After a restful weekend I find myself still feeling weary and jaded. So - here's something creative I prepared earlier ! This was a wee practice script I put together in preparation for the 48 hour film competition. The components were :
Character - Lynsey Rogers - compulsive risk taker
Prop - Toothbrush
Dialogue - "I've done this a million times before" *
The genre I randomly rolled up at the time was 'soap opera'. I really didn't want to do soap opera so I sneakily rolled again. Wham - soap opera a second time ! Damn. Not wanting to anger the gods of scripts - I set to writing a more American soap - rather than a dismal Brit / NZ style one. I came up with this - I rather liked it !
Title credits – big, brassy title music – v. big time American in the vein of “Dallas”
“Big-Cash-Sex-Infidelity-ville”
Series of character shots and titles
VO - Lynsey Rogers – CEO of Globatek INC and International Playboy
Shot of a sauve looking guy in a fancy suit – at a business table / at a black jack table / reclined on a dining table with a glass of champaign
VO - Portia Mammon
Heir to the Mammon family billions, animal rights campaigner and automatic weapon enthusiast
Raven haired young woman in a ball dress looks at camera in smoldering way / protesting with a ‘fur is murder sign’ / shooting at ninjas with a large assault rifle
VO - Dr. Giacomo Ricotta
Genius doctor / humanitarian / tennis pro
A square jawed, clean-cut type diagnosing young child – giving them a lollypop / working in a soup kitchen / acing an opponent
VO - Sylvia Tease
Sex kitten
Shot of a cat rolling around on its back ( like Shadow does** )
VO - Randy Esophagus
dragster / rebel / pastry chef
guy with an eye-patch revving up his car / involved in a fight with nuns / throwing pastry against kitchen wall
VO - Previously on “Big -Cash-Sex-Infidelity-ville”
Lynsey on phone – “I want to buy out all your shares in Mammon Inc.
Randy – What makes you think I’ll sell to YOU, Lynsey ?”
Lynsey – Because I know who your biological mother is …
Randy – What ???
Lynsey – And I’m willing to bet that you’ll want to find out.
Randy – DAMMITT Lynsey ! You’re taking a hell of a risk crossing me !
Portia – ( holding up link of sausages ) Who would do this to my chauffeur ?”
Sylvia – Meows
Portia – NO ! It CAN’T be TRUE !
Sylvia – Purrs
Randy – You didn’t REALLY graduate from the university of Milan, did you ? DID YOU ?
Dr. Giacomo – You are correct Mr. Esophagus, though if you want help with your white blood cell count, you’ll keep quiet about that !
Randy – You BASTARD ! ( he punches him )
Severe looking secterary type – Lyndsey – you can’t possibly risk all of Globatek capital on Portia not going through with the marriage to your chief business rival !
Lyndsey – ( drunkenly ) DAMMITT ! It’s MY multinational corporation and I’ll do what I like with it !
Secretary – slaps him – Are you always so reckless ?
Lynsey – Grabs her in a wild embrace – Always …
They collapse in wild animal passion out of frame
VO – And now – this weeks episode …
Shot of opulent lounge / living room – Lynsey is on the phone
Lynsey – And I’M telling you Melvin – you’ll put that slush fund stock equity into those municipal bonds or by GOD I’ll make sure you never work again !
Portia bursts in while tinny voice protests on phone
Phone Voice – Jesus H Christi Senior Rogers ! The risks ! They are grande !
Lynsey – Don’t ever talk to me about risk Melvin ! Slams phone down Portia ! You’ve got a lot of nerve coming here – after your neat piece of back-stabbing in the ‘Sparkle Dental supplies” corporation deal !
Portia – I didn’t think you were that … sensitive, Lynsey.
Lynsey – You’re a cold hearted bitch Portia – even I wouldn’t have staged a hostile take-over of Sparkle holdings while I still in mourning !
Portia – You’re still grieving for that secretary – even after Randy revealed her as a South American war-criminal on the run !
Lynsey – The heart is slave to no board room dammitt Portia !
Portia – She was a MAN !
Lynsey – LIES ! ALL LIES !
Portia – I haven’t come to wash your dirty laundry in the closet Lynsey … I just came to drop off this …
Lynsey tosses a toothbrush with the logo “Sparkle” printed on it.
Lynsey – Dammit Portia – what in the name of all that’s holy is THIS ?
Portia – A little ‘no hard feeling’ gift from my new acquisition. Ciao bella.
Lynsey throws a hateful look at her as she leaves – he crushes the toothbrush in his hand as she leaves.
Cut - Portia walks out to Randy – who is waiting in the shadows for her
Randy – Did he take the bait ?
Portia – Hook, line, sinker, angler, row-boat and out-board motor.
Cut – A sterile surgical room
Giacomo is next to a body covered with a sheet. He’s talking on a Dictaphone
Giacomo – I’ve done this a million times … and yet in all of my meteoric career I’ve never seen anything like it – the body bears all the physical, dental and genetic qualities of Portia Mammon – but there’s no way this is possible. Her identical evil twin master dentist sister died in the high rise fire five years ago. There’s only ONE way I can conceive of that could explain this … and I don’t like it.
He goes to pick up the phone – Randy clubs him in the back of the head with an iron bar.
Randy – Sorry doc – can’t let you involve the authorities. Not right now anyway. He flicks open a cell-phone. Make the call.
Cut – Lynsey is heading towards a opulent front door. There is a meow – Lynsey turns.
Lynsey – Sylvia
Sylvia – Meow
Lynsey – That’s right – I’m going to see her. She’s going to apologise. She says she … she still loves me …
Sylvia – Hiss
Lynsey – Of course I believe her ! Why shouldn’t I ?
Sylvia – Meow
Lynsey – How DARE you ! Portia is many things – but I’ll not stand for you calling her a manipulative skank !
Sylvia – Meow
Lynsey – Yes Sylvia – we had something – but I wasn’t the one who threw it all away ? Was I ? WAS I ??? I’m willing to risk my heart again – which is more than you would ever do !
Sylvia – Purr
Lynsey – You’re sick !
He storms out. Sylvia looks at a motor-bike / fast car parked in the drive. She walks out of frame.
Cut.
Lynsey burst into a opulent bedroom.
Lynsey – Portia ! Portia ! I’m here ! Where are you ? … Oh my GOD !
He sees Portia’s body on the floor of the bedroom – there are many toothbrushes impaling her body in a murderous kind of way.
Lynsey – PORTIA !!! NOOOOOOO !!!!
Two detective burst in and tackle Lynsey
Detective 1 – Lynsey Rogers – You’re under arrest for the murder of Portia Mammon.
Lynsey – What ? No ! I didn’t do anything !
Dectitive 2 – Anything you say can and will be used as evidence against you.
Lynsey – No ! Portia ! NOOOO !!!
He is dragged out.
Cut.
An opulent dining room – Randy and ‘Portia’ clink Champaign together.
Randy – To a job well done … Alexis !
Portia / Alexis – Yah darling. Two birds with one stone !
Cut to Giacomo – standing at door – training a gun on them ( his head is heavily bandaged )
Giacomo – I knew it was you Alexis ! I should have known as soon as the stem cell thefts began.
Portia / Alexis – Damn you Randy ! I told you to tie him up properly !
Giacomo – He did – only I had a little help …
Camera pulls back – he is holding Sylvia
Randy – Sylvia !
Sylvia – Purr
Alexis – You sanctimonious BITCH ! What do you want !?
Giacomo – Let’s start … with your half of the Inca medallion.
Alexis – How did you know I had it ?
Sylvia – Purr
Giacomo – Yeah – A little bird told us …
VO – Will Lynsey be left to face twenty to life in San Quentin ? Will Dr. Giacomo find the secret Inca treasure of the lost world ? Who IS the body in St. Augustine’s Hospital ? And will Alexis and Randy have the last laugh. ? Join us again next time for “Big-Cash-Sex-Infidelity-ville” and find out !
End
* - Thanks to Debz for the 48hr elements shamelessly ripped from her blog!
** - If you didn't know - Shadow is our wee cat. She has a habit of rolling around on her back in what has been described, on occassion, as a 'slutty' fashion.
Monday, May 28, 2007
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
48 Hour Madness !
WOW ! That was one rocking weekend ! Also a weekend of VERY limited sleep and nail-biting terror at times, but one hell of a good time as well ! I speak of course of the 48 Hour Film Competition !
This year, as I've presiously said, I broke away from my first comp team and started my own - REBEL FACTION ! While I missed the old team greatly - it was SUCH a good idea ! I ( for one anyway ) was involved in SO much more creatively, which was just fantastic.
The elements this year were :
Character - Jerry Reed, a hypochondriac
Prop - A rope
Dialogue - "What do you call that?"
Our genre was educational or religious film.
Bubbajay and I kicked around a few ideas to start ( including a halarious idea of militant ninja priests which would have got us lynched by the Catholic community ) before settling on a secret instructional film from PharmaTech industries called "Hypochondriacs - The Walking Goldmines !", which we thought was pretty funny.
We had some set backs during filming - notabaly the school's ( location where we were going to do all out primary filming ) open-day not finishing till really late ... and then finding out there was going to be regional BRASS freaking BAND regional cometitions in the building where we were filming the NEXT DAY were not helpful. BUT - the team rallied together and we made sure that we got all our major filming done before that happened ( we wrapped up at just midnight ).
For newbies - we had a really killer team - and I was so proud / happy with what everyone brought to the weekend. I had a few lessons taught to me that I'll take with me to next time - but the whole experience was outragiously positive ! My three objectives were :
1 ) For everyone to have fun
2) To finish a film
3) To hand it in on time
We did all three ! Yay ! It couldn't have been done without all you guys in the team - so a BIG thank you from me !!
Now - I'm going to sleep some more ! Check out Conan's blog for a far more detailed account of the weekend !
This year, as I've presiously said, I broke away from my first comp team and started my own - REBEL FACTION ! While I missed the old team greatly - it was SUCH a good idea ! I ( for one anyway ) was involved in SO much more creatively, which was just fantastic.
The elements this year were :
Character - Jerry Reed, a hypochondriac
Prop - A rope
Dialogue - "What do you call that?"
Our genre was educational or religious film.
Bubbajay and I kicked around a few ideas to start ( including a halarious idea of militant ninja priests which would have got us lynched by the Catholic community ) before settling on a secret instructional film from PharmaTech industries called "Hypochondriacs - The Walking Goldmines !", which we thought was pretty funny.
We had some set backs during filming - notabaly the school's ( location where we were going to do all out primary filming ) open-day not finishing till really late ... and then finding out there was going to be regional BRASS freaking BAND regional cometitions in the building where we were filming the NEXT DAY were not helpful. BUT - the team rallied together and we made sure that we got all our major filming done before that happened ( we wrapped up at just midnight ).
For newbies - we had a really killer team - and I was so proud / happy with what everyone brought to the weekend. I had a few lessons taught to me that I'll take with me to next time - but the whole experience was outragiously positive ! My three objectives were :
1 ) For everyone to have fun
2) To finish a film
3) To hand it in on time
We did all three ! Yay ! It couldn't have been done without all you guys in the team - so a BIG thank you from me !!
Now - I'm going to sleep some more ! Check out Conan's blog for a far more detailed account of the weekend !
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Robin Hood, Robin Hood - riding through the land !
I have been sick today. Partly due I think to the school production - it was seriously doing a number on me last week. That was, of course, production week. Tres stressful. It didn't help that the LEAD actor was sick as a dog on the last dress rehearsal night before we opened. Yours truly had to step in and play the part that night ( always remember to warm up your voice properly before engaging in any major acting role kids ! Losing your voice for a good part of the following day when you're a teacher is NOT a good look ! ).
Still - the whole thing was very successful and positive. Who would have predicted that ? Not I - two weeks ago I was ready to slash my wrists at the impending DOOM of awfulness that I was sure the show was going to be. ...Oh alright - I didn't think it was going to be THAT bad - but I didn't think it was going to be as good as it was - which was 'very', even if I do say so myself !
Highlights :
- The producer telling the assembled cast of 60 - 70 teen boys and 4 specially imported girls to go to the green room and "take your clothes off". Much laughter.
- The minor characters who stole the show - ESPECIALLY the "handmaids" of Marion - guys in drag are ALWAYS crowd pleasers for some odd reason ...
- Having one of the kids who was totally new to acting come to see me afterwards and ask if there were any other productions going on that I knew about. Nice to see students get excited about drama and acting.
It'll be nice to have a lunchtime spare at work for a bit now ! No more freaking rehearsals ! Yay !
Right - I'm going to go hide under a blanket, whimper pathetically and try to stem the "Exorcist" level ectoplasmic goo that is fountaining from my nasal orifice.
Gotta get better for the 48 hour film comp ! Man - I'm getting excited about that !
Still - the whole thing was very successful and positive. Who would have predicted that ? Not I - two weeks ago I was ready to slash my wrists at the impending DOOM of awfulness that I was sure the show was going to be. ...Oh alright - I didn't think it was going to be THAT bad - but I didn't think it was going to be as good as it was - which was 'very', even if I do say so myself !
Highlights :
- The producer telling the assembled cast of 60 - 70 teen boys and 4 specially imported girls to go to the green room and "take your clothes off". Much laughter.
- The minor characters who stole the show - ESPECIALLY the "handmaids" of Marion - guys in drag are ALWAYS crowd pleasers for some odd reason ...
- Having one of the kids who was totally new to acting come to see me afterwards and ask if there were any other productions going on that I knew about. Nice to see students get excited about drama and acting.
It'll be nice to have a lunchtime spare at work for a bit now ! No more freaking rehearsals ! Yay !
Right - I'm going to go hide under a blanket, whimper pathetically and try to stem the "Exorcist" level ectoplasmic goo that is fountaining from my nasal orifice.
Gotta get better for the 48 hour film comp ! Man - I'm getting excited about that !
Tuesday, May 01, 2007
Wounded Knee
Gaargh ! My freaking KNEE man ! The pain !
Actually - it's not so bad today ... but it's still no picnic. I don't know what the hell is wrong with it - only I can't run for long distances without it flaring into a supernova of hurtyness ! And that's bad ! For a start it means the the 1/2 marathon that I was going to try and run is looking pretty much out of the question. Damn. ( and I'm being SERIOUS too - I really did want to jog that ! ).
I spoke to my sister briefly about it ( she has had knee issues too from her sporting endeavours )
Dr. Sis - So - your knee. It is just painful - or does it click ? Is it clicky ?
S. - It's kinda clicky.
Dr. Sis - Right... do you want the bad news or the good news ?
S. - Ahhhh ... hit me with the bad.
Dr. Sis - Sounds like it's cartilage. You might have to have an operation to fix that.
S. - Feck ! What's the good news ?
Dr. Sis - The operation isn't TOO bad. You might only have to have it once !
Great.
Viva has booked me to see a podiatrist on Friday. I'm still not entirely sure WHY I'm going to a freaking podiatrist - it's not my FEET that are hurting ! But one of her friends said that all sorts of trouble can be caused by the way you walk ... fair enough - but shouldn't we start by getting a regular medical professional to establish what the actual problem might be FIRST ? I can just imagine what's going to happen :
P - So you're having trouble with your feet ?
S - No - my knee.
P - Why are you seeing me ?
S - My wife thought it was a good idea.
P - Alright then. Ahhh ... so - is there any pain in your feet ?
S - Nope.
P - Do your feet HIT your own knees at all ?
S - No.
P - ... Well I'm out of ideas.
S - Oh.
P - That'll be $120.
S - *screams*
Actually - it's not so bad today ... but it's still no picnic. I don't know what the hell is wrong with it - only I can't run for long distances without it flaring into a supernova of hurtyness ! And that's bad ! For a start it means the the 1/2 marathon that I was going to try and run is looking pretty much out of the question. Damn. ( and I'm being SERIOUS too - I really did want to jog that ! ).
I spoke to my sister briefly about it ( she has had knee issues too from her sporting endeavours )
Dr. Sis - So - your knee. It is just painful - or does it click ? Is it clicky ?
S. - It's kinda clicky.
Dr. Sis - Right... do you want the bad news or the good news ?
S. - Ahhhh ... hit me with the bad.
Dr. Sis - Sounds like it's cartilage. You might have to have an operation to fix that.
S. - Feck ! What's the good news ?
Dr. Sis - The operation isn't TOO bad. You might only have to have it once !
Great.
Viva has booked me to see a podiatrist on Friday. I'm still not entirely sure WHY I'm going to a freaking podiatrist - it's not my FEET that are hurting ! But one of her friends said that all sorts of trouble can be caused by the way you walk ... fair enough - but shouldn't we start by getting a regular medical professional to establish what the actual problem might be FIRST ? I can just imagine what's going to happen :
P - So you're having trouble with your feet ?
S - No - my knee.
P - Why are you seeing me ?
S - My wife thought it was a good idea.
P - Alright then. Ahhh ... so - is there any pain in your feet ?
S - Nope.
P - Do your feet HIT your own knees at all ?
S - No.
P - ... Well I'm out of ideas.
S - Oh.
P - That'll be $120.
S - *screams*
Monday, April 30, 2007
Geekfest 2007!
It was okay.
This was the first time that I went 'stag' to this event - my usual geekfest buddies Andrew and Hix not with me ... or possibly I not with them. I think we just didn't get round to organising a 'party' to sally forth into the belly of the beast.
Things of note :
- Billy D Williams.
Lando himself. Very cool to have seen him in the flesh ... and yet ... kinda not as well. The years have not been kind. It's easy to forget that 'Empire' was 27 years ago - and the guy is pretty old now ! He rambled on about this and that. I didn't know that he is an artist ( y'know - paintbrush kind ) of some renown, or that he was in some movies with Dianna Ross. He is HUGE in the US for these apparently ! Go figure. And he doesn't like pimps. Fair enough. Oh - and he loved "Whale Rider".
- John Rhys Davies
Cripes can this guy get off freaking topic !
Audience member: John - if you had a chance to do 'Sliders' again - would you ?
John: You know - there needs to be a ratio of 7 parts per million of copper in water for life to occur ? That's considerably higher than the 5 parts per million that experts USED to think was the acceptable level.
Seraph: WTF ?
He was interesting and all - but jeepers ! Answer the question man ! And stop telling us we need to have more babies while berating us for having an overpopulated planet at the same time you bearded weirdo ! Cripes !
-Aaron Douglas ( 'Chief' from BSG )
Now THIS guy was great ! He was really interesting and funny. Had this great story about his nine year old son getting REALLY pissed off with him when he was taken on set of BSG because he couldn't get a ride ( ie: actually FLY ) in one of the Colonial Vipers. Classic freaking stuff !
Also had quite possibly the DUMBEST question asked of a sci-fi celeb in my hearing : "What's the difference between the engines of the Battlestar in the OLD series and the Battlestar in the NEW series?" Poorly stifled giggles from around the room. Aaron answers "Y'know - I COULD tell you ... but then the Admiral would come on down and kick my ass. Sorry"
- The Orcon girls
What the hell is going on with these chicks ? Why are they strutting around in Lycra superhero outfits handing me leaflets offering cheaper broadband ? Seriously - there's something deeply troubling about this. There was like, ten of them or more !
-Weta Sideshow Collectible Rayguns
*slaver* Oh pretty pretty ! How I wants one ! I think the 'Man-Melter 3600ZX" was particularly cool ! Pity they're so freaking expensive. Sigh. Oh well.
- Evin Shir Boardgames.
Showed my support by purchasing a very reasonably priced copy of "Ticket to Ride", and Conan even threw in a reduced copy of the expansion ! Yay Conan !
Also learned how to play "War-Machine". If I were inclined to get into a war-game ( which I'm kinda not ) I would be into this one. I love the cool sorta steam-powered robots - and the fact that it seems to be more skirmish battles rather than the 'WarHammer' brand of "spend $500 bucks and you can ALMOST play the game ... maybe" warfare is also nice. I would like to paint one of them model robots some time though ...
- Members of the 501st legion ( Vader's Fist )
Ohhhhhhh-kay. Guys who dress up in Star-Wars gear and ... I'm not sure I know what they do once they're in their gear. I'm not sure I WANT to know. I guess if you HAVE to dress up you can do worse than guys from Star-Wars. But still.
- Other people playing dress-up
Okayokay - COSPLAYERS. Happy ? There are always the weirdos ... umm ... overly zealous I mean ... who get dressed up as just about anything from the geekiverse. Of note were a Xena ( great costume - but didn't actually look a lot like Xena ) and a Night-Elf from WOW ( though she might have been Mystique ... it was hard to tell exactly ).
- Playstation 3
I was vaguely tempted to muscle in and have a go at the Sony stand - but the only game they were playing was some stupid racing game. I don't want RACING ! I want BLOOD ! Jeepers ! You would think they could have put on "Resistance of Man", which seems to be the show-pony of the PS3 so far in this country for a bit ... what's that ? Oh - R16 you say ? ... Well, I guess that would explain that then. Knackers.
- WOW stands
This is where you could 'sample' the dubious delights of the worldwide sensation "World of Warcraft". I stayed the hell away ! This game seems to be the electronic version of crack ! It took me long enough to ween myself off of "Diablo 2" - there's no way I'm touching 'WOW'. If they ever bring out a "World of Diablo" - I am seriously screwed.
- Ludicrous lines for Manga voice stars
They were insane ! INSANE I tell ya ! So long ! All day ! I must admit that I have never seen an episode of 'Naruto'. I hear a select group of students talking about it at school - and I've seen ads for it on Cartoon Network. Looks kinda dopey - but hell, I could be wrong. For some reason I just don't like that much Manga stuff. Fans keep telling me that I haven't seen the right stuff ... but I don't think so. I'm just not overly fussed on the whole thing really. I'm as puzzled as the next guy about that - by all rights I SHOULD. Go figure.
Those are the main things that stick in my mindof the event. It was nice to run into a few people I know and talk. I also purchased a collected edition of "Aeon Flux" on DVD. That was cool. I love Aeon Flux ... didn't understand it a great deal - but loved it anyway. I'll be there again next year !
This was the first time that I went 'stag' to this event - my usual geekfest buddies Andrew and Hix not with me ... or possibly I not with them. I think we just didn't get round to organising a 'party' to sally forth into the belly of the beast.
Things of note :
- Billy D Williams.
Lando himself. Very cool to have seen him in the flesh ... and yet ... kinda not as well. The years have not been kind. It's easy to forget that 'Empire' was 27 years ago - and the guy is pretty old now ! He rambled on about this and that. I didn't know that he is an artist ( y'know - paintbrush kind ) of some renown, or that he was in some movies with Dianna Ross. He is HUGE in the US for these apparently ! Go figure. And he doesn't like pimps. Fair enough. Oh - and he loved "Whale Rider".
- John Rhys Davies
Cripes can this guy get off freaking topic !
Audience member: John - if you had a chance to do 'Sliders' again - would you ?
John: You know - there needs to be a ratio of 7 parts per million of copper in water for life to occur ? That's considerably higher than the 5 parts per million that experts USED to think was the acceptable level.
Seraph: WTF ?
He was interesting and all - but jeepers ! Answer the question man ! And stop telling us we need to have more babies while berating us for having an overpopulated planet at the same time you bearded weirdo ! Cripes !
-Aaron Douglas ( 'Chief' from BSG )
Now THIS guy was great ! He was really interesting and funny. Had this great story about his nine year old son getting REALLY pissed off with him when he was taken on set of BSG because he couldn't get a ride ( ie: actually FLY ) in one of the Colonial Vipers. Classic freaking stuff !
Also had quite possibly the DUMBEST question asked of a sci-fi celeb in my hearing : "What's the difference between the engines of the Battlestar in the OLD series and the Battlestar in the NEW series?" Poorly stifled giggles from around the room. Aaron answers "Y'know - I COULD tell you ... but then the Admiral would come on down and kick my ass. Sorry"
- The Orcon girls
What the hell is going on with these chicks ? Why are they strutting around in Lycra superhero outfits handing me leaflets offering cheaper broadband ? Seriously - there's something deeply troubling about this. There was like, ten of them or more !
-Weta Sideshow Collectible Rayguns
*slaver* Oh pretty pretty ! How I wants one ! I think the 'Man-Melter 3600ZX" was particularly cool ! Pity they're so freaking expensive. Sigh. Oh well.
- Evin Shir Boardgames.
Showed my support by purchasing a very reasonably priced copy of "Ticket to Ride", and Conan even threw in a reduced copy of the expansion ! Yay Conan !
Also learned how to play "War-Machine". If I were inclined to get into a war-game ( which I'm kinda not ) I would be into this one. I love the cool sorta steam-powered robots - and the fact that it seems to be more skirmish battles rather than the 'WarHammer' brand of "spend $500 bucks and you can ALMOST play the game ... maybe" warfare is also nice. I would like to paint one of them model robots some time though ...
- Members of the 501st legion ( Vader's Fist )
Ohhhhhhh-kay. Guys who dress up in Star-Wars gear and ... I'm not sure I know what they do once they're in their gear. I'm not sure I WANT to know. I guess if you HAVE to dress up you can do worse than guys from Star-Wars. But still.
- Other people playing dress-up
Okayokay - COSPLAYERS. Happy ? There are always the weirdos ... umm ... overly zealous I mean ... who get dressed up as just about anything from the geekiverse. Of note were a Xena ( great costume - but didn't actually look a lot like Xena ) and a Night-Elf from WOW ( though she might have been Mystique ... it was hard to tell exactly ).
- Playstation 3
I was vaguely tempted to muscle in and have a go at the Sony stand - but the only game they were playing was some stupid racing game. I don't want RACING ! I want BLOOD ! Jeepers ! You would think they could have put on "Resistance of Man", which seems to be the show-pony of the PS3 so far in this country for a bit ... what's that ? Oh - R16 you say ? ... Well, I guess that would explain that then. Knackers.
- WOW stands
This is where you could 'sample' the dubious delights of the worldwide sensation "World of Warcraft". I stayed the hell away ! This game seems to be the electronic version of crack ! It took me long enough to ween myself off of "Diablo 2" - there's no way I'm touching 'WOW'. If they ever bring out a "World of Diablo" - I am seriously screwed.
- Ludicrous lines for Manga voice stars
They were insane ! INSANE I tell ya ! So long ! All day ! I must admit that I have never seen an episode of 'Naruto'. I hear a select group of students talking about it at school - and I've seen ads for it on Cartoon Network. Looks kinda dopey - but hell, I could be wrong. For some reason I just don't like that much Manga stuff. Fans keep telling me that I haven't seen the right stuff ... but I don't think so. I'm just not overly fussed on the whole thing really. I'm as puzzled as the next guy about that - by all rights I SHOULD. Go figure.
Those are the main things that stick in my mindof the event. It was nice to run into a few people I know and talk. I also purchased a collected edition of "Aeon Flux" on DVD. That was cool. I love Aeon Flux ... didn't understand it a great deal - but loved it anyway. I'll be there again next year !
"Doom" - a mini-review
WAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH HA HA HA HA HA HA !!!!
Please ! Karl Urban! I KNOW you only did this for the money and exposure - but PLEASE ! I was starting to rate you as an actor after LOTR ! And then you do something like this ! It's "The Irrefutable Truth About Demons" again ! Well - not QUITE as bad, but it gets damn close !
And 'The Rock' ! Oh dear LORD, how TERRIBLE is this guy ? He should have kept his acting limited to the wrestling arena - where I'm sure he's Laurence Olivier in comparison to the other 'entertainers'.
ONLY worth seeing for the 'first person shooter' segment - which was kinda cool, but at the same time ... baffling ! Seriously - play 'Doom3", the plot and intensity are easily ten times better. And I only played it for 15 minutes before I got too scared !
Please ! Karl Urban! I KNOW you only did this for the money and exposure - but PLEASE ! I was starting to rate you as an actor after LOTR ! And then you do something like this ! It's "The Irrefutable Truth About Demons" again ! Well - not QUITE as bad, but it gets damn close !
And 'The Rock' ! Oh dear LORD, how TERRIBLE is this guy ? He should have kept his acting limited to the wrestling arena - where I'm sure he's Laurence Olivier in comparison to the other 'entertainers'.
ONLY worth seeing for the 'first person shooter' segment - which was kinda cool, but at the same time ... baffling ! Seriously - play 'Doom3", the plot and intensity are easily ten times better. And I only played it for 15 minutes before I got too scared !
Sunday, April 29, 2007
Alchemy
This is one of the reasons I've not written much lately -
It's a painting I did for my sister. It's called 'Alchemy' - all the symbols are do to with substances and processes in alchemy. My sister is a doctor of electrochemistry - I often forget what exactly that means. I know she's done work with conductive plastics and hydrogen fuel cell development. She's awful clever my sister ! Anyway - I hope she likes it.
Coming soon to 'Death From Above" - especially for Jackie Dee, a somewhat belated report on the recent Geekfest ! You know you love it !!!
It's a painting I did for my sister. It's called 'Alchemy' - all the symbols are do to with substances and processes in alchemy. My sister is a doctor of electrochemistry - I often forget what exactly that means. I know she's done work with conductive plastics and hydrogen fuel cell development. She's awful clever my sister ! Anyway - I hope she likes it.
Coming soon to 'Death From Above" - especially for Jackie Dee, a somewhat belated report on the recent Geekfest ! You know you love it !!!
Wednesday, April 04, 2007
You say you want a revolution ?
Argh - haven't been able to write much of late ... school - kicking my arse ! ( ... so ... much ... marking ! ... TWO ... nights ... of PARENT / TEACHER interviews !!! ... Freaking ... school ... production ... ARRRGGGHHHHH !!! ). Sorry about that.
BUT. For those who are interested - I have just registered team "Rebel Faction" for this year's 48 Hour Film Competition !!!
I am excited ... and yet terrified !
Jenni ... Hix ... - I'm going to be picking your brains about ... stuff ... very soon I warrant !
I hope I get the educational film genre ! That would be weirdly groovy.
BUT. For those who are interested - I have just registered team "Rebel Faction" for this year's 48 Hour Film Competition !!!
I am excited ... and yet terrified !
Jenni ... Hix ... - I'm going to be picking your brains about ... stuff ... very soon I warrant !
I hope I get the educational film genre ! That would be weirdly groovy.
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Rebel Faction ?
I've been part of the stellar 48 film competition team "Jenni's Angels" for the last couple of years. And - to be fair - they've been great.
But - with this year's competition fast approaching ... I have been thinking, well, rebellious thoughts. In short - I think I might start a new team.
Why would I do that ? Jenni's Angels are my friends ! They are professional ! They collectively know more about film making than I could even imagine at this point ! Why - it would be total madness to do something like that - wouldn't it ?
And the answer is yes. Which is why it would be a great idea !
Because I DON'T know jack about anything. Because it would be really cool / fun to learn myself. That's the problem with Jenni's Angels now - there's too many people who are good at things. It would be madness to let me anywhere near the delicate inner workings of the collective - so why would they do that ? And I kinda feel like more involvement - I missed being on the writing team last year, I missed acting. Who knows - I might even have a go at something crazy like editing or directing. Jenni's Angels is so big now ( and full of people who are ... y'know ... TALENTED ), I doubt I'd get a look in anywhere anymore.
There's heaps on at school - so maybe this is all just pie in the sky stuff, but I think it would be fun. And school has a few digital cameras and tripods and things. They've got an editing suite too. There's a few staff members who sound pretty keen to get involved ... so 'Rebel Faction Films' might be more a reality than even I suspect at this point.
Although the possibility of not getting myself organised and slinking back to the Jenni's Angels team is also mighty high ... ;)
But - with this year's competition fast approaching ... I have been thinking, well, rebellious thoughts. In short - I think I might start a new team.
Why would I do that ? Jenni's Angels are my friends ! They are professional ! They collectively know more about film making than I could even imagine at this point ! Why - it would be total madness to do something like that - wouldn't it ?
And the answer is yes. Which is why it would be a great idea !
Because I DON'T know jack about anything. Because it would be really cool / fun to learn myself. That's the problem with Jenni's Angels now - there's too many people who are good at things. It would be madness to let me anywhere near the delicate inner workings of the collective - so why would they do that ? And I kinda feel like more involvement - I missed being on the writing team last year, I missed acting. Who knows - I might even have a go at something crazy like editing or directing. Jenni's Angels is so big now ( and full of people who are ... y'know ... TALENTED ), I doubt I'd get a look in anywhere anymore.
There's heaps on at school - so maybe this is all just pie in the sky stuff, but I think it would be fun. And school has a few digital cameras and tripods and things. They've got an editing suite too. There's a few staff members who sound pretty keen to get involved ... so 'Rebel Faction Films' might be more a reality than even I suspect at this point.
Although the possibility of not getting myself organised and slinking back to the Jenni's Angels team is also mighty high ... ;)
Monday, March 26, 2007
Seraph's New Obsession
This is going to be the week ( or indeed, the couple of weeks ) from hell at school. I got stupid parent/teacher interviews this week ( AND next week ... yay ) and a WHOLE bunch of marking to get done before Thursday. On top of THAT - there's all the school production stuff I gotta be doing, and then there's just the normal teaching. Eating and sleeping are also in there too at some stage.
So - just a short post before the black rain falls. So to speak.
I find myself getting strangely obsessive again - this time it's the comic series "Scud:The Disposable Assassin". This was a REALLY cool comic - really cool art, and some pretty freaking surrealistic / bizarre stuff going on. The story revolves around Scud - a Heart-Breaker series disposable assassin. You get these things from vending machines - you give them a target, they go off and kill the target. On termination of the target - the disposable assassin explodes.
Scud is given the target of this hugely bizarre monster called Jeff. She has talking knees ( which only ever say film quotes ) and a three pin electric plug for a head. Scud engages in a fight to the death with her - but notices the instruction label he has on his back. Scud does NOT want to die ! So, he puts Jeff into a coma instead. He then has to pay for the hospital bills in order to keep her alive, so he becomes a free-lance assassin. Like I say - pretty bizarre stuff.
I read up to the third graphic novel ( "Solid Gold Bomb" ) and managed to get the third volume. I always meant to get the others ( as well as the side series "Tales From the Vending Machine" - about other disposable assassin models ) from the website - but never got round to it.
I, for some reason, pulled down the volume I had and read it again recently - and remembered how much I loved it and how much I wanted to read the final story arc. I went to the web site - all the old issues out of print. Oh no.
I do a little research. Last story arc was written when the creators life was pretty much falling apart. It ends on a VERY pessimistic note. The FINAL issue was NEVER completed. Many fans very bitter. BUT - it the weird kinda way that these things tend to work out for me, the writer/creator guy - Rob Schrab - is FINALLY completing the last issue and the series. Rejoicing ! And apparently they are going to publish ALL the old comics in one super-volume ! Awesome ! I really hope that includes all the other stuff, like 'Drywall:Unzipped", "The Oswald and Drywall Show" and "Tales From the Vending Machine" ! That would seriously rock.
Just in case - I found someone on E-Bay who was selling a copy of "Drywall:Unzipped" - so I got it. I loved Drywall - I think he was my favourite character. I am kinda getting obsessive about fleshing out my "Scud" collection now.
If you get a chance to read "Scud:The Disposable Assassin" - give it a shot ! It was pretty damn cool. And another thanks to Wanganui Ben - who got me to read it in the first place !
So - just a short post before the black rain falls. So to speak.
I find myself getting strangely obsessive again - this time it's the comic series "Scud:The Disposable Assassin". This was a REALLY cool comic - really cool art, and some pretty freaking surrealistic / bizarre stuff going on. The story revolves around Scud - a Heart-Breaker series disposable assassin. You get these things from vending machines - you give them a target, they go off and kill the target. On termination of the target - the disposable assassin explodes.
Scud is given the target of this hugely bizarre monster called Jeff. She has talking knees ( which only ever say film quotes ) and a three pin electric plug for a head. Scud engages in a fight to the death with her - but notices the instruction label he has on his back. Scud does NOT want to die ! So, he puts Jeff into a coma instead. He then has to pay for the hospital bills in order to keep her alive, so he becomes a free-lance assassin. Like I say - pretty bizarre stuff.
I read up to the third graphic novel ( "Solid Gold Bomb" ) and managed to get the third volume. I always meant to get the others ( as well as the side series "Tales From the Vending Machine" - about other disposable assassin models ) from the website - but never got round to it.
I, for some reason, pulled down the volume I had and read it again recently - and remembered how much I loved it and how much I wanted to read the final story arc. I went to the web site - all the old issues out of print. Oh no.
I do a little research. Last story arc was written when the creators life was pretty much falling apart. It ends on a VERY pessimistic note. The FINAL issue was NEVER completed. Many fans very bitter. BUT - it the weird kinda way that these things tend to work out for me, the writer/creator guy - Rob Schrab - is FINALLY completing the last issue and the series. Rejoicing ! And apparently they are going to publish ALL the old comics in one super-volume ! Awesome ! I really hope that includes all the other stuff, like 'Drywall:Unzipped", "The Oswald and Drywall Show" and "Tales From the Vending Machine" ! That would seriously rock.
Just in case - I found someone on E-Bay who was selling a copy of "Drywall:Unzipped" - so I got it. I loved Drywall - I think he was my favourite character. I am kinda getting obsessive about fleshing out my "Scud" collection now.
If you get a chance to read "Scud:The Disposable Assassin" - give it a shot ! It was pretty damn cool. And another thanks to Wanganui Ben - who got me to read it in the first place !
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
You want me to do what ?
The setting - the building site of the auditorium, on my way from 5th to 6th lesson.
Builder Guy - Hey ! Are you a teacher here ?
Other Builder Guy - Yeah, are you a teacher ? Here ?
Seraph - ( bewildered ) ..... ummmmmm .... yes. Can I help you ?
BG - Yeah - my calculator has gone missing !
OBG - Yeah !
S - ( more bewildered ) Right.
BG - It was down here by the fence ( gestures to HUGE feck-off fence to keep kids from running riot in building zone ).
S - I see.
BG - But now it's gone !
S - Yeah.
( slight pause )
BG - We need it !
OBG - For working out measurements !
BG - We can't do the stuff we need to do without it !
S - Ooooooookay.
( slight pause )
S - What would you like me to do ?
BG - Could you get it back ?
S - ( supressing urge to tell Builder Guy to go to Hell ) ...Right - well, did you see who took it ?
BG - Nope.
S - .... Okay - that DOES make things more tricky.
OBG - We saw some kids run THAT way ( pointing to D-Block - huge series of English class rooms and a library )
S - ... Right.
OBG - And in THERE ! ( points to toilets )
S - Yeah, those are toilets - and they're locked right now. I don't think anyone's going to be hiding in there ...
OBG - But I SAW kids running in there !
S - Gotcha. Ummm ... well, this is a main thoroughfare through the school. ANYone could have taken it. I'm not sure there's a lot I can do...
OBG - We saw kids run UP THERE !
S - Yeah, there are class rooms up there. Students tend to run up there all the time.
BG - Well - we saw kids running that way. ( points up again )
OBG - They RAN. UP there.
S - Okay, I tell you what - I'll ask the classes up there quickly if anyone's seen it. I'm kinda running late for my last class now, so if that doesn't work, I don't think I can help you any more than that, sorry.
BG - That's okay mate.
OBG - ( mumbling ) They RAN up there ....
The weird thing was - the second class I knocked on, a year nine kid pulls out the calculator and hands it right over. He thought some student had dropped it and was going to take it to lost property right after class.
Meh - he had an honest face. I believe him.
Builder Guy - Hey ! Are you a teacher here ?
Other Builder Guy - Yeah, are you a teacher ? Here ?
Seraph - ( bewildered ) ..... ummmmmm .... yes. Can I help you ?
BG - Yeah - my calculator has gone missing !
OBG - Yeah !
S - ( more bewildered ) Right.
BG - It was down here by the fence ( gestures to HUGE feck-off fence to keep kids from running riot in building zone ).
S - I see.
BG - But now it's gone !
S - Yeah.
( slight pause )
BG - We need it !
OBG - For working out measurements !
BG - We can't do the stuff we need to do without it !
S - Ooooooookay.
( slight pause )
S - What would you like me to do ?
BG - Could you get it back ?
S - ( supressing urge to tell Builder Guy to go to Hell ) ...Right - well, did you see who took it ?
BG - Nope.
S - .... Okay - that DOES make things more tricky.
OBG - We saw some kids run THAT way ( pointing to D-Block - huge series of English class rooms and a library )
S - ... Right.
OBG - And in THERE ! ( points to toilets )
S - Yeah, those are toilets - and they're locked right now. I don't think anyone's going to be hiding in there ...
OBG - But I SAW kids running in there !
S - Gotcha. Ummm ... well, this is a main thoroughfare through the school. ANYone could have taken it. I'm not sure there's a lot I can do...
OBG - We saw kids run UP THERE !
S - Yeah, there are class rooms up there. Students tend to run up there all the time.
BG - Well - we saw kids running that way. ( points up again )
OBG - They RAN. UP there.
S - Okay, I tell you what - I'll ask the classes up there quickly if anyone's seen it. I'm kinda running late for my last class now, so if that doesn't work, I don't think I can help you any more than that, sorry.
BG - That's okay mate.
OBG - ( mumbling ) They RAN up there ....
The weird thing was - the second class I knocked on, a year nine kid pulls out the calculator and hands it right over. He thought some student had dropped it and was going to take it to lost property right after class.
Meh - he had an honest face. I believe him.
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Video Games - The Emotioning
I was watching this documentary on the Discovery channel on Saturday called "I, Videogame". It was pretty interesting. The first part ( which aired last week ) was about the beginnings of video games ( from this bizarre tennis game these university geeks were playing on a kind of oscilloscope thingy, to 'space war' which was powered by one of those 'only the five richest kings in Europe will own one of these' computers, to 'Pong' ), the rise ( and surprisingly sharp ) fall of the home console, and the emergence of Space-Invaders ( which were originally supposed to be human ! ) and everyones favourite gluttonous yellow head, Pac-Man.
They also looked at the cold-war influence on games then, which was kinda interesting - but sounded a bit flawed.
The second episode kinda rushed through the rest of the history. It started off with Donkey Kong, the first game with an actual protagonist and story - and how they approached creating a recognisable hero with the limited power of coin-ops at the time. They talked about the shift that Nintendo created in the home console market ( with Atari self-destructing so amazingly - most retailers thought that home consoles had gone the way of the hula-hoop, and they were NEVER coming back ... man - were THOSE guys wrong ! ). Then they sorta jumped from the NES to Playstation, Playstation 2 and Grand Theft Auto 3.
The time shift was appallingly rapid ! Maybe they didn't have anything interesting to say. They were mostly looking at the rise of stories in games, how now games rival film and tv for immersive, and EMOTIONAL depth.
Some pundits made the claim that the power of a game to make you CRY was the benchmark for their emergence into the 'film' level of story-telling sophistication. Then they didn't really tell you any games that would ( or could ) make you cry.
Hmmmm.
The closest they seemed to come was "Final Fantasy 7" and Sepiroth's murder of Aeris as being one of those moments. Fair enough. I mean - it didn't make me cry, but it was pretty sad.
It got me thinking - what games have had the strongest emotional impact on me ? And not just in making you SAD. There's more emotions than just freaking sadness ! Anyway -
The top five emotional games for Seraph ! -
5. "Metal Gear : Solid"
For an action game - it has some moments where you genuinely feel for the bad-guys you end up killing. Not all of them, naturally. You feel pretty good about putting the smack-down on Liquid Snake, and Vulcan Raven's death is just pretty damn weird ( "Before I die Snake - I will give you ... a HINT !" Say what ? ). But Gray Fox / Cyber-Ninja's sacrifice is not without merit. The most impact comes with the deaths of Psycho Mantis and Sniper Wolf. Just before Psycho Mantis buys it, he helps you out by opening up a secret door with his TK power, his final words are something like "... Doing something ... good.... That ... felt ... nice...". Okay, okay - not Shakespeare - but the sentiment is pretty strong. Sniper Wolf, bleeding to death in the snow, relating in a hoarse whisper her war-torn youth growing up as a Kurd, and her moving request to die with her rifle - the only real love she has ever known - is pretty emotional stuff.
4. "Resident Evil 4"
Right - the emotion here is clearly not sadness. It's more a "DEAR GOD IN HEAVEN ! THERE ARE DOZENS OF THEM ! SOME HAVE CHAINSAWS ! I WANT TO LIVE !!!!!" thrill fest! Lots of shocks and surprises - and the addition of having to press controller buttons during many of the cut-scenes in order to STAY ALIVE makes the adrenalin pump just a little more. Without let up either - which is the impressive thing ! It's always "Somethings going to happen ... SOMEthings GOING to happen ... IT'S HAPPENING ! IT'S BAD ! ARRRGGHHHH !!! ... whew ! I lived ! ... Somethings going to happen ... SOMEthings GOING to happen ..." from beginning to end. Freaking masterful.
3. "Silent Hill" ( ANY of them )
I have yet to play a video game as deeply unsettling as the Silent Hill series. I will not play those games alone - I get TOO scared. They also have complex and complicated story lines which are as disturbing ( if not more so ) that the action and nightmarish setting.
2. "Shadow of the Colossus"
The moral ambiguity of this game is very strong - and doesn't sit comfortably with a lot of gamers. The story is simple. You start with your character taking a young woman who look like she's in a coma ( Heck - she might even be dead, you really don't know ) into a big forgotten temple. An unearthly voice tells you that she can be saved - though at a price. You must hunt down and kill the Colossi - HUGE creatures of living stone, and she will be saved.
So - you begin to hunt them down and kill them.
The colossi don't seem to be evil or anything. They're just hanging out in the wilderness, chilling. Some are hostile at your intrusion into their territory ( and who could blame them ? ), some are more curious of you, some just ignore you and go about their colossi business.
There's something terribly sad about the way these massive leviathans collapse into a lifeless hulk of rock. And it's not long before you start asking yourself "Is killing these things the RIGHT thing to do ?". What's the value of one life against the lives of many ? Even if they ARE different to you ?
It's a heck of a question. Mind you - it's one that can provide some levity too
1. And coming in tops - it's
"Ico"
Man - this game. THIS game. It's something else. Done by the same studio that did "Shadow of the Colossus". The way it makes you want to protect the weakened and fragile Yorda ( to quote Hix "I've never felt to attached to an unliving collection of pixels like this !" ) from the Shadowy monsters sent by the Queen to get her back. The way it builds to it's sweeping climax - and the sorrowful AND joyous ending. Easily the most emotional experience I've had in video-gaming.
So - there you have it. What emotional experience have you had in the world of video gaming ? I'd be interested to know.
They also looked at the cold-war influence on games then, which was kinda interesting - but sounded a bit flawed.
The second episode kinda rushed through the rest of the history. It started off with Donkey Kong, the first game with an actual protagonist and story - and how they approached creating a recognisable hero with the limited power of coin-ops at the time. They talked about the shift that Nintendo created in the home console market ( with Atari self-destructing so amazingly - most retailers thought that home consoles had gone the way of the hula-hoop, and they were NEVER coming back ... man - were THOSE guys wrong ! ). Then they sorta jumped from the NES to Playstation, Playstation 2 and Grand Theft Auto 3.
The time shift was appallingly rapid ! Maybe they didn't have anything interesting to say. They were mostly looking at the rise of stories in games, how now games rival film and tv for immersive, and EMOTIONAL depth.
Some pundits made the claim that the power of a game to make you CRY was the benchmark for their emergence into the 'film' level of story-telling sophistication. Then they didn't really tell you any games that would ( or could ) make you cry.
Hmmmm.
The closest they seemed to come was "Final Fantasy 7" and Sepiroth's murder of Aeris as being one of those moments. Fair enough. I mean - it didn't make me cry, but it was pretty sad.
It got me thinking - what games have had the strongest emotional impact on me ? And not just in making you SAD. There's more emotions than just freaking sadness ! Anyway -
The top five emotional games for Seraph ! -
5. "Metal Gear : Solid"
For an action game - it has some moments where you genuinely feel for the bad-guys you end up killing. Not all of them, naturally. You feel pretty good about putting the smack-down on Liquid Snake, and Vulcan Raven's death is just pretty damn weird ( "Before I die Snake - I will give you ... a HINT !" Say what ? ). But Gray Fox / Cyber-Ninja's sacrifice is not without merit. The most impact comes with the deaths of Psycho Mantis and Sniper Wolf. Just before Psycho Mantis buys it, he helps you out by opening up a secret door with his TK power, his final words are something like "... Doing something ... good.... That ... felt ... nice...". Okay, okay - not Shakespeare - but the sentiment is pretty strong. Sniper Wolf, bleeding to death in the snow, relating in a hoarse whisper her war-torn youth growing up as a Kurd, and her moving request to die with her rifle - the only real love she has ever known - is pretty emotional stuff.
4. "Resident Evil 4"
Right - the emotion here is clearly not sadness. It's more a "DEAR GOD IN HEAVEN ! THERE ARE DOZENS OF THEM ! SOME HAVE CHAINSAWS ! I WANT TO LIVE !!!!!" thrill fest! Lots of shocks and surprises - and the addition of having to press controller buttons during many of the cut-scenes in order to STAY ALIVE makes the adrenalin pump just a little more. Without let up either - which is the impressive thing ! It's always "Somethings going to happen ... SOMEthings GOING to happen ... IT'S HAPPENING ! IT'S BAD ! ARRRGGHHHH !!! ... whew ! I lived ! ... Somethings going to happen ... SOMEthings GOING to happen ..." from beginning to end. Freaking masterful.
3. "Silent Hill" ( ANY of them )
I have yet to play a video game as deeply unsettling as the Silent Hill series. I will not play those games alone - I get TOO scared. They also have complex and complicated story lines which are as disturbing ( if not more so ) that the action and nightmarish setting.
2. "Shadow of the Colossus"
The moral ambiguity of this game is very strong - and doesn't sit comfortably with a lot of gamers. The story is simple. You start with your character taking a young woman who look like she's in a coma ( Heck - she might even be dead, you really don't know ) into a big forgotten temple. An unearthly voice tells you that she can be saved - though at a price. You must hunt down and kill the Colossi - HUGE creatures of living stone, and she will be saved.
So - you begin to hunt them down and kill them.
The colossi don't seem to be evil or anything. They're just hanging out in the wilderness, chilling. Some are hostile at your intrusion into their territory ( and who could blame them ? ), some are more curious of you, some just ignore you and go about their colossi business.
There's something terribly sad about the way these massive leviathans collapse into a lifeless hulk of rock. And it's not long before you start asking yourself "Is killing these things the RIGHT thing to do ?". What's the value of one life against the lives of many ? Even if they ARE different to you ?
It's a heck of a question. Mind you - it's one that can provide some levity too
1. And coming in tops - it's
"Ico"
Man - this game. THIS game. It's something else. Done by the same studio that did "Shadow of the Colossus". The way it makes you want to protect the weakened and fragile Yorda ( to quote Hix "I've never felt to attached to an unliving collection of pixels like this !" ) from the Shadowy monsters sent by the Queen to get her back. The way it builds to it's sweeping climax - and the sorrowful AND joyous ending. Easily the most emotional experience I've had in video-gaming.
So - there you have it. What emotional experience have you had in the world of video gaming ? I'd be interested to know.
Friday, March 09, 2007
The Vanishing - Part 2
So - Viva and I arrive at the exercise / health class thing we've been doing for awhile now. I was hoping to have dropped down below 85kg so I could be comfortably in my target weight zone.
I hopped on the scales - freaking 83.7 !!! That's more than a kilogram down from last week !
Jeepers.
So I have lost more than a k a week ( on average ) for the last six weeks.
I'm really starting to feel it now too. I am definitely WAY more fit - and I'm generally feeling better too ( not that I was feeling crappy before though ). Even I'm noticing where the weight has gone FROM. I still think the best thing about the weight loss is being able to lie face-up, and not get pain in the small of my back from my colossal butt crimping the hell out of it ! Yay !
I hopped on the scales - freaking 83.7 !!! That's more than a kilogram down from last week !
Jeepers.
So I have lost more than a k a week ( on average ) for the last six weeks.
I'm really starting to feel it now too. I am definitely WAY more fit - and I'm generally feeling better too ( not that I was feeling crappy before though ). Even I'm noticing where the weight has gone FROM. I still think the best thing about the weight loss is being able to lie face-up, and not get pain in the small of my back from my colossal butt crimping the hell out of it ! Yay !
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
And coming in at number three...
People have been saying “Hey Seraph ! What’s the dilly-o, eh ? I KNOW you ! The REAL you ! You play board games ! You read those fancy comics what have a plot consisting of MORE than a guy in a spandex suit clobbering various evil-dooers ! And you play them new fangled RPG’s you’re going to talk about this week ! How come you write YOURSELF into the higher reaches of the Geek Heirachy ? What do you say to THAT, sir ?!”
Hmmm. It’s a fair point I guess.
BUT – gentle reader – let me be the first to say – I pretty much belong to ALL the levels to which I will be writing ( all bar the very worst of the worst that is ) – and so my COLLECTIVE geek status is reduced mightily. Much like an albatross around my neck – my sins will pull me down into the lower reaches … but I fall short of entering the very inner circle … the “Mouth of the Devil” in this Inferno, if you will. Just. Anyway – that’s a topic for later. For now it’s :
Seraph’s Heirachy of Geekdom ( v1 ) !
3. Indie Role-playing Gamers
Hmmm. It’s a fair point I guess.
BUT – gentle reader – let me be the first to say – I pretty much belong to ALL the levels to which I will be writing ( all bar the very worst of the worst that is ) – and so my COLLECTIVE geek status is reduced mightily. Much like an albatross around my neck – my sins will pull me down into the lower reaches … but I fall short of entering the very inner circle … the “Mouth of the Devil” in this Inferno, if you will. Just. Anyway – that’s a topic for later. For now it’s :
Seraph’s Heirachy of Geekdom ( v1 ) !
3. Indie Role-playing Gamers
There was a time when table top RPG games were dominated by ludricious numbers of die rolls, massively complicated charts you needed a slide rule and a fx-82b calculator to interpret and at least three phone-book sized rule books – and that was to just open a door !
It was a question of “Role-playing ? What the hell is that junk ! Let me KILL something else and steal it’s meager collection of copper pieces !”.
They were dark days indeed.
And then, one day, people realized that maybe, JUST MAYBE, the actual STORY did have something to do with it, rather than just a litany of mindless slaughter, inter-party back-stabbing / theft, and the wholesale looting of ancient tombs.
From this first simple thought – the role-players of old cast aside their player manuals and GM guides, and devised games where characters, plot and setting actually meant something. Systems were streamlined – combat downplayed – invention and creativity encouraged. Players could actually HELP tell the story – rather than being the puppets of some power-crazed GM. There was collaboration. There was unity. There was a new age.
And yet – all golden ages fall.
The problem with IRPGers are myriad :
- They get OBSESSED with story elements. Things begin to get overly complicated once more ! “What’s your kicker ? Where’s the BANG ? How about you flangle the klink ?” WTF ??? SPEAK ENGLISH !
- There is a tendency in many IRPGers to think that ANY situation is worthy of RPing. And I mean ANY. It’s disturbing that your average IRPGer would think the following would be a pretty good idea for a game :
HARD DETERMINIST !
You play a 17th century philosopher, exploring their struggle to win approval for their ideas of the nature of life / the cosmos / the universe.
Divide 10 points among your 3 philosophical stats of :
o Ethics
o Meta-physics
o Logic
Choose a main ‘school’ – from the following list
o Solipsism
o Existentialism
o Determinism
Your goal – form a major religious or social group who extol your values. Avoid being stoned to death by the heretics !
Ahhhhh .. NO ! NO NO NO ! Not EVERY idea makes for a decent RPG ! The same goes for any game where you play an adorable animal – “The Happy Bunnies of Fuzzy Glen” is NEVER going to be acceptable as a RPG! NEVER! In fact – if you think it IS, it is a sure sign that you have taken IRPG’s into a place where man was not meant to go. For the love of all that is good and holy – come back to the light !
IRPGers ( or, more accurately these days – Story-Telling Gamers ) are responsible for a vast amount of great things in the role-playing world, and undoubtedly, they have shaped the medium for the better. BUT … they also need to watch their step a little – lest, like Dr. Frankenstein, they become responsible for creating a monster !
It was a question of “Role-playing ? What the hell is that junk ! Let me KILL something else and steal it’s meager collection of copper pieces !”.
They were dark days indeed.
And then, one day, people realized that maybe, JUST MAYBE, the actual STORY did have something to do with it, rather than just a litany of mindless slaughter, inter-party back-stabbing / theft, and the wholesale looting of ancient tombs.
From this first simple thought – the role-players of old cast aside their player manuals and GM guides, and devised games where characters, plot and setting actually meant something. Systems were streamlined – combat downplayed – invention and creativity encouraged. Players could actually HELP tell the story – rather than being the puppets of some power-crazed GM. There was collaboration. There was unity. There was a new age.
And yet – all golden ages fall.
The problem with IRPGers are myriad :
- They get OBSESSED with story elements. Things begin to get overly complicated once more ! “What’s your kicker ? Where’s the BANG ? How about you flangle the klink ?” WTF ??? SPEAK ENGLISH !
- There is a tendency in many IRPGers to think that ANY situation is worthy of RPing. And I mean ANY. It’s disturbing that your average IRPGer would think the following would be a pretty good idea for a game :
HARD DETERMINIST !
You play a 17th century philosopher, exploring their struggle to win approval for their ideas of the nature of life / the cosmos / the universe.
Divide 10 points among your 3 philosophical stats of :
o Ethics
o Meta-physics
o Logic
Choose a main ‘school’ – from the following list
o Solipsism
o Existentialism
o Determinism
Your goal – form a major religious or social group who extol your values. Avoid being stoned to death by the heretics !
Ahhhhh .. NO ! NO NO NO ! Not EVERY idea makes for a decent RPG ! The same goes for any game where you play an adorable animal – “The Happy Bunnies of Fuzzy Glen” is NEVER going to be acceptable as a RPG! NEVER! In fact – if you think it IS, it is a sure sign that you have taken IRPG’s into a place where man was not meant to go. For the love of all that is good and holy – come back to the light !
IRPGers ( or, more accurately these days – Story-Telling Gamers ) are responsible for a vast amount of great things in the role-playing world, and undoubtedly, they have shaped the medium for the better. BUT … they also need to watch their step a little – lest, like Dr. Frankenstein, they become responsible for creating a monster !
Well - Story-Telling Gamers huh ? Where will CONVENTIONAL RPGers come ? Only time will tell !
Thanks to my good buddy BubbaJay for the 'shout-out' on his blog, and a BIG hi to my fellow173c Hanson Street Survivor - Spaceman Jack Dee ! Check out his stuff !
Monday, February 26, 2007
Video games live ! Neato !
Busy, busy day ! Yargh. In fact - busy busy weekend ! No time to be creative ! I apologise to those of you wanting more of the geek list. It's coming ( like Christmas is ).
But for now - ten things about the Video Games Live concert !
1. It was awesome !
2. It was a concert organised by some American gaming dudes ( like, "in the industry" gaming dudes - not just some weedy gamers ), performed by the Wellington Orchestra and playing a selection of music from video game scores.
3. The opening number was a medley of tunes from various coin-ops - starting with Pong and ending with ... ummmm ... I can't really remember. I think it might have been Outrun. There were all kinds of stuff in there ( games that stand out in my mind are Robotron, Rastan Saga - I've always LOVED the music of Rastan - Gauntlet, Tempest, Space-Invaders and Donkey Kong ).
4. There were a few competitions - the coolest being a Space-Invader one - the guy from the audience who played was movement keyed into the wee tank - so where he moved, the tank moved. While he played the orchestra played the 'music' ( which consisted of that freaky 'dumm-DUMM' footstep thing, slowly getting faster and faster ). He had six lives - and he had to clear the entire screen in two and a half minutes. He got wiped out.
5. The second contest was for a $4000 laptop ! It was a frogger challenge - I didn't get chosen ( despite the frantic amount of waving I did ... ). The two guys went head to head - the winner a guy who looked pretty stoned ( when asked if he was ready, he replied "WELL DONE!!!" - freaking hippy ... ). I could blitzed them no sweat. Still - it was cool listening to live 'Frogger' music.
6. There were people dressed up as video game characters there. I thought they were some pretty massive geeks ... until I found out there was a 'dress-up' contest. A guy dressed as Sonic the Hedgehog won - it was a pretty cool costume. For a hedgehog.
7. The music I think I liked most was a collection of tunes from the "Metal Gear" games. They even had a guy in a cardboard box sneaking by a guard on stage. It was pretty hilarious. ( If you've never played Metal Gear - then that'll mean nothing to you ). The stuff they did from "God of War" was pretty damn cool too.
8. Square soft were the only software company that didn't let them use footage from their games. Jerks.
9. The visuals for "Medal of Honour" were actually real footage from WW2. It was surprisingly moving.
10. Water is ridiculously expensive at concerts! Bastards !
But for now - ten things about the Video Games Live concert !
1. It was awesome !
2. It was a concert organised by some American gaming dudes ( like, "in the industry" gaming dudes - not just some weedy gamers ), performed by the Wellington Orchestra and playing a selection of music from video game scores.
3. The opening number was a medley of tunes from various coin-ops - starting with Pong and ending with ... ummmm ... I can't really remember. I think it might have been Outrun. There were all kinds of stuff in there ( games that stand out in my mind are Robotron, Rastan Saga - I've always LOVED the music of Rastan - Gauntlet, Tempest, Space-Invaders and Donkey Kong ).
4. There were a few competitions - the coolest being a Space-Invader one - the guy from the audience who played was movement keyed into the wee tank - so where he moved, the tank moved. While he played the orchestra played the 'music' ( which consisted of that freaky 'dumm-DUMM' footstep thing, slowly getting faster and faster ). He had six lives - and he had to clear the entire screen in two and a half minutes. He got wiped out.
5. The second contest was for a $4000 laptop ! It was a frogger challenge - I didn't get chosen ( despite the frantic amount of waving I did ... ). The two guys went head to head - the winner a guy who looked pretty stoned ( when asked if he was ready, he replied "WELL DONE!!!" - freaking hippy ... ). I could blitzed them no sweat. Still - it was cool listening to live 'Frogger' music.
6. There were people dressed up as video game characters there. I thought they were some pretty massive geeks ... until I found out there was a 'dress-up' contest. A guy dressed as Sonic the Hedgehog won - it was a pretty cool costume. For a hedgehog.
7. The music I think I liked most was a collection of tunes from the "Metal Gear" games. They even had a guy in a cardboard box sneaking by a guard on stage. It was pretty hilarious. ( If you've never played Metal Gear - then that'll mean nothing to you ). The stuff they did from "God of War" was pretty damn cool too.
8. Square soft were the only software company that didn't let them use footage from their games. Jerks.
9. The visuals for "Medal of Honour" were actually real footage from WW2. It was surprisingly moving.
10. Water is ridiculously expensive at concerts! Bastards !
Friday, February 23, 2007
The Vanishing
Holy flipping cow man ! Over the past week I have lost 1.5 kgs ! I'm almost in my target weight zone of 84-86 kgs - freaking awesome ! I'm currently weighing in at 86.1 kgs.
Both Viva and I have dropped over 4k in the last month. So that's more than a k a week.
It's incredible how changing what you eat and doing some exercise can make such a radical change. I'm eating SOOOOO much less bread and cheese and ... well ... processed CRAP now. It's pretty staggering. We used to go through like three loaves of bread plus - now, maybe 1. Some weeks - a half.
And it's not like I've been starving myself either. I've been to a few BBQ's where I've jammed my face with a goodly amount of tasty tasty food. It's mostly been getting over the ghost hunger in my head - the hunger that makes me eat when I'm not hungry. That's the killer.
And limiting pizza consumption. That wasn't doing me any favours either ...
Both Viva and I have dropped over 4k in the last month. So that's more than a k a week.
It's incredible how changing what you eat and doing some exercise can make such a radical change. I'm eating SOOOOO much less bread and cheese and ... well ... processed CRAP now. It's pretty staggering. We used to go through like three loaves of bread plus - now, maybe 1. Some weeks - a half.
And it's not like I've been starving myself either. I've been to a few BBQ's where I've jammed my face with a goodly amount of tasty tasty food. It's mostly been getting over the ghost hunger in my head - the hunger that makes me eat when I'm not hungry. That's the killer.
And limiting pizza consumption. That wasn't doing me any favours either ...
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Where I alienate more of my friends
I guess it's important to distinguish the difference between a 'nerd' and a 'geek' before we go too much further.
Viva had this useful insight : "A nerd is someone who can apply their knowledge in a useful ( and money earning ) way. A geek has impressive knowledge and skill - but not in an especially practical sense".
I hope that's a definition you can live with - because it's what I'm using here. I'm pretty sure there are some of you thinking "Hey! By that definition I'm a nerd! I don't wanna be a nerd ! I always thought of myself as more a geek - that sounds slightly sexier ! Don't take my slight sexiness away ! Please !!!". Well, tough luck nerd ! Suck it up and deal ! Sheesh ! Freaking nerds...
Anyway. You'll see that my strata of geekdom is generally split among 'gamers' and 'fanboys'. Enough of the preamble ! Onto ...
Seraph's pecking order of Geeks (v1)
2. Comic aficionados
Comics are great. ... Well, some of them anyway. Your 'Comic Aficionado' ( henceforth 'CA' ) knows this, and knows it well. They are well versed in various important story arcs, writers and illustrators - sometimes to an obsessive degree. The kind of CA who ranks in highest in this subgroup is the one with a diversified portfolio - one who will follow a good story indifferent to the publishing house. They display ( usually ) a levelheaded individual, displaying creativity, imagination and an appreciation of cool art work.
BUT. Dragging the whole group down are the more 'rabid' fan-boys. The ones who will ONLY read the publications of ONE imprint, or ( worse ) only read ONE comic ( buying ten copies of the same issue because they have different covers, for example ). These 'rabid' CA's are usually identifiable by the maniacal gleam in their eyes, but a more telling test is by t-shirt. If you see a CA wearing two different t-shirts which bear characters from the SAME comic - they are rabid. Anyone under the age of 14 is exempt from this rule.
Another good test ( though slightly harder to administer ) is the tattoo test. Do they have a tattoo of a super-hero of some sort? If so - they're rabid.
NB: REAL 'red-lights' here are tattoos of Wolverine, Spiderman and the Green Lantern. They must be of the actual character though. The 'red-S' of Superman, the 'bat-symbol' or the 'lantern symbol', do not necessarily denote rabidness ( though they don't discount it either - whichever way it goes, they're not particularly smart ideas for tattoos and might get you into intellectual property right hot-water ).
Rabid CA's are best left alone. They take their devotion a little too far into the 'crazy-zone', and do not appreciate good-natured jokes about their favourite hero guys or gals ( and, in my experience, it is ALWAYS a superhero which is the object of their fevered worship ). If you happen to notice the rabid CA's knuckles turn white if you say hero guy/girl's arch-nemesis 'rocks' - run. Run and don't look back.
Okay - so there you have the second tier. Who will be number three ? Tune in again and find out !
Viva had this useful insight : "A nerd is someone who can apply their knowledge in a useful ( and money earning ) way. A geek has impressive knowledge and skill - but not in an especially practical sense".
I hope that's a definition you can live with - because it's what I'm using here. I'm pretty sure there are some of you thinking "Hey! By that definition I'm a nerd! I don't wanna be a nerd ! I always thought of myself as more a geek - that sounds slightly sexier ! Don't take my slight sexiness away ! Please !!!". Well, tough luck nerd ! Suck it up and deal ! Sheesh ! Freaking nerds...
Anyway. You'll see that my strata of geekdom is generally split among 'gamers' and 'fanboys'. Enough of the preamble ! Onto ...
Seraph's pecking order of Geeks (v1)
2. Comic aficionados
Comics are great. ... Well, some of them anyway. Your 'Comic Aficionado' ( henceforth 'CA' ) knows this, and knows it well. They are well versed in various important story arcs, writers and illustrators - sometimes to an obsessive degree. The kind of CA who ranks in highest in this subgroup is the one with a diversified portfolio - one who will follow a good story indifferent to the publishing house. They display ( usually ) a levelheaded individual, displaying creativity, imagination and an appreciation of cool art work.
BUT. Dragging the whole group down are the more 'rabid' fan-boys. The ones who will ONLY read the publications of ONE imprint, or ( worse ) only read ONE comic ( buying ten copies of the same issue because they have different covers, for example ). These 'rabid' CA's are usually identifiable by the maniacal gleam in their eyes, but a more telling test is by t-shirt. If you see a CA wearing two different t-shirts which bear characters from the SAME comic - they are rabid. Anyone under the age of 14 is exempt from this rule.
Another good test ( though slightly harder to administer ) is the tattoo test. Do they have a tattoo of a super-hero of some sort? If so - they're rabid.
NB: REAL 'red-lights' here are tattoos of Wolverine, Spiderman and the Green Lantern. They must be of the actual character though. The 'red-S' of Superman, the 'bat-symbol' or the 'lantern symbol', do not necessarily denote rabidness ( though they don't discount it either - whichever way it goes, they're not particularly smart ideas for tattoos and might get you into intellectual property right hot-water ).
Rabid CA's are best left alone. They take their devotion a little too far into the 'crazy-zone', and do not appreciate good-natured jokes about their favourite hero guys or gals ( and, in my experience, it is ALWAYS a superhero which is the object of their fevered worship ). If you happen to notice the rabid CA's knuckles turn white if you say hero guy/girl's arch-nemesis 'rocks' - run. Run and don't look back.
Okay - so there you have the second tier. Who will be number three ? Tune in again and find out !
Monday, February 19, 2007
Ranking Geeks
A friend of mine caught me at some party I was at last year and said to me “I didn’t know you played battletech!”.
He may as well said “I didn’t know you were a dung-eating baby rapist!”
Apparently “Death From Above” is some term for a combat move in the Battletech game ( I think it is where your massive robot war-machine launches itself into the stratosphere and comes hurtling down on an enemy massive robot war-machine, crushing the ever-lovin’ snot out of it ). Had I know this – I would have probably named the blog “Like You Care” ( my original, if somewhat negative, idea ).
Why am I telling you this ? After I had given my friend a chance to explain himself and beg for his life – my mind turned to the hierarchy of geekdom. Which geeks occupy which strata of the geek pecking order ?
It’s something which has kept me thinking on and off for the last few months. I was going to start writing about this ages ago, but one thought stayed my hand.
I’m going to offend just about everyone I know doing that.
It was a problem I wrestled with for a good long time. I rationalize things this way :
1. I will belong to just about every one of the groups and sub-groups.
And, more importantly:
2. Screw ‘em if they can’t take a joke !
And so – in the interest of science and furthering the legacy of mankind, I present to you …
SERAPH’S HIERARCHY OF GEEKDOM (v1)
1.
Board-GamersComing in at number one and occupying the highest level on the social power level – the board gamers. Board gamers tend to have the most social cross-over of any of the geek pursuits. A good board game will draw in Normals with their intricate shapes-designs-colours, strong and ( usually ) fairly engaging themes and general levels of fun. Show me someone who wouldn’t enjoy a game like “Modern Art”, and I’ll show you a cold-hearted miserly soul who should be committed to an asylum before they ritually murder someone.
Board-Game Geeks are able to engage in lively social discourse while gaming, are fun to be around, generally have excellent levels of presentation and self-grooming. They also tend to great in thinking on their feet, adapting to new situations, and have extensive vocabularies. Board-Game Geeks tend to fit in so well with Normals, they often can be mistaken for them. Normals with only discover their true nature when they attempt a ‘conversion’ – inviting unsuspecting Normals to their houses ( or ‘lairs’ ) where they will wile them with good food, fine wine – and then introduce the idea of ‘just a quick game’ of something. Maybe something disarming like “Settlers of Catan”. The unsuspecting Normal – their senses scrambled, will usually agree. Much like H. Giger’s Alien – the Board-Game Geek with implant it’s egg in the warm head-meats of it’s victim, ensuring the propagation of the species and a new generation of devotees.
The only thing standing in the way of a global New World Order of Board-Game Geeks is the mental block that society introduces at a very early age.
The name of this block is called "Monopoly". The Mental lesions this 'game' ( in fact - it is less of a game and more 'an incitement to riot' and a 'just cause to make blood-kin ingest significant amounts of plastic hotels' ) causes, and the subsequent traumatic scarring generally mean that the Board-Game Geek has their work cut out for them in 'converting' Normals ( even with REALLY good blueberry muffins ), and thus their society is preserved, despite the in-roads that the wily Board-Game Geek has made in recent years.
Board-Game Geeks make top of the list eh ? Who would have thought it ? So - just which group comes in at number 2 ? Stay tuned, gentle reader. Stay tuned.
Like you care...
For those who were interested, here are the official 'Round The Bays" results for Seraph :
Time : 51 minutes, 39 seconds ( damn ! I could have SWORN that I ran that in under 45min ! Still - that's pretty good for me ! )
Placing : 2859 ( out of approx 10,000 - again, not bad )
I see our trainer at the life-style and fitness class Viva and I go to got 1.15 - but she was walking it. I'll take my victories where I can though ! Hee hee hee !
Time : 51 minutes, 39 seconds ( damn ! I could have SWORN that I ran that in under 45min ! Still - that's pretty good for me ! )
Placing : 2859 ( out of approx 10,000 - again, not bad )
I see our trainer at the life-style and fitness class Viva and I go to got 1.15 - but she was walking it. I'll take my victories where I can though ! Hee hee hee !
Sunday, February 18, 2007
Fun run ? Surely not !
Occurring in the 'momentous things' section of Seraph today - I took part in the Wellington "Round the Bays' run/walk/saunter/swagger/perambulation event.
What is more - I managed to jog the entire thing !
Amazing !
While I realise that 7.2km isn't the run at marathon - it's still pretty impressive considering the mass of flabby gristle I used to be not that long ago. My morning 3.2 hill jogs saw me in good stead as I flew past all manner of octogenarians, small girls and people in wheel-chairs.
Seriously though - I was pretty pleased with myself. I thought I'd be able to keep a jog for most of the way - but I didn't think I'd be able to sustain it for the entire run. I was very surprised ( in that happy kind of way ) when I got to the half-way point and I was still pretty energised ! I even managed to pick up the pace in the last k to beat my race nemesis. BOTH of them.
To explain - As I was running I noticed this pair of young women with the predatory look of seasoned runners. The two kept mocking me by running past at a fair pace, when relaxing and walking - so I would pass them. They did this about five times. In the last k, when they passed me again I thought "That's IT. You're going down, you smug gym-bunny freaks !". I picked up the pace to shadow them with burning myself out - and when they stopped to walk ( as I KNEW they would ) I sped up even more - ensuring that the gap between up would be insurmountable by the time they started running again ! FOOLS ! Too late they saw my devious plan ! Victory was mine !
( Yeah - I KNOW they didn't even notice me as we were running - but that was my little internal narrative that kept me going. )
I finished in under 45 minutes. I'll have to check the transponder times tomorrow and see what I got exactly. Exciting !
And I got a free t-shirt and BBQ meal at Viva's work's corporate enclosure ! It doesn't get better than that.
What is more - I managed to jog the entire thing !
Amazing !
While I realise that 7.2km isn't the run at marathon - it's still pretty impressive considering the mass of flabby gristle I used to be not that long ago. My morning 3.2 hill jogs saw me in good stead as I flew past all manner of octogenarians, small girls and people in wheel-chairs.
Seriously though - I was pretty pleased with myself. I thought I'd be able to keep a jog for most of the way - but I didn't think I'd be able to sustain it for the entire run. I was very surprised ( in that happy kind of way ) when I got to the half-way point and I was still pretty energised ! I even managed to pick up the pace in the last k to beat my race nemesis. BOTH of them.
To explain - As I was running I noticed this pair of young women with the predatory look of seasoned runners. The two kept mocking me by running past at a fair pace, when relaxing and walking - so I would pass them. They did this about five times. In the last k, when they passed me again I thought "That's IT. You're going down, you smug gym-bunny freaks !". I picked up the pace to shadow them with burning myself out - and when they stopped to walk ( as I KNEW they would ) I sped up even more - ensuring that the gap between up would be insurmountable by the time they started running again ! FOOLS ! Too late they saw my devious plan ! Victory was mine !
( Yeah - I KNOW they didn't even notice me as we were running - but that was my little internal narrative that kept me going. )
I finished in under 45 minutes. I'll have to check the transponder times tomorrow and see what I got exactly. Exciting !
And I got a free t-shirt and BBQ meal at Viva's work's corporate enclosure ! It doesn't get better than that.
Friday, February 16, 2007
I'd watch THAT show !
Hey gang! The system shock of going back to work is starting to fade to a consistent throbbing of my frontal lobes, so I'm able to actually write something. Yay for frontal lobe throbage !
The joy of going back to work is being able to talk to like-minded individuals. Well - sorta-minded individuals would be a better term. Anyway - when I got a chance to go and hang out at the staff room for a bit ( I've been doing a lot of catch-up stuff for the school production - auditioning for the parts of TREES for heaven's sake ... you would not BELIEVE the amount of students who expressly WANTED to be fecking TREES ! ) the conversation turned from renovation to the tv show "Mitre 10 Dream Home".
It was generally agreed that said show was a 'feel good' piece of crap - mostly for the reasons that, in the end, BOTH teams actually end up getting the house SOMEHOW. One team wins it - the other team get to borrow enough money to buy it ( at, a pretty sizable reduction it seems ).
What kind of game show it this ? If you're going to have a competition, then there must be a loser ! I'm afraid that the "Dream Home" definition of 'loser' does NOT measure up !
My group of TV consultants have a solution though. On the teams' completion of their entire projects - both houses are rigged up with enough dynamite to level a parking building. When the winner is announced - the losing house is detonated ! EXPLODO ! See their sad little faces ! No retractable ceiling mounted film screen ! Little Billy's room ? Now not so much a room, more a mass of twisted wreckage ! The dream kitchen ? Shattered and smouldering ! The only sounds you hear in the silence that follows are the victory chants of the winners - and the cries and lamentation of the vanquished !
Man - I, for one, would be tuning into that show ! There arn't nearly enough explosions in home renovation programs.
The joy of going back to work is being able to talk to like-minded individuals. Well - sorta-minded individuals would be a better term. Anyway - when I got a chance to go and hang out at the staff room for a bit ( I've been doing a lot of catch-up stuff for the school production - auditioning for the parts of TREES for heaven's sake ... you would not BELIEVE the amount of students who expressly WANTED to be fecking TREES ! ) the conversation turned from renovation to the tv show "Mitre 10 Dream Home".
It was generally agreed that said show was a 'feel good' piece of crap - mostly for the reasons that, in the end, BOTH teams actually end up getting the house SOMEHOW. One team wins it - the other team get to borrow enough money to buy it ( at, a pretty sizable reduction it seems ).
What kind of game show it this ? If you're going to have a competition, then there must be a loser ! I'm afraid that the "Dream Home" definition of 'loser' does NOT measure up !
My group of TV consultants have a solution though. On the teams' completion of their entire projects - both houses are rigged up with enough dynamite to level a parking building. When the winner is announced - the losing house is detonated ! EXPLODO ! See their sad little faces ! No retractable ceiling mounted film screen ! Little Billy's room ? Now not so much a room, more a mass of twisted wreckage ! The dream kitchen ? Shattered and smouldering ! The only sounds you hear in the silence that follows are the victory chants of the winners - and the cries and lamentation of the vanquished !
Man - I, for one, would be tuning into that show ! There arn't nearly enough explosions in home renovation programs.
Tuesday, February 06, 2007
When Harry KILLED Sally...
This is very VERY good.
Funnily enough, it create the feeling of skin-crawling dread I get when I contemplate watching the real thing. Go figure.
Funnily enough, it create the feeling of skin-crawling dread I get when I contemplate watching the real thing. Go figure.
Monday, February 05, 2007
Easter ... in February ?
What the hell is going on here ? I'm at the supermarket - they're selling hot cross buns ! I'm at the bakery - they're selling HOT CROSS BUNS !!
When 'holiday' things get hauled out too early it spoils the whole point of having the special holiday thing ! Hot cross buns and Easter eggs get commonplace when they're being sold for almost a quarter of the year ! It's only just freaking February ! Isn't Easter in flipping April ths year ? I get really aggravatedWAAAAAAAAY before the actual date! You shouldn't be allowed to sell hot cross buns OR Easter eggs until it's a month away. Or you should get shot ! In the spleen ! With a ... rabbit!
The same thing goes for people talking about Christmas being mentioned before December! ( only in this case you should be shot FROM a cannon ... into ... the sun ! ).
Grrrr and double grrrrr !
( Mind you - those hot cross buns from Nada bakery taste pretty damn good ! )
When 'holiday' things get hauled out too early it spoils the whole point of having the special holiday thing ! Hot cross buns and Easter eggs get commonplace when they're being sold for almost a quarter of the year ! It's only just freaking February ! Isn't Easter in flipping April ths year ? I get really aggravatedWAAAAAAAAY before the actual date! You shouldn't be allowed to sell hot cross buns OR Easter eggs until it's a month away. Or you should get shot ! In the spleen ! With a ... rabbit!
The same thing goes for people talking about Christmas being mentioned before December! ( only in this case you should be shot FROM a cannon ... into ... the sun ! ).
Grrrr and double grrrrr !
( Mind you - those hot cross buns from Nada bakery taste pretty damn good ! )
Thursday, February 01, 2007
This ever happen to you ?
I awoke to a moment of gut-wrenching terror this morning - the assignment I had to have done today was late ! Even worse - I hadn't even started it ! Why had I left it till the last minute ? Why had I done NO study or prep towards it AT ALL ??? It was a maths assignment too ! I'm TERRIBLE at maths ! Panic panic panic ...
Then I stopped. "Wait a cotton picking minute here..."
I wasn't a student in any kind of way, shape or form. I didn't have an assignment to complete - and if I DID have one, no way in hell was it going to be maths.
I had dreamt the whole freaking thing. Cue a moment of sublime relief.
I HATE those cross-over dreams! I put it down to going back to school.
Then I stopped. "Wait a cotton picking minute here..."
I wasn't a student in any kind of way, shape or form. I didn't have an assignment to complete - and if I DID have one, no way in hell was it going to be maths.
I had dreamt the whole freaking thing. Cue a moment of sublime relief.
I HATE those cross-over dreams! I put it down to going back to school.
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Vague review - Snakes on a Plane
Y'know - I REALLY wanted to like this film. I really really did.
I remember being to angry and frustrated that I was too busy when it was at theatres and couldn't see in on the big screen. I think it's a good thing now - there would have been a repeat of the "Dare Devil" meltdown I suffered, putting life and limb in jeopardy in the greater Wellington region.
Why did so many of my ( seemingly ) rational and ( more so than I ) clued-up-about-films friends say it was good ? Why mama ? Why they make me cry so ?
The only thing I can put it down to is some kind of weird "Emperor's New Clothes" syndrome. The way I figure - the hype for the film made it out to be some kind of z-grade tour-de-force of hilarity, and I think a LOT of people I know invested heavily in that hype, and come hell or high water - it WAS going to be the best motherf**king film OF ALL TIME.
Only it wasn't. It was bollocks.
And no - this is not a matter of taste or perception ! It was a BAAAAAAAAAAAAD film ! Bad bad bad ! Just because it has Samuel L. Jackson is in it and he says 'motherf**ker' a couple of times DOES NOT make a film GOOD.
And NO - it is not a 'brilliantly observed parody of the genre' or even 'fun' !! It is BOLLOCKS ! Great big hairy sweaty mammoth bollocks from the planet Big-Bollocks!
Anyway - when said film revealed it's seriously shitty carapace in all it's glory - I think many of of my highly intelligent and savvy film watching pals simply ignored what they had seen and ( maybe even at a subconscious level ) told themselves that it was indeed a great film.
Dammit - it's not a film ! It's more like some kind of freaky mind-control virus !
Sigh. But in the spirit of of goodwill I hearby offer general forgiveness for all of you who told me this heinous ziggurat of bollocks was worth seeing. I can see it wasn't your fault. It was those marketing guys who made you want it so much. Those guys are such dicks.
If you haven't seen it yet - just put that DVD case BAAAAAACK on the shelf SLOOOOOWY, walk over to the other side of the shop and rent something else. You'll be doing the right thing.
2 out of 10.
I remember being to angry and frustrated that I was too busy when it was at theatres and couldn't see in on the big screen. I think it's a good thing now - there would have been a repeat of the "Dare Devil" meltdown I suffered, putting life and limb in jeopardy in the greater Wellington region.
Why did so many of my ( seemingly ) rational and ( more so than I ) clued-up-about-films friends say it was good ? Why mama ? Why they make me cry so ?
The only thing I can put it down to is some kind of weird "Emperor's New Clothes" syndrome. The way I figure - the hype for the film made it out to be some kind of z-grade tour-de-force of hilarity, and I think a LOT of people I know invested heavily in that hype, and come hell or high water - it WAS going to be the best motherf**king film OF ALL TIME.
Only it wasn't. It was bollocks.
And no - this is not a matter of taste or perception ! It was a BAAAAAAAAAAAAD film ! Bad bad bad ! Just because it has Samuel L. Jackson is in it and he says 'motherf**ker' a couple of times DOES NOT make a film GOOD.
And NO - it is not a 'brilliantly observed parody of the genre' or even 'fun' !! It is BOLLOCKS ! Great big hairy sweaty mammoth bollocks from the planet Big-Bollocks!
Anyway - when said film revealed it's seriously shitty carapace in all it's glory - I think many of of my highly intelligent and savvy film watching pals simply ignored what they had seen and ( maybe even at a subconscious level ) told themselves that it was indeed a great film.
Dammit - it's not a film ! It's more like some kind of freaky mind-control virus !
Sigh. But in the spirit of of goodwill I hearby offer general forgiveness for all of you who told me this heinous ziggurat of bollocks was worth seeing. I can see it wasn't your fault. It was those marketing guys who made you want it so much. Those guys are such dicks.
If you haven't seen it yet - just put that DVD case BAAAAAACK on the shelf SLOOOOOWY, walk over to the other side of the shop and rent something else. You'll be doing the right thing.
2 out of 10.
Sunday, January 28, 2007
The cautionary tale of the hand-towel holder
I am not the most handy of people in terms of fixing things.
I try though.
Halfway though last year the metal ringy thingy of the hand towel holder in our toilet just ... fell off the wall mounting. On closer inspection I saw that the actual screw thread was inside the wall mounted dealy - and that the ring connector had this infuriatingly square hole - meaning you couldn't just shove the ring connector back in and twist.
The wall mount would NOT come off either. It was fixed to the wall quite snugly.
"How the hell are you supposed to fix this without hacking it off the wall?" I asked myself. "There's no way! Who would make something THIS impractical ?" I mused.
For the next few months we had the hand towel on the windowsill. It would mock me, silently.
"Wow Seraph - you are REALLY useful around here. You can't get little'ole me to hang in my rightful place on the wall ..." and such.
Finally I could bear it's silent accusations no longer. I swore that by sunset that day - come hell or high water - the hand towel holder would be fixed. I'd show that freaking inanimate object a thing or two !
Looking at the wall mount more closely - I could see some sort of plastic housing around the screws holding it onto the wall. "Ah-HA! The PLASTIC is keeping this thing from coming lose ! The thread for the screw is OBVIOUSLY behind the fitting - all I need to do is cut the plastic !"
Out came the industrial craft-blade - and I attacked the plastic coating like some sort of demented axe-man.
A good half hour and two sliced fingers later ( left thumb, right index ) when I was sure I had cut though the plastic and the wall mount stayed implacably glued to the wall - I decided that drastic situations called for drastic measures. I would have to saw through the screws themselves.
I wrecked the first hacksaw trying to get it off - but the second larger one I used was more fit for the job - and a frustrating job it was, I had to precariously level the mount out as much as I could to wedge the hacksaw blade in the gap - and then use all the skills of a circus contortionist to perform the sawing motion in the enclosed space of the toilet. Many expletives were uttered with increasing fury.
But my patience was rewarded. Another half hour or so I had sliced though the screw, and the mounting fell to the tiled floor of the lav. Now the hole is the tiled wall were bunged up with screws without any kind of surface I could neatly grip onto with my pliers, and were quite securely fixed in the holes by what I could now see were expanding plastic screw housings. I tried for ten - fifteen minutes to grab and pull out the crippled crews with the feeble tools I had, but it was futile.
I trip to the hardware shop was executed - a pair of needle nose pliers, new screws and plastic expanding housings were purchased.
The new pliers worked - though is was still tricky in the enclosed space to pry them out. But out I got them.
Finally - the path to restoring the hand-towel holder was clear. All I had to do was figure out HOW to get the ring back on the mount. There was no screw-head at the back of the holder !! What was going on ? How the hell were you supposed to FIX this fecking thing ??!?
I turned the mount upside down.
There was a tiny screw there. Quite visible. It was obvious. You undid the screw - the outer housing came off the wall - you screwed the ring back on, and attached it back to the wall.
I had taken a good two and a half hours, spent $20, slashed up two of my fingers, and wrecked a perfectly good wall housing which I would have to reattach now - on a situation which should have taken me about 30 seconds to remedy.
I think you could have heard the screams of bitter rage from the south pole.
Still - I'll know what to do next time.
I try though.
Halfway though last year the metal ringy thingy of the hand towel holder in our toilet just ... fell off the wall mounting. On closer inspection I saw that the actual screw thread was inside the wall mounted dealy - and that the ring connector had this infuriatingly square hole - meaning you couldn't just shove the ring connector back in and twist.
The wall mount would NOT come off either. It was fixed to the wall quite snugly.
"How the hell are you supposed to fix this without hacking it off the wall?" I asked myself. "There's no way! Who would make something THIS impractical ?" I mused.
For the next few months we had the hand towel on the windowsill. It would mock me, silently.
"Wow Seraph - you are REALLY useful around here. You can't get little'ole me to hang in my rightful place on the wall ..." and such.
Finally I could bear it's silent accusations no longer. I swore that by sunset that day - come hell or high water - the hand towel holder would be fixed. I'd show that freaking inanimate object a thing or two !
Looking at the wall mount more closely - I could see some sort of plastic housing around the screws holding it onto the wall. "Ah-HA! The PLASTIC is keeping this thing from coming lose ! The thread for the screw is OBVIOUSLY behind the fitting - all I need to do is cut the plastic !"
Out came the industrial craft-blade - and I attacked the plastic coating like some sort of demented axe-man.
A good half hour and two sliced fingers later ( left thumb, right index ) when I was sure I had cut though the plastic and the wall mount stayed implacably glued to the wall - I decided that drastic situations called for drastic measures. I would have to saw through the screws themselves.
I wrecked the first hacksaw trying to get it off - but the second larger one I used was more fit for the job - and a frustrating job it was, I had to precariously level the mount out as much as I could to wedge the hacksaw blade in the gap - and then use all the skills of a circus contortionist to perform the sawing motion in the enclosed space of the toilet. Many expletives were uttered with increasing fury.
But my patience was rewarded. Another half hour or so I had sliced though the screw, and the mounting fell to the tiled floor of the lav. Now the hole is the tiled wall were bunged up with screws without any kind of surface I could neatly grip onto with my pliers, and were quite securely fixed in the holes by what I could now see were expanding plastic screw housings. I tried for ten - fifteen minutes to grab and pull out the crippled crews with the feeble tools I had, but it was futile.
I trip to the hardware shop was executed - a pair of needle nose pliers, new screws and plastic expanding housings were purchased.
The new pliers worked - though is was still tricky in the enclosed space to pry them out. But out I got them.
Finally - the path to restoring the hand-towel holder was clear. All I had to do was figure out HOW to get the ring back on the mount. There was no screw-head at the back of the holder !! What was going on ? How the hell were you supposed to FIX this fecking thing ??!?
I turned the mount upside down.
There was a tiny screw there. Quite visible. It was obvious. You undid the screw - the outer housing came off the wall - you screwed the ring back on, and attached it back to the wall.
I had taken a good two and a half hours, spent $20, slashed up two of my fingers, and wrecked a perfectly good wall housing which I would have to reattach now - on a situation which should have taken me about 30 seconds to remedy.
I think you could have heard the screams of bitter rage from the south pole.
Still - I'll know what to do next time.
Friday, January 26, 2007
Who is Ginger Tom?
I was round at Jenni's place on Tuesday - planning for our next RP game, a scenario based around a X-Men styled school for superheroes - only we're going to be delinquent punks and the school is going to be more like a brat-camp / last chance before the big house type deal.
As we were planning prospective charaters ( I'm going to play a guy who can turn into various other elements, but also we a touch of regeneration - the guy was trying to get high with his friends, but his regeneration kicked in and processed out the drugs instantly. The guy starts trying stronger and stronger drugs - all with the same result - before being rumbled buying / using / getting-caught-stealing-to-buy heroin ) and the topic of secondary characters came up.
We came up with this guy who calls himself "The Skink", who has fantastic plans for being a superhero - but has NO powers which are useful ( he might have a detachable tail ). A rather sad and melancholy character really - he'll have his costume, his patented 'skink-sycle' and stuff - but ultimately be rather useless.
We were thinking of a possible nemesis for The Skink, and I said something along the lines that it should be a cat ( thinking of how much Shadow likes to catch skinks, put them on the slippery tiles, and watch them try and run away ). Jenni mentioned the name "Ginger Tom". That really struck a cord with me - it was such a good name ! Not in a superhero sense perhaps, but it's a great name for a character.
I've been trying to work out who Ginger Tom could be. So far I think he might be some kind of sky-pirate in a kind of techno-magic steam-punk styled fantasy setting. I can imagine him swinging from the rigging of his corvette-blimp, a pair of flintlock pistols slung low on his belt, a weathered fencing blade at his hip. He has a strange perchant for high tea and is trying to work out why his new design for attack kites is failing so badly. His first mate is a Moor, on the run from Sorcerers in the East. I think at least one member of his crew is a robot - probably clockwork. He's the kind of guy I think I could come up with a story about !
Does the name mean anything to you ? Who do you think Ginger Tom is ?
As we were planning prospective charaters ( I'm going to play a guy who can turn into various other elements, but also we a touch of regeneration - the guy was trying to get high with his friends, but his regeneration kicked in and processed out the drugs instantly. The guy starts trying stronger and stronger drugs - all with the same result - before being rumbled buying / using / getting-caught-stealing-to-buy heroin ) and the topic of secondary characters came up.
We came up with this guy who calls himself "The Skink", who has fantastic plans for being a superhero - but has NO powers which are useful ( he might have a detachable tail ). A rather sad and melancholy character really - he'll have his costume, his patented 'skink-sycle' and stuff - but ultimately be rather useless.
We were thinking of a possible nemesis for The Skink, and I said something along the lines that it should be a cat ( thinking of how much Shadow likes to catch skinks, put them on the slippery tiles, and watch them try and run away ). Jenni mentioned the name "Ginger Tom". That really struck a cord with me - it was such a good name ! Not in a superhero sense perhaps, but it's a great name for a character.
I've been trying to work out who Ginger Tom could be. So far I think he might be some kind of sky-pirate in a kind of techno-magic steam-punk styled fantasy setting. I can imagine him swinging from the rigging of his corvette-blimp, a pair of flintlock pistols slung low on his belt, a weathered fencing blade at his hip. He has a strange perchant for high tea and is trying to work out why his new design for attack kites is failing so badly. His first mate is a Moor, on the run from Sorcerers in the East. I think at least one member of his crew is a robot - probably clockwork. He's the kind of guy I think I could come up with a story about !
Does the name mean anything to you ? Who do you think Ginger Tom is ?
Thursday, January 25, 2007
The Northland Holiday Top Ten !
Back home again ! It’s always nice to go away – but I think I’m very much a home body. It’s always really nice to come home and be in my own space again. I missed the cat ! Kudos to Hix – who yet again helped us out big time by watching the place and taking care of Shadow.
Here’s Seraph’s Top Ten of our holiday ‘up North’ :
10. Cape Reianga
I guess it was about time that I got here. It seems to be some sort of semi-NZ-rite-of-passage to have been here at least once. And once is ALL it’s going to be too. I wish I could say that I had some massive kind of spiritual experience here ( I wanted to ! ) – but no. The land ran out … and there was a lighthouse. It was interesting to learn that the lighthouse is controlled by a computer system in Wellington. Weird – you think it would be somewhere closer, wouldn’t you ?
9. Uninterrupted reading
It was nice to kick back and read for a good long while – and we had one rainy days where that was ALL we could do really. My one word review of what I got though :
“The Damnnation Game” – Clive Barker - BLEARGH !
“Raven’s Gate” - Anthony Horowitz - **shiver!**
Tom Strong book 4 – Alan Moore - Awesome !
Girl Genius book 4 – Phil Foglio - Hmmmm.
“Shadow of the Hedgemon” O S Card - Cool.
8. Body surfing
7. White water rafting
6. “The Excitor” boat ride
The sea bound version of a roller coaster. A stupidly powerful jet powered thing, which went VERY fast indeed. My face hurt from grinning so much afterwards.
- Buffet BBQ
OMG. This was a meal we had at a hotel on the way back. So much BBQ … **slaver**…
It wasn’t good for me losing weight … but screw it, it was fan-freaking-tastic !
- Bacon !
I think I ate more bacon for breakfast in the ten days of my holiday that I had eaten in the previous ten months. I’m pretty sure I could eat my own body weight in bacon if I gave it a good enough try.
- Diving board action !
We went for a swim at the local high school pool while we were in Kerikeri. They had a diving pool ! Cue Seraph spending a good hour launching himself merrily from them, making it to various levels of the stratosphere ! I wasn’t game for the REALLY big one though ( it must have been 10 meters or so ). My sense of self preservation wasn’t THAT dulled !
- Sand surfing !
Near Cape R. there are these truly behemoth sized sand dunes – and you can surf down them on boogie-boards. Totally insane. I managed to go down the REALLY big dunes three times – it was flipping SERIOUSLY hard work getting up them ! Viva almost made herself sick getting up the first time ! Yeesh !
Well worth the effort though.
- Seeing Nine.
So there you go ! There were loads of other good things – but they were to top ten as they came to me. Obviously just spending time with Viva was the real joy of going on holiday … but I AM glad to be home. ;)
Monday, January 15, 2007
On the road
The roadtrip, so far, goes well.
Right now I'm in an internet cafe in Kerikeri, Northland. It's quite nice here - though it wasn't so nice when we freaking arrived - talk about rain ! Biblical deluge, more like ! Sigh. Still - got to do som ereading, which was nice ( though I wouldn't bother with Clive Barker's "The Damnation Game" if I were you - it's fairly pants ).
Roturua was fun. Viva and I went zorbing ( big plastic balls you go inside and roll down a hill ) - which WAS fun - but pretty expensive for the actual time you get to roll inside the ball. We also went white-water rafting - which was pretty cool, even though we did flip our raft on a seven meter waterfall. That was more fun than it sounds - though I was moderately concerned for my life for a few moments.
Yesterday, seeing as the sun was out for a change, we went for a 'swim-with-the-dolphins" tour - though they couldn't find any dolphins. Stupid dolphins ... think they're so cool ...
We also went to Russel - the first capital of NZ ( for all of about 5 minutes or so ) which was a nice place. Went for a swim on the beach - amazed ( again ) at how white most of me is ( I almost freaking glow ! ) and how much grit you can work into just about every part of your body when you body surf.
Today - the EXCITOR boat ride though the 'hole in the rock' ( I'm assuming it's some sort of hole in a rock ... but I've been wrong before ) and maybe checking out Waitangi ( which would be pretty neat ). Later in the week - the top of the county baby !
Better be going - I think my time on this thing is running out ...
More when I next make it to a computer with internet access !
Right now I'm in an internet cafe in Kerikeri, Northland. It's quite nice here - though it wasn't so nice when we freaking arrived - talk about rain ! Biblical deluge, more like ! Sigh. Still - got to do som ereading, which was nice ( though I wouldn't bother with Clive Barker's "The Damnation Game" if I were you - it's fairly pants ).
Roturua was fun. Viva and I went zorbing ( big plastic balls you go inside and roll down a hill ) - which WAS fun - but pretty expensive for the actual time you get to roll inside the ball. We also went white-water rafting - which was pretty cool, even though we did flip our raft on a seven meter waterfall. That was more fun than it sounds - though I was moderately concerned for my life for a few moments.
Yesterday, seeing as the sun was out for a change, we went for a 'swim-with-the-dolphins" tour - though they couldn't find any dolphins. Stupid dolphins ... think they're so cool ...
We also went to Russel - the first capital of NZ ( for all of about 5 minutes or so ) which was a nice place. Went for a swim on the beach - amazed ( again ) at how white most of me is ( I almost freaking glow ! ) and how much grit you can work into just about every part of your body when you body surf.
Today - the EXCITOR boat ride though the 'hole in the rock' ( I'm assuming it's some sort of hole in a rock ... but I've been wrong before ) and maybe checking out Waitangi ( which would be pretty neat ). Later in the week - the top of the county baby !
Better be going - I think my time on this thing is running out ...
More when I next make it to a computer with internet access !
Thursday, January 04, 2007
Vague review – various things
Well – a happy new year to you ! What’s that …? Oh – the rather extended time since I updated last. Yes – quite. You know how things get over the xmas break though don’t you ? I mean – it’s not TOTALLY because I’ve just been slobbing around the house !
Here are some reviews of things :
Christmas
Very nice thank you ! BBQ at my parents place on xmas eve, hanging out with my folks and seeing my sister for a time ( even though she got cross at me for nearly wrecking her DVD project because I was trying to check my e-mails – sheesh ! Selfish or what ? :-) ). Xmas lunch with Viva’s clan. Much enjoyment. Loses marks for some lousy weather – but otherwise top notch.
A-
Boxing Day
Not quite the festive games day I had planned. Important lesson learned ( again ) – give people notification WELL in ADVANCE. Still – my good buddy and best man Conrad was there as he is visiting from England. Yay ! Bumps up the score considerably.
B+
New Years Eve
Very nice ! Amazingly enough ! My ‘sedate gathering’ was fun ! A few people turned up even ! ( In ADVANCE Seraph ! ADVANCE !!! ). Learned how to make a few cocktails pretty well – the arcane lore or mixing Pina Colada, Sea-breeze and Mohito and now in my grasp ( if not the arcane lore of how to correctly spell them … ). Got nicely drunk – wasn’t sick or anything. Yay !
A
Holidays
They freaking rule !
A+
Wellington weather
WTF ???? I thought winter finished months ago ? How the hell can it still be getting SO cold ? We had to have the wood fire going no less than three times in the last week. It’s insane ! Thankfully today was nice !
D-
‘Fragile Things’ by Neil Gaiman
His new collection of short stories. As with all collections like this it’s a bit hit and miss. There are some fecking GREAT stories in there, some which are a bit more “Huh???”, if you know what I mean. Overall though – the good stuff is pretty damn good and is well worth a read.
Pesronal fav’s ; “Sunbird”, “Harlequin Valentine”, “Monarch of the Glen”, and, the best of the best – “ A Study in Emerald”, a story which crosses Sherlock Holmes with the mythos of H.P. Lovecraft. I kid you not – it’s freaking amazing.
B+
Eragon – the movie.
In a word – DON’T !
I was REALLY looking forward to this film because I liked the book so much. Man – did they screw it up. The CGI of the dragon is pretty neat, and Jeremy Irons is good, but man-oh-man, the dialogue is TERRIBLE ! Some lines near the end had me almost screaming with the gut-wrenching clichéd horror of it all.
Avoid. Read the book instead. It’s much better. Trust me.
D-
The Prestige - the movie
Not bad. Not quite the movie I was expecting. Had some pretty horrible stuff in it … and while there were some interesting twists and turns in it – they were kinda predictable. Kinda.
Still – I enjoyed it.
B-
Susan Enan - Bring on the Wonder
I heard this song on an ad for the tv show "Bones". You don't hear a lot of it - but I was hooked right then and there. It's a magical piece of music and song. If you like vaguely angsty, melodic female vocal stylings like those of, say, Tori Amos - you should like this one. A big up to the internet too - it's amazing how much you can find out with only one line of the lyrics !
A
Right - enough of the public service from me ! I'm off to enjoy a beer in the sunshine ! Woo-hoo !
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