all, it's been a good day, and there's really nothing I can think of that can rain on my parade.
 |
| Though I suppose there's this. R.I.P. Michael Scofield. |
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Don't Tell Me I'm the Only One Who Can Do This
You ever imagine a bright flash, so bright that it actually leaves an afterimage on your retinas? Seeking these out is a great way to fall asleep at night. It gives you something solid to visualize, settle your thoughts so the images become dreams.
That is, if you're a visual thinker. I'm not sure how that works for other people. The concept of daydream never really meant that much to me. Is it, like, a dream during the day? If so, are you awake for it? If so, how is that different from normal imagination? You don't normally... imagine in words, do you? Or has no one else really put that much thought into it either, so it's just as meaningless as I think it is?
Anyway, if you think in pictures, imagining bright flashes allows you to sleep better.
That is, if you're a visual thinker. I'm not sure how that works for other people. The concept of daydream never really meant that much to me. Is it, like, a dream during the day? If so, are you awake for it? If so, how is that different from normal imagination? You don't normally... imagine in words, do you? Or has no one else really put that much thought into it either, so it's just as meaningless as I think it is?
Anyway, if you think in pictures, imagining bright flashes allows you to sleep better.
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
But Maybe I Came Across as Being Harsh to LiveJournal
Far from it, I think LiveJournal is one of the greatest things to happen to the internet. In fact, if I were in charge of designing the perfect social networking site, I don't think I could do much better than LiveJournal. It has all of the austerity of twitter, all of the Usenettiness of Usenet, all of the intimacy of MySpace. It's like WordPress, but more social. It's like a chat forum, only friendlier. It's like Pinterest, because a vast majority of the people on it are female. Nope, I don't think I could come up with a better social network if they paid me.
If I were in charge of inventing a social networking site, though, it'd be like twitter, only more so. Instead of being limited to 140 characters, you'd be limited to a single word. That word would be the role in society you'd be playing at that moment. For example, I'd put, blogger, because right now I am a blogger. If I were crossing the street, I'd put, pedestrian. If I were drawing, I'd put artist. Et cetera. It'd be called, jaques, or something. "One man in his time plays many parts." As You Like It, Act II, scene 7. That makes sense, right? So, you could scroll down all the things that someone's jaques'd, and see the statistical breakdown of all the people who have ever been, say, boom mike operators (I think there could be a separate slot where you could put adjectives is how that works.)
If I were in charge of inventing a social networking site, though, it'd be like twitter, only more so. Instead of being limited to 140 characters, you'd be limited to a single word. That word would be the role in society you'd be playing at that moment. For example, I'd put, blogger, because right now I am a blogger. If I were crossing the street, I'd put, pedestrian. If I were drawing, I'd put artist. Et cetera. It'd be called, jaques, or something. "One man in his time plays many parts." As You Like It, Act II, scene 7. That makes sense, right? So, you could scroll down all the things that someone's jaques'd, and see the statistical breakdown of all the people who have ever been, say, boom mike operators (I think there could be a separate slot where you could put adjectives is how that works.)
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
You Know Who You Are
Alright, surely you do more thinking than that. I haven't been able to say much lately as (1) I've been studying a lot for finals, (2) I'm also spending a lot of time trying to troubleshoot my external drive, and (3) most of the ideas I've been having lately are more suited to be incorporated into my fiction and other projects than just blogging about them as their outlet into the world. Only even those ideas I have to keep in my head so far instead of getting them down somewhere, because of the whole my-external-driver's-been-crapping-out-on-me-lately thing. I did get it to work twice today, on one computer then another, by attaching the cord then the driver, but revisiting the first computer I got it to work again on, it didn't work again. So I think the problem might be with the port or something.
But, even now, I have the time to blog more than a single sentence.
For you, it might be some kind of hassle, yet you go through with it. You have an entire day's wealth of material from which to draw, blogging daily, and most of your lifetime's worth of experience outside of that. You don't think you could expand your thoughts, clarify them? Doing a daily blog, then saying just one thing each day. You might as well be doing a LiveJournal instead.
Okay, maybe not LiveJournal.
Yeah, LiveJournal.
For that is a better fit for such pointillism of words. If you're going to say one thing about how you feel, you might as well also tell us what's on your playlist as well right now as well. If you don't want to go through with this, you don't have to.
Sometimes even I wish I didn't have to go through with a new post every day, but, keeping up this promise I made to myself to blog daily, it's made me a more productive person. Maybe "productive" isn't the right word. It's not like I work more all that much. But, it's given me structure. And writing a little bit every day has made me more prolific than I've ever been before, because writing comes more easily now. I'm doing better in school. Actually studying now, I mean (see point 1.)
You have something to say. I want to see that.
And also maybe art.
But, even now, I have the time to blog more than a single sentence.
For you, it might be some kind of hassle, yet you go through with it. You have an entire day's wealth of material from which to draw, blogging daily, and most of your lifetime's worth of experience outside of that. You don't think you could expand your thoughts, clarify them? Doing a daily blog, then saying just one thing each day. You might as well be doing a LiveJournal instead.
Okay, maybe not LiveJournal.
Yeah, LiveJournal.
For that is a better fit for such pointillism of words. If you're going to say one thing about how you feel, you might as well also tell us what's on your playlist as well right now as well. If you don't want to go through with this, you don't have to.
Sometimes even I wish I didn't have to go through with a new post every day, but, keeping up this promise I made to myself to blog daily, it's made me a more productive person. Maybe "productive" isn't the right word. It's not like I work more all that much. But, it's given me structure. And writing a little bit every day has made me more prolific than I've ever been before, because writing comes more easily now. I'm doing better in school. Actually studying now, I mean (see point 1.)
You have something to say. I want to see that.
And also maybe art.
Monday, May 14, 2012
A Highly Specific, Highly Prolific, Highly Entertaining Yet Highly Unsuccessful Genre
So, NBC has decided to cancel Awake, quite possibly the most promising show of the year, after only one season, confirming not only that nothing hemorrhages quite like the National Broadcasting Corporation hemorrhages lineups (The Cape, anyone?), but also that I can't think of a single gripping, emotionally complex time-travel mystery police detective post-Lost American drama show that has lasted longer than one season. (I am counting Awake as a time-travel show here because, even though there is no actual time travel in it, it is about the timeline being split.) I don't see why they perform so poorly; it's a uniformly excellent genre. Want proof? You don't have to take my word for it. Try these on for size.
In rough order of recommendation, or how strongly I recommend the following shows, I strongly recommend each every and all of the following shows:
Since each of these shows lasted only one season, most of them should be totally watchable in a single marathon of nonstop good television. Or, if you want to break it up into more manageable chunks, it shouldn't take you that long either.
In rough order of recommendation, or how strongly I recommend the following shows, I strongly recommend each every and all of the following shows:
- Day Break~
(ABC, 2006, 13 episodes)- Awake*+
(NBC, 2012, 13 episodes)- Life on Mars †
(ABC, 2008-2009, 17 episodes)- Alcatraz ‡
(FOX, 2012, 13 episodes)- FlashForward*+ ‡
(ABC, 2009-2010, 22 episodes)- Terra Nova †
(FOX, 2011, 11 episodes)
Since each of these shows lasted only one season, most of them should be totally watchable in a single marathon of nonstop good television. Or, if you want to break it up into more manageable chunks, it shouldn't take you that long either.
~ Has Adam Baldwin AND Moon Bloodgood AND Taye Diggs and I mean it this is a really good show and there's a reason I put it at the number one recommendation slot. Not that the others aren't good, of course; just, this is the best and you've probably never heard of it.
* Time travel themes present with no actual time travel, with timeline split (Awake) or visions of the future (FlashForward.)
+ Main character played by English actor putting on American accent (Jason Isaacs and Joseph Fiennes.)
† Main character played by Irish actor putting on American accent (Jason O'Mara.)
‡ Major character played by Lost actor (Jorge Garcia and Dominic Monaghan.)
Sunday, May 13, 2012
Professional Thinker
I received a quarter rather than just the usual penny for a thought I had today. I guess my grandfather had just misheard about my "penny for your thoughts" project, but, it was my grandfather, so, what was I supposed to do about it?
Anyway, the thought itself wasn't really that special. I was just mulling over whether or not to have some Mother's Day sweet potatoes. They say the more variety of foods available to you the more you eat, which makes sense. There wasn't really that much variety this mealtime around, but there was still like turkey and salad and all of the other MD family reunion mealtime stuff. I had even gotten some Jell-O, which I usually do not do, and you probably don't care. So, anyway, I had eaten much, but the sweet potatoes looked interesting, since they came with brown sugar, and I had never eaten sweet potatoes like that before.
So, that was my $.25 thought, and I just shared it with you for free.
I guess getting paid for my thought originally means that I'm a professional thinker. All of my hopes and dreams are achieved, I guess. Though not really. But I bet you're not a professional thinker. And I am. So, I'm a leg up on you. Probably.
Anyway, the thought itself wasn't really that special. I was just mulling over whether or not to have some Mother's Day sweet potatoes. They say the more variety of foods available to you the more you eat, which makes sense. There wasn't really that much variety this mealtime around, but there was still like turkey and salad and all of the other MD family reunion mealtime stuff. I had even gotten some Jell-O, which I usually do not do, and you probably don't care. So, anyway, I had eaten much, but the sweet potatoes looked interesting, since they came with brown sugar, and I had never eaten sweet potatoes like that before.
So, that was my $.25 thought, and I just shared it with you for free.
I guess getting paid for my thought originally means that I'm a professional thinker. All of my hopes and dreams are achieved, I guess. Though not really. But I bet you're not a professional thinker. And I am. So, I'm a leg up on you. Probably.
Saturday, May 12, 2012
Beware Macduff
Be bloody, bold,
And resolute: laugh to scorn the power of man,
For none of woman born shall harm Macbeth.
But, of course, "Macduff was from his mother's womb/ Untimely ripp'd." Bizarrely specific loopholes in prophecies are a common trope (with this particular example as this trope's trope namer), and some of these are really good.
But, that's not my point.
What if it's not, "no man of woman born can kill you," but, "no man of woman born will kill you?" It's the same thing, since you can only get killed once, so if you won't get killed by something, that is the exact same thing as not being able to be killed by something. If it will kill you, it will kill you, which means that it can kill you, but if it won't kill you it won't, which means it can't. If that makes any sense. I mean, it still can kill you, but since it won't (because it won't) that means it actually can't kill you because that's not how you'll die.
You may let your mind be blown... now.
Friday, May 11, 2012
Things From My Dream: Nonlinear Heists and Domesticated Carnivores!
Ocean's 12 is often said to be the weakest in the series (it is generally agreed to go like this: 13, 11, with the original Sinatra 11 somewhere here, then 12), with most of the criticism being laid upon the twist, how the entire time they had already stolen the egg and were proceeding to pull the heist anyway because they knew they were under surveillance. The only reason the film was made was so the cast could hang around at George Clooney's lakeside chateau, featured in the film. Or maybe it was Brad Pitt's. But Brad Pitt doesn't really strike you as the "chateau" kind of guy. Huh. Whatever; I'll have to look it up.
Well, my dream was, in the first part, about Ocean's 12 actually having a good (if somewhat arbitrary) twist: instead of the entire thing being a charade, in this version it looks like the only way out is getting caught and jailed forever, losing their freedoms but more importantly their reputations in the process. The question posed to the audience: then why are they going ahead with the plan? The twist comes in the final third of the film, when it turns out that what was going on wasn't what the audience thought. What the audience was seeing was actually two heists being planned and carried out, one right after the other so they share thematic similarities, interspersed together not to be pretentious, the way most arbitrarily nonlinear narratives are (take it, Quentin!) but to show the similarities and differences in the uses of the same tools to pull off different heists and how inventiveness is a major part of the trade. The Twelve were thus never in any real danger, because Cherry Jones is just Matt Damon's mom (this part was in the film, which is why this hypothetical heist film is a replacement for Twelve instead of any of the others.)
On that front, the same dream also inspired me as to what cats may symbolize in Dark Knight Rises, as speculated in this post. Cats are domesticated carnivores, (domesticated in, scholars speculate, Ancient Egypt and/or surrounding locales, where they would control the pest population of local granaries. I think. (I'm digressing a bit here, but remembering that might have been part of the dream.)) Cats are domesticated carnivores who, though domesticated, sometimes still bear their claws and teeth, because they're CARNIVORES. Cats are CARNIVORES! DOMESTICATED CARNIVORES! If we had not domesticated them, they would be a major hazard and threat to the human species, (much like the situation with them in Australia is.) They are nature's perfect predator. It's... scary. Really scary.
(Seals are also carnivores, but we feel less threatened by them because awww. And because the only threat they pose is to fish. But remember that the next time you find yourself thinking about poor little cute little baby fur seals. They're meat-eaters. Not so innocent.)
The symbolism in Dark Knight Rises would (hopefully) thus be this: as all adorable and furry and stuff cats may be on the outside, underneath is a face-eating serial killer. We may have domesticated them, but their core, their essence is the killing machine. That's what the symbolism will be: how adorable kittens are all around us, their true natures unnoticed and forgotten, predators as pets. There's a façade there to make them acceptable, but their fuzziness belies stealth and their taut rippling bodies reveal the muscle tone of a killer.
Cats are the most popular pet in America, outnumbering dogs something like three to one. When the catpocalypse comes, now you'll know what we're up against. I'm not going to be the one who's first up against the wall.
Are you?
Well, my dream was, in the first part, about Ocean's 12 actually having a good (if somewhat arbitrary) twist: instead of the entire thing being a charade, in this version it looks like the only way out is getting caught and jailed forever, losing their freedoms but more importantly their reputations in the process. The question posed to the audience: then why are they going ahead with the plan? The twist comes in the final third of the film, when it turns out that what was going on wasn't what the audience thought. What the audience was seeing was actually two heists being planned and carried out, one right after the other so they share thematic similarities, interspersed together not to be pretentious, the way most arbitrarily nonlinear narratives are (take it, Quentin!) but to show the similarities and differences in the uses of the same tools to pull off different heists and how inventiveness is a major part of the trade. The Twelve were thus never in any real danger, because Cherry Jones is just Matt Damon's mom (this part was in the film, which is why this hypothetical heist film is a replacement for Twelve instead of any of the others.)
On that front, the same dream also inspired me as to what cats may symbolize in Dark Knight Rises, as speculated in this post. Cats are domesticated carnivores, (domesticated in, scholars speculate, Ancient Egypt and/or surrounding locales, where they would control the pest population of local granaries. I think. (I'm digressing a bit here, but remembering that might have been part of the dream.)) Cats are domesticated carnivores who, though domesticated, sometimes still bear their claws and teeth, because they're CARNIVORES. Cats are CARNIVORES! DOMESTICATED CARNIVORES! If we had not domesticated them, they would be a major hazard and threat to the human species, (much like the situation with them in Australia is.) They are nature's perfect predator. It's... scary. Really scary.
(Seals are also carnivores, but we feel less threatened by them because awww. And because the only threat they pose is to fish. But remember that the next time you find yourself thinking about poor little cute little baby fur seals. They're meat-eaters. Not so innocent.)
The symbolism in Dark Knight Rises would (hopefully) thus be this: as all adorable and furry and stuff cats may be on the outside, underneath is a face-eating serial killer. We may have domesticated them, but their core, their essence is the killing machine. That's what the symbolism will be: how adorable kittens are all around us, their true natures unnoticed and forgotten, predators as pets. There's a façade there to make them acceptable, but their fuzziness belies stealth and their taut rippling bodies reveal the muscle tone of a killer.
Cats are the most popular pet in America, outnumbering dogs something like three to one. When the catpocalypse comes, now you'll know what we're up against. I'm not going to be the one who's first up against the wall.
Are you?
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Three Weeks Ago, Inspired by a Terrific Up-and-Comer
Three weeks ago, inspired by terrific up-and-coming (well, she doesn't have any novels out yet, which is why I say "up-and-comer," but maybe I shouldn't because she's quite prolific at writing a lot of short fiction, (but that's important in the sci-fi market) but with all those short stories the volume of material is kind of the point of this post so anyway) science fiction writer Nancy Fulda, (nominated for this year's Hugo and Nebula awards for her short story "Movement," which is about autism IN THE FUTURE and which you can read here for free but you should totally support by downloading it) and the fact that she wrote stuff at all, I made a vow to myself to crank out a short story by the end of the week. The end result was something I had percolating in my head for a while, basically T.S. Eliot's "Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" only with the plot of Casablanca and set in a parallel universe's version of the 2006 Israel/Lebanon conflict, detailing a conversation at a Lebanese cabaret had between Bono, who in this universe is a war correspondent, and Ann Coulter, who in this universe is a showgirl.
Yeah.
I will not share it here. Or, at least, not today; it's one of those, "maybe later" things. It's imaginably got a lot of foreign politics, which I am fairly certain I might have gotten wrong, so, not sharing it quite yet gives me the opportunity to do more research if I feel like it. It's not published yet, so I can do with it what I want. Which would mean that I actually DIDN'T complete the story that week, for if I change it now it would not have been completed then. Huh.
Maybe the politics of it are already alright, though, to justify me not changing it? If I was wrong on anything factually, I suppose I could chalk it up to "weird parallel universe stuff."
Or not.
Maybe neither of them know what they're talking about? Although I suppose that wouldn't make any sense, considering both of their roles in this universe. (Regardless of how you feel about them as political figures, how you feel about what they think, they'd know what they were talking about politically. (I just love politics, how it's basically the only realm where you can use a person's beliefs as a smear. You say, "I disagree with you," only you use it as an insult. (Politics is driven almost entirely by misunderstanding (the other part being driven by rhetoric, I guess.) What I mean is, any "issue" to anybody is actually a complete non-issue to them. They're fighting so other people can see things their way. Which is why they feel so heart-strongly about it. (That's a thing, right, heart-strong-ness? heart-strength?)) That's so juicy. I love it.))
I know what you may be asking yourself, or may have been asking yourself four paragraphs ago: the reason I bring it up here even though I'm not sharing it with you today is just to have an excuse to post a thought here which I had a few mornings ago. It's on the subject of Casablanca, which just made me think of all of the other stuff. I couldn't post this thought by itself, since one observation does not an essay make, so I added all of the other Casablanca-related stuff.
Anyway, here's the thought I had, which I'm shoehorning in now:
Let's face it: even if Humphrey Bogart did say "Play it again, Sam" in Casablanca, (which, as everyone knows (or at least should know,) he didn't,) it would be one of the worst quotes in the history of cinema, not one of the best.
Yeah.
I will not share it here. Or, at least, not today; it's one of those, "maybe later" things. It's imaginably got a lot of foreign politics, which I am fairly certain I might have gotten wrong, so, not sharing it quite yet gives me the opportunity to do more research if I feel like it. It's not published yet, so I can do with it what I want. Which would mean that I actually DIDN'T complete the story that week, for if I change it now it would not have been completed then. Huh.
Maybe the politics of it are already alright, though, to justify me not changing it? If I was wrong on anything factually, I suppose I could chalk it up to "weird parallel universe stuff."
Or not.
Maybe neither of them know what they're talking about? Although I suppose that wouldn't make any sense, considering both of their roles in this universe. (Regardless of how you feel about them as political figures, how you feel about what they think, they'd know what they were talking about politically. (I just love politics, how it's basically the only realm where you can use a person's beliefs as a smear. You say, "I disagree with you," only you use it as an insult. (Politics is driven almost entirely by misunderstanding (the other part being driven by rhetoric, I guess.) What I mean is, any "issue" to anybody is actually a complete non-issue to them. They're fighting so other people can see things their way. Which is why they feel so heart-strongly about it. (That's a thing, right, heart-strong-ness? heart-strength?)) That's so juicy. I love it.))
I know what you may be asking yourself, or may have been asking yourself four paragraphs ago: the reason I bring it up here even though I'm not sharing it with you today is just to have an excuse to post a thought here which I had a few mornings ago. It's on the subject of Casablanca, which just made me think of all of the other stuff. I couldn't post this thought by itself, since one observation does not an essay make, so I added all of the other Casablanca-related stuff.
Anyway, here's the thought I had, which I'm shoehorning in now:
Let's face it: even if Humphrey Bogart did say "Play it again, Sam" in Casablanca, (which, as everyone knows (or at least should know,) he didn't,) it would be one of the worst quotes in the history of cinema, not one of the best.
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
I Know You Know You Want To
New news today, and it's kind of exciting news at that: there is an open call for questions out on endersgameblog.tumblr.com, Roberto Orci's official blog on the making of the upcoming Ender's Game movie. Have a question on the film and/or the production thereof (not involving Demosthenes and Locke, how PG-13 it's going to get or whether or not Bean's "O Absalom" line from Ender's Shadow is going to make it into the film intact, as these questions already seem to be pretty popular there)? You can ask it there, and if he likes your question, Roberto Orci himself may answer it on the blog, which seems to update on every Thursday now (after updating on Wednesdays for the first couple of weeks.)
The question I want answered is: what kind of music is going to be in the film? Releasing a film tie-in album featuring some of the most popular up-and-comers seems to be a popular thing right now, so are we heading that route? And, what about for the score itself? There's a lot of different precedents for science fiction, all of them intriguing. Daft Punk? John Williams? Yoko Kanno?
So, uh, seriously. Head on over there and get asking.
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Homemade EMP Device?
Hmm, I've already posted about how these things scare the holy heckies out of me, and now I'm posting about hypothetically making one. Well, then. I guess I wouldn't share it if I thought that such a homemade device would actually work, so I guess I'll share it here.
I've got a great idea on how to make an electromagnet, right at home. Perhaps something of this sort will be used in my ongoing Artificial Winter project, but that would kind of not work if it turns out that this doesn't work. It'd be unrealistic. But, we're talking about if it would work, so no more self-doubt.
Alright, so, if it would be to work, it would work like this: simulate an electromagnetic wire using magnetic dust, as from, say, an Etch-a-Sketch. Spin this dust around really fast to simulate an electromagnetic coil, using, say, a vacuum cleaner. The Etch-a-Sketch dust whirls around in the center air chamber of the vacuum, which has been modified by removing the filter and stuff (of course) and with a core of soft iron or what have you installed in the center part. The coil whirls around the core, creating a magnetic field. The movement acts as a turbine, generating electricity, so the field is electromagnetic. Maybe the magnetic field could be built up gradually, by putting all of the Etch-a-Sketch filling on the ground and having the vacuum cleaner vacuum it all up, particle by particle. The dust gets sucked up, swirls around, builds up a magnetic field which disrupts any and all nearby (unprotected) electronics systems. The vacuum survives the magnetic field because science, that's why.
Also, in research for this post, I stumbled across the hypothetical monopole, a particle that would have only one pole instead of both north and south. I already have an idea on how to make some kind of magneto-gravitational superlaser out of one...
I've got a great idea on how to make an electromagnet, right at home. Perhaps something of this sort will be used in my ongoing Artificial Winter project, but that would kind of not work if it turns out that this doesn't work. It'd be unrealistic. But, we're talking about if it would work, so no more self-doubt.
Alright, so, if it would be to work, it would work like this: simulate an electromagnetic wire using magnetic dust, as from, say, an Etch-a-Sketch. Spin this dust around really fast to simulate an electromagnetic coil, using, say, a vacuum cleaner. The Etch-a-Sketch dust whirls around in the center air chamber of the vacuum, which has been modified by removing the filter and stuff (of course) and with a core of soft iron or what have you installed in the center part. The coil whirls around the core, creating a magnetic field. The movement acts as a turbine, generating electricity, so the field is electromagnetic. Maybe the magnetic field could be built up gradually, by putting all of the Etch-a-Sketch filling on the ground and having the vacuum cleaner vacuum it all up, particle by particle. The dust gets sucked up, swirls around, builds up a magnetic field which disrupts any and all nearby (unprotected) electronics systems. The vacuum survives the magnetic field because science, that's why.
Also, in research for this post, I stumbled across the hypothetical monopole, a particle that would have only one pole instead of both north and south. I already have an idea on how to make some kind of magneto-gravitational superlaser out of one...
Monday, May 7, 2012
No? Alright, How's This?
Alright, so I posted a couple of days ago about something I noticed about the Poster for The Dark Knight Rises, something that apparently I wasn't the only one to notice, according to the comments section, and which I'm just too gosh darn lazy to look up, so I will just take your word for it. But, I'll bet I'm the only one to notice this: see the bit of falling rubble on the other side of the batsignia? See how it looks like some kind of face in shadow?
Well, the mask from the other poster
just so happens to match up in perfect proportion to the face of that bit of rubble:
 |
| Also, kind of looks like Theodore Roosevelt. Just saying. |
So, we see the Superman insignia on the insignia's right side (assuming that the bat is facing toward us)
and the Batmask on the batsignia's left hand side:
|
| In case you forgot what it looks like |
Sunday, May 6, 2012
And Now, I Will Tell You About My Day Today
Highlights of my day: looking fly in my Sunday Best, sunglasses, and cap; watching a robin sit on her eggs and watch me back; figuring out new techniques on drawing hands on the fly (since your models are unaware they're being drawn, you have to make it quick, so, on the fly) which maybe I'll share with you if I'm feeling generous one day; getting a couple of sweet new pairs of Air Jordans and looking the most "street" I've ever looked in my life, combined with my Sunday Best a sunglasses and hat to make me look like some kind of a street artist, like the kind you'd see on Wall Street or something; making a sweet François Hollande/Hollandaise sauce pun; eating some not-bad ice cream and then later a not-bad ice cream/yogurt smoothie; learning more about the ramifications of the Tet Offensive; realizing, during a pretty good hand of Pinochle, that I might want to be something of an amateur puppeteer since puppets rock (and sock puppets rock socks, do-ho-ho-ho-hoh); using my new kicks to not get hit by a car because I can run fast now.
And now, finally, looking up more about puppets on the Muppet Wiki, which is easily in the top ten or even five percent of the most addicting wikis. Did you know that Jim Henson did a few Faygo advertisements back in the '50s? Freaking Faygo, man.
Also, this exists:
And now, finally, looking up more about puppets on the Muppet Wiki, which is easily in the top ten or even five percent of the most addicting wikis. Did you know that Jim Henson did a few Faygo advertisements back in the '50s? Freaking Faygo, man.
Also, this exists:
 |
| Even if you don't speak French, I'm betting there's at least two words (besides the name of the newsmagazine, of course) that you recognize here. And let me tell you, man, I never expected I'd see them together like that. Even though I always sort of suspected that about Miss Piggy, but, never mind, that's crude. And also libel. |
Aren't you glad that I didn't actually say that out loud, though? It's not illegal if it's only implied libel. Totally first-amendment protected. It's right there in the constitution. At least metaphorically. Though I suppose how strongly you imply it matters. I only implied French cognates. It's not like I actually connected which two non-Paris Match words on the cover I suspected about Miss Piggy. I could have been saying I suspect her to be an Israeli sketch, for all you know.
Even though I totally wasn't.
You know what I mean.
Well, I guess it's getting away from me now, so I think I'll end it he
Saturday, May 5, 2012
Am I the Only One Who Noticed This?
I noticed something... odd about the teaser poster for The Dark Knight Rises:
See that falling bit of rubble there at the left-hand corner of the batsignia? Look familiar?
How about now?
That really... can't be a coincidence. Can it?
Friday, May 4, 2012
It's One Day Later and I'm Back from the Third Season of Prison Break (Plus, Zebras in Advancing Stages of Anthropomorphization)
It's one day later, and I'm back from the third season of Prison Break, which was watchable in a day because it only has thirteen episodes in it. Huh. Well, of my predictions, some were way, way off and some were more right than I could have hoped for. There aren't really going to be any spoilers in this one, as I think that the season can stand for itself. Breaking out of prison, again. You know.
I mean, I've got nothing really specific to say, other than, maybe, the end of it there, with the Spanish rendition of Crying? I suppose it's a good place to end a season, but still. Least suspenseful Prison Break season finale ever. And I can say that, even though I haven't seen the fourth season yet, because I'm pretty sure that I might have once caught part of the fourth season series finale, which itself has got another prison break in it, where they're breaking Sara out of prison. Which I guess means she survived her decapitation. Shoot. I guess there are spoilers in this review after all. END SPOILER. There. I hope that worked.
So, uh, who doesn't like zebras?
Nobody, that's who.
I mean, I've got nothing really specific to say, other than, maybe, the end of it there, with the Spanish rendition of Crying? I suppose it's a good place to end a season, but still. Least suspenseful Prison Break season finale ever. And I can say that, even though I haven't seen the fourth season yet, because I'm pretty sure that I might have once caught part of the fourth season series finale, which itself has got another prison break in it, where they're breaking Sara out of prison. Which I guess means she survived her decapitation. Shoot. I guess there are spoilers in this review after all. END SPOILER. There. I hope that worked.
So, uh, who doesn't like zebras?
Nobody, that's who.
Oh, and speaking of "Who"...
 |
| That's a The Who t-shirt. |
I just drew these in my, I think it was that geology class. Again, I had a lot of free time in that class.
Thursday, May 3, 2012
Post THE SEVENTY-FOURTH, In Which We Get a Second Break (of the Prison Variety)
Here I am looking forward to the third season of Prison Break, an apparently extremely popular show that ran from 2005 to 2009 that I'm just now getting into and have already watched the first two seasons of. I really wrote this (1) to advertise a pretty okay show, (2) because the first season left off into the second season in a pretty obvious place (the actual prison break) and where they would end season two to go into season three came as a surprise, and (3) it's something to write about, I guess. If you still have yet to catch up on an excellent show, be warned that there are spoilers from the second season ahead, though if you haven't seen any of it then probably none of this will mean anything to you. Good luck in your confusion.
So, the third season of Prison Break is upon us, and it looks like the show's getting back to its roots: actually breaking out of prison. Last we saw Michael he was getting dropped off at Sona, a federal prison that not even the guards seem to want to approach. So, probably, a for inmates by inmates type deal, a veritable death sentence for those who are sent there. Whoever's in charge probably would want to keep a pretty tight ship, if such a system is to work at all, so watch out for him.
It looks like this time Lincoln is going to have to be the one to break Michael out this time, an interesting reversal of the first season. With each season the show redefines itself, somewhat out of necessity, but it's all tied together by the overarching conspiracy. Now that Kellerman testified against the Company and Lincoln's been exonerated, though, maybe that will be less prominent. One thing we do know about the Company now, though: they want Michael to break out of Sona, and when he does, they'll be waiting for him.
For they (and we) know that Michael will break out, along with maybe Mahone and Bellick, who are also there, and T-Bag's got to have been put somewhere, so, why not Sona? All that T-Bag has to go on now is his oily charm, now that the $5,000,000 is at the bottom a a river somewhere in the jungle. And, speaking of Benjamins, last time we saw C-Note, he's gone into WitPro for testifying against Mahone, so we know that he's (probably?) safe. Sucre, however, is another story: collapsed in Panama after losing a lot of blood after being shivved by T-Bag, with seemingly nobody going to assist him, and with Bellick not revealing where he left Maricruz. I think that about sums it up for where season two left all of the major characters (where's Sara in all of this? She's free, right?) Only time will tell where that leads us.
A major flaw of the second season was that Michael's plan to run was much less well-defined than his plan to escape in the first place, which is what gave the first season a narrative push. Now that he's back in, though, there's a clear objective. Looks like it's back to smooth sailing and tight pacing once again.
Yeah, it's a totally worthy usage of my time. All of this prison breaking has given me at least like three episode ideas for Artificial Winter, and one really solid one for The Artefact. Like I said. Pop culture is good for inspiration.
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
The Rarest Thing
The Mars corporation trashes millions of M&Ms a year. If the tiny little "m" on the candy isn't perfect, then into the garbage it goes. So I bet that something like this here peanut M&M I got today would be worth at least, what, a dollar? A dollar for such a small candy. That's supply and demand for you, I suppose. I know that the following photograph may be something of a shock, but keep in mind, this photo is completely un-retouched (does cropping count as retouching?)
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Robert Ludlum's The Change Blindness
In a study by D. T. Simons and D. J. Levin, the phenomenon of change blindness was demonstrated when a person asking directions was suddenly replaced by a different person during the middle of a subject's giving of them (directions.) A large number of people did not notice that the person to whom they were giving directions was suddenly a different person when their field of vision was interrupted.
A fascinating bit about how not all of us notice all of our surroundings. We can't all be Jason Bourne, I guess...
!
So, I drew this comic, to show what Jason Bourne would do in such a situation. Enjoy.
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