Tuesday 31 December 2013

On 2013...

I keep putting this off. I suppose it's because everyone seems to be doing it and I'm not entirely sure I want to do a "me too!" post, or that there is still less then a dozen collectable items still scattered around Saints Row IV that is distracting me from everything else I should be doing at this particular moment in time. I might be because despite my best intentions, writing lately just hasn't... well.. happened. I can't call it a writer's block, as you can tell I usually just bullshit my way through such a thing, and it's not a lack of inspiration as I've got at least a few things I want to write. For the first time in several months I have no real things on my to-do list, or at least those that aren't firmly on the to-do-next-year list, but I think it's because I just want to unwind for a while and have spent the majority of the last week blasting through Saints Row the Third and Saints Row IV (both have been on "must play" list waiting for the Steam Sales).

Anyway, 2013... Well it didn't entirely suck, although it had potential to do so. It didn't entirely rock, despite some of the best times I've had in forever. It had some pretty high points, especially those involving costuming, PAC, my new podcast (which I'm hoping to make grow in the new year), and I won't bog it down with the low points, most of which are incredibly personal, although my Grandad's death hit me pretty damn hard... which actually was directly responsible for making this blog.

It's weird, the more I write the more I don't want to dwell in the past year; which kinda defeats the purpose of this entry in many ways. I want to talk about all the cool stuff that happened, all the stuff that's been happening with PAC, but most of the important stuff has been covered here already. There is also a lot of stuff I wish I could talk about, but it's either depressing or still too personal. I know I'm rehashing the previous paragraph, but it's really confusing (and you should be used to this by now if you're a reader).

Let's just say, I've had some great times this year, I met some awesome people, I reconnected with old friends, and somehow lost one along the way, I've gone above and beyond my main goal for the year, and I think I've become an optimistic person all because of it.

My only hope for next year is that there is less of the Drama, that I can live without for one year.

Sunday 15 December 2013

Secret Santa

It’s been a while since I’ve written a blog post and it’s been mostly due to being so incredibly busy these last few months. Between looking for work, working on costumes, organising events, and subsequently attending them, AND trying to record, edit, and release a weekly podcast, writing as been the furthest thing on my mind, despite having one blog post I’ve been itching to write now for over a month (and have had a draft buried in the blog somewhere waiting for me to work on). Added to the fact that just two weeks ago I unexpectedly started a new job that I thought I’d missed out on, all whilst organising Perth’s Allied Costumers members for this year’s Channel 7 Christmas Pageant, time to do such stuff has been in short supply.

Needless to say I haven’t really announced my job really is, not for fear of people visiting but because I haven’t really had time to beyond a few small posts. The job is only a Christmas casual position, as will become obvious, and I’ve only got one week left so it doesn’t really matter either way. So now that that’s been built up it’s time to tell you all what I’ve been doing... I’ve been working as a Santa Photographer, and I must say this is the first job I’ve absolutely loved doing. Now I’m not going to mention specifics, that’s mostly due to privacy but also because I know what companies are like, and even though this job is short I want to keep it and preferably come back again next year!

That being said there is no scandalous tales, no gossip about the real workings going on in a Santa grotto, none of that utter tripe that some people fluff up to try and sell books or make the papers, none of that at all... well if there is I’m certainly not involved. What I do know is that I’m working with some amazingly awesome people (and occasionally downright hilarious), elves, Santa(s) and photographers alike, and I’ve learned a lot from sheer osmosis about my side of the lens than ever before. I find as I write this I’m uncertain just how much I can talk about on a public forum such as this, as such my idea behind the blog post as changed direction (if you didn’t notice disregard this statement).

One thing I have learned to do in this job is to just have fun. Kinda simple really when you think about it, however I’m betting most people don’t have a chance to do have fun at work especially with the pressure someone in my position is under. Before I get to the fun I’d better explain a couple of things first.
  • First of all, the photographer is almost always under pressure to get a couple of good shots of the kids with Santa, and they have to get them quick... this can be a bit exhausting when there is a long ass line with kids and parents who have potentially waiting over an hour to see Santa.
  • To further complicate these matters, sometimes the kids don’t want to co-operate. This typically can be because they either are incredibly tired or incredibly shy, or in some cases incredibly shit scared of Santa. There are usually ways of bringing the kids onto our side, talking to Santa, patting Rudolph, playing around with various toys, bells, etc, but they sometimes can get worse by...
  • Overbearing Parents! I have no real problems with the kids, well the young ones at the least... the older ones can be fucking brats at times, but not that often as you would imagine. No the problems sometimes are the parents who think the best way to deal with a child who is scared shitless of Santa is to drag them across the room and force their screaming spawn onto his knee... then expect me to take a good photo. There is been a couple of times we’ve got “passable” photos this way, but mostly the only times we get good ones are when the parents are with them if they are scared, which happens more times then you’ve think. Again it’s also rare to have some parents you just want to punch in the face, but alas you just have to smile and try to do good work.
And yet despite all this (and admittedly in spite of in some cases) I genuinely have a lot of fun and have some great laughs on this job, even when I’m stuck in the dead end part of it occasionally. I’ll admit part of it is keeping a happy smile on my face to deal with the customers, but there are times when I’m trying not to burst my gut with laughter whilst with some of the families. And a lot of it has to do with keeping up with my room’s Santa and Elve. Namely if they are being fun and happy with the kids, I’ve got to do my best to match them... which thankfully is easy with a lot of people I’ve had the pleasure of working with. Sometimes when it’s quiet and there is no kids we just shoot the shit and talk about all sort of stuff, sometimes we keep ever other amused by telling jokes and stories and generally have a good time, either way it makes for a great working atmosphere which I’m hoping lends to a better experience with the families that come in.

I find I’m developing a banter with the Santas when we take the photos which helps us all out, especially as we keep coming up with new (well to the families) and, sometimes, funny things to say instead of “Cheese!” My personal favourite came from today, which was “Cheeky Monkeys!” This was especially pleasing as it got a smile and look from a grouchy kid who was trying to burrow into his Dad’s t-shirt. We also take a “magic” photo where a reindeer might “magically” appear to be under a kids hands, especially when the photographer turns the screen away and quickly “magic” them in whilst Santa is asking about their wish lists. I’ve also developed a banter with the Elves about the “reindeer running loose in the halls” when we have to delay families from potentially running into other families on the way out, nothing like reinforcing the lie magic of the situation.

Anyway I think it’s time for me to get a little R&R before a long day tomorrow, and what looks to be an incredibly busy week to come. Merry Christmas!

Wednesday 27 November 2013

The Word With a Nerd Podcast – Episode Eight – Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles – Part One

Download here!

This episode that almost wasn't. Even though I recorded this episode about a day after the last one, my schedule has been so busy that it almost wasn't edited together for today (let alone other emergencies that got in the way).

Nothing much else to say except there were a couple of errors in both our recollections (official Word With a Nerd No Prizes to those that can find them) but nothing so egregious to discredit what we were talking about.

Wednesday 20 November 2013

The Word With a Nerd Podcast – Videsode One – Spider-Man Jigsaw

Check it out on YouTube!

As something a little bit different, and because life is becoming increasingly busy over the last few months, instead of releasing an episode I decided to make a fun little video. Partly because it breaks the monotony, partly because I haven't edited the next episode (which has been recorded for a couple of weeks), but mostly because it was an idea that refused to shift out of my skull until such time as this was completed.

It was... interesting going back to doing a Jigsaw when it's been very nearly two decades since I last done one, and longer still since I done this particular jigsaw. It's one of those amazing things when old habits that haven't been touched sometimes come back at you like no time had passed, and that's pretty much what happened here.

With any jigsaw puzzle I would always start with the border, but with this particular one I would immediately follow it up with making Spidey first... starting with the eyes. I think I went with that path again as I knew it would be the most instantly recognisable feature for the jigsaw and as a film-maker it would have the visual appeal that would keep the viewer interested from the get go.

I was an interesting nostalgia trip, and I'm hoping it won't be another two decades before I do it again!

Wednesday 13 November 2013

The Word With a Nerd Podcast – Episode Seven – Board Games - Part Two

Download here!

The post that almost wasn't. Been having some computer issues (mostly computer crashing on my for no apparent reason) and time issues (people taking up precious editing time) and procrastination ... which is my fault.

This episode was a chore to edit, not because the content was bad or it needed a lot of work to get done, but I just couldn't get in the mood to edit anything at all. Still feeling a little tired after October and it's starting to hit home with a lot of stuff I want to get done and just not. As such I didn't give this episode the fine toothed combing I normally would do, but I still think there is some great conversation happening in this one (as such it's over an hour, there was very little I didn't want to take out, even when I thought I would).

Anyway, it's nearing close to the upload time and I still have a few things to get done, however I have already recorded the next guest, so there is little pressure there, but I'm hopefully working on something else as a little gap filler if time gets away from me again!

Wednesday 6 November 2013

The Word With a Nerd Podcast – Episode Six – Board Games - Part One

Download here!

So after a completely unintentional break due to severe busyness.. yes that is now a medical term... I managed to quickly setup a recording session with my first co-host Eric Spain. I was planning on talking to Eric again, just not exactly so soon, but all of the guests I have lined up have either been unavailable or way too busy to record (story of my life).

I'm hoping now that the ridiculously busy October is out of the way and I'm not making numerous costumes, going to numerous costume events, and other time crippling events with the term 'numerous' can be attached I can bank up some more episodes, and possibly even write more on this blog... especially as I've finally completed my main goal for this year and I can't wait to write about it (hint: it's something to do with costuming).

Anyway I've still got plenty to do at this time so please Share and Enjoy.

Wednesday 23 October 2013

The Word With a Nerd Podcast – Episode Five is Live!

Download Here!

Gonna make this a short one because I completely forgot to make a blog post here about the upcoming episode (even though I did it all yesterday on the other blog page.. DOH!)

Not much else to say except that I really had to work on amplifying some of this, particularly my voice as there was a few times I leaned away from the microphone and I was just far enough away to be barely picked up at times... especially when my brain stopped working as the sentence progressed.

There is also some, umm.. noises that might sound a little weird, and one completely uncutoutable dubious noise when I was discussing Wonder Woman cosplayers... naturally it wasn't me producing the dubious noise and I guess those that read this are probably going to pick up on it more then others... but that's the fun of reading this blog I suppose, all the juicy behind the scenes tidbits.

Thanks again to Tammy, she was completely awesome despite her initial reluctance and discomfort about being recorded (don't worry I didn't pressure her into it, but I knew she had an interesting perspective on these issues).

Wednesday 16 October 2013

The Word With a Nerd Podcast – Episode Four is Live!

Get the episode here...

Just in case you choose to ignore the warning on the page, whilst I don't want to say it's an offensive episode but there is a somewhat deliberate usage of a word I personally have distaste for and don't use it at all in all but a very few select circumstances ... like how I used it in this episode.

I think I go into it more in the next episode but I'm a huge anti-censorship advocate, and I believe that ultimately nothing should be censored, especially speech. I also believe strongly in self-censorship,  no this isn't hypocrisy, in that I think the individual is perfectly entitled to refuse to watch something or say something that doesn't agree with their own sets of morals... I just more strongly believe that that person should never force others to abide by such strictures. And before someone takes me to task on this by implying that this means that laws against things physical violence, murder, rape, etc shouldn't exist, they are full of shit and should remove themselves if they believe that is the case (see the argument "If God doesn't exist, what's the stop me from raping and killing however I want?")

That being said I think this and next weeks episodes I'd highly encourage everyone to listen to if they are interested in the topics discussed as they are somewhat significant and we do try and create a good dialogue about it.

Thursday 10 October 2013

The Word With a Nerd Podcast - Episode Three

Get the episode here...

Unfortunately I was unable to secure any guests for this week, not for the want of trying... some of the people I contact weren't available, some the scheduling just didn't pan out, and the one I tried to record didn't happen because both of us were too exhausted from working on props all day.

It's also a day late because I recorded it yesterday afternoon and didn't really have time to edit it before the 6pm deadline. Not really much else to say about this so please Share and Enjoy.

Wednesday 2 October 2013

The Work With a Nerd Podcast - Episode Two

Go here to download the episode

I split what was essentially a 1 hour and 45 minute conversation into two episodes; one being roughly 30 minutes, the other being roughly 55 (including, intros, outros, etc). I essentially had to split it in such as way that there wasn't a huge break midway through the conversation, and the later chuck seemed impossible to do as the conversation went along it kept within the same themes/topics. I didn't want to have a 90 minute podcast, at least not initially, so I found a natural breaking point early on so it's plausible to combine the two episodes with no break in flow.

One great thing about talking with Eric is that we both have a genuine love of games and gaming, so it's never essentially about one particular game, but the genre in and of itself. As such it's always easy to talk to him about such stuff and he'll definitely be returning one day, especially as our availabilities can be flexible enough to do these things. However I don't wish people to think this is a gaming podcast, especially as there is by last count over a billion of them out there, but to ignore what is unarguably a essential part of geek/pop culture would be a folly. I'll probably record a couple more sessions with Eric in the near future and if I'm ever stuck for an episode I can throw one up, as I'm hoping to bank up more and more episodes in the future.

I'm hoping to get more guests in the meantime, and I do have a couple already lined up, so hopefully by the time you've read this I've not only recorded the next episode but maybe even ready to be published as well (I'm even making this post in advance obviously). All I can ask is Share and Enjoy.

Wednesday 25 September 2013

The Word With a Nerd Podcast - Episode One is Live

Go here to download the episode.

So it's finally happened, I've started my very own podcast... and yeah I'm nervous as all hell. I love what Eric and I was talking about, but again that's all subjective I suppose. I'm funnelling everything WWaN (yeah that's my thing for it) through my old Fanboy Crossing website, mostly because I do want it to become a home for a lot of the work I do and it's a brand I want to cultivate.

So why not here??? Well I want to keep this as a personal blog, free (technically) from having to be somewhat professional like on the other page... that being said I've got some old posts on there I really should delete are some point but I suppose it fills up the page. Hopefully within the next few months I'll throw up some older projects onto it, especially some of my photography work, and get it some exposure.

I'm also hoping that parlay any popularity from this into future projects, especially the documentary I've been gradually researching and working on for the last eighteen months. Anyway, I'm concentrating on making this entertaining and interesting so we'll see how we go!

EDIT: was a little late due to problem with scheduling .. fixed now!

Sunday 22 September 2013

Recast Aways

So my friend Jon has recently found our that his friend who he thought was a honest prop maker has just been called out on the RPF and other places for the heinous crime of 'recasting'. For those that aren't in the know, and lets face it probably don't care, 'recasting' in when someone buys an item, makes a mold from it (usually out of silicone) and makes several copies which they sell quite cheaply (and usually out of cheaper materials).

This typically infuriates the prop building communities because prop builders who usually sell their items try to recuperate the costs associated with building the prop to begin with (materials, time, etc) and usually using not so cheap materials to maintain quality control. The notion is of course that recasters don't have to invest heavily on the onset so even the minute charge they do sell is more profit then the original builder. Whilst there is some truth to that statement, there is some dodginess to some of the numbers but as you'll soon see there is a lot of moral and legal grey areas to deal with.

If you really want the TL:DR version go look for 'still untitled adam savage recasting' on YouTube... no I'm giving you the fucking link, especially if you're going to be lazy and not read any more on from here.

If you're still here, let me just say I do not endorse nor justify the recasters, especially as I know I'd go batshit insane if it happened to me, but a lesser talked about issue that may arise is problems with the original prop builds themselves. Now you can probably throw a stone at the RPF and GBfans and hit some thread about how evil and demonic the recasters are, and after you've retrieved your stone I think you'll be hard pressed to hit anything about things on the other side of the fence. No not the recasters side, they are pure evil remember, but the consumers side. Well probably not the consumers over in the states, they actually get their props unlike some of us... which is where I'm thinking I want to take this line of thought... If recasters are so bad, why do we buy from them???

I'd like to state for the record that I've been bit by "legitimate" prop builders before, several times in fact, and a trend does seem to present itself. There are some, not all (again, all absolutes are wrong), who whilst may be legitimised builders within a community have a problem with their products, and sometimes when that buyer is from out of the country there has been tendencies to ignore them because they are unable to drive over and punch their fucking teeth in... no I'm not bitter at the amount of times I've paid for an item from a seller in good standing and never been put on a waiting list to see a dozen names after me who then get their products first and when confronted go "oh jeez I'm sorry I didn't see you there but I'm sure happy to accept your money shucks and still not send you that item"... NOT. BITTER. AT. ALL.

Another little bit of bullshit about sellers is that they have a tendency to overprice their items. Sure I can get you want to get back some of your 'investment', except that you sometimes charge from some of the most ethereal things, like researching. Why is this imho bullshit? These things start off as a hobby right? you want an item and you research the hell out of it right? We all do (well most of us) but to turn around and put a number on after the fact is a little out of line I think. Why do I think that? Because I know what's it like to be obsessive about something, and you don't do it thinking about the bottom line, if you did you wouldn't be putting in THAT much effort into it if you're doing it for money. Don't get me wrong, there are those that claim they are doing it for the greater good of the community... well that's bullshit too as there are those that keep all those tiny little details to themselves so they can charge what they want for their 'accurate' item.

All this being said, I've been in manufacturing and yes the first production line is the most costly, but as you as you recoup your cost you can decrease the item price and get in more costumers (do you honestly believe people would have still bought the PS3 if it stayed at $1000 all it's lifespan?). There are sellers that are only numerous generations of molds down the line and they are still overcharging for some of their product... or they pull the other dick move and do one off "limited runs". Now I get that you don't want to do it all the time, and I can't say I blame you, but when you only offer to make an item, one time for an extremely limited run, you can't say you're surprised when someone undercuts you in this regard. I'll explain to you why in the next paragraph.

Well then you must buy from recasters I here you think? and if you believe that I'm going to win Randi's Million. No I still don't try to buy from recasters, but I have done... and here is the dirty little secret why, recasters are always available to buy stock from and at an affordable price. My example is this; a couple of years ago I wanted to buy a shell to rebuild my Ghostbusters Proton Pack as my foam core one was just deteriorating and I didn't think it would survive another convention. I spent a good couple of months on GBfans trying to get a shell (my first attempt the previous year was one of those aforementioned "legitimate" sellers) and I was either getting the "limited run" problem or the "I can't send it to you because it's going to cost $700 in shipping because I apparently won't consider the much cheaper option option".

So I was looking at either nearly ONE AND HALF THOUSAND DOLLARS for a piece of fucking fibreglass, or.. well there was no "or" because the other sellers weren't selling or the guy that attempted to rip me off (or yes, he was still selling without any problem despite the outrage... if only I lived next door, they got their parts real quick). I finally resorted to ebay because it was honestly the only option short of making the pack from scratch (which I really didn't have time, tools or patience to try). I saw someone selling a shell on ebay for $300(I think) and $40 postage, a bit of a far cry from the $700 I couldn't possibly get it any cheaper... and I admit I did look at the blacklist on GBfans and couldn't find it (I find him eventually after the fact) so I bought the fucking thing... and in all honesty, I regret it and don't regret it almost equal parts.

This thing was fucking warped, it need A LOT of work done to it, it was bulk and possibly heavier because it was resin not fibreglass, so many issues with painting (mostly because I was an idiot and didn't clean it properly)... however it was easy to drill, it's stood up to some abuse and ultimately it's been my main Proton Pack now for 3 years and I don't see myself replacing it anytime soon.

To quote Norm Chan in the mentioned podcast, and if you made it this far here's a cookie, "I just want an Iron Man helmet". That unfortunately is the problem the prop makers must find the solution to, because it's ultimately supply and demand.... if you can't meet the demand and someone else can then you're going to loose. I say this as a prop builder myself, and it has been nearly a year since I touched a kit, everything I do now is pretty much hand build, but I also don't want to start selling casts of what I do either. That being said I'd like the think that if I get into this business then the stuff I would be selling would be at a fair price and available often enough to keep the interest, and I don't think I could do it in good conscious if neither of those two criteria were available.

Tuesday 17 September 2013

Second Thoughts...

I found myself writing too damn much on facebook lately about things I've been passionate about, and I feel myself hitting those boundaries of hypocrisy that I don't like, especially as I've been pretty exhausted a lot lately and I know my mind is getting really hazy. To that point I've found myself with the other problem that I just don't find myself able to write, or at least I'll write up a massive diatribe of something then delete it five seconds later.

I think the problem stems that lately I feel like I'm the only one listening to my voice, and it disheartens me. I post something up on Facebook and I get a couple of 'likes' but no feedback, my latest Book Was Better episode got as close to no feedback or discussion to seem relevant and most of it was about how excited the upcoming one was. I've been busting my ass on trying to make an interesting podcast and talk with some truly awesome people, but I feel stymied by the overwhelming feeling that nobody will listen to it regardless of how much I push it... which is ultimately incredibly disheartening as I want it to be a stepping stone to my documentary. I don't even want to publish this entry itself as I hate feeling so damn self pitying... but it is a concern.

Being once again kicked in the balls by a viral infection doesn't help matters, and my energy feels so incredibly low at the moment that any enthusiasm just seems to escape me. Hell I tried to load up a game on Steam yesterday and I just didn't want to play any of the hundred or so bloody things, not even some of my favourites. So I'm stuck in a rut playing Minecraft listening to podcasts, just repeating the same old pattern and I'm just not feeling the inspiration flowing like it was a couple of weeks ago... true a lot of that inspiration got beaten out of my from sheer exhaustion over the last week or so, but I hate being in this mindset.

TL:DR ... oh fuck it.

Monday 9 September 2013

Recurring Themes

So here I sit, same as ever, try to work on several different damn things at once (and occasionally be distracted by Minecraft when I need to switch off for a while) and yet I see a recurring theme these last few days.

It is indeed possible that because I’ve been very focused on trying to get my podcast up and running, especially as I will hopefully lead to my documentary, that a lot of the issue surrounding sexism and fandom have been at the forefront of my brain. This has been exasperated somewhat by discussions around a few very recent events that have also brought this issue back to the public conscience. I find myself almost unknowingly type in length about these and other issues, particularly those I’ve researched, more and more and more of late than ever before.

Perhaps it’s the fact I’m just getting back into the routine of writing more productively. Perhaps it’s the fact that I’m finally working on a project so dear to me that it is barely out of my thoughts for most of the last 18 months. Perhaps I should be writing more on my short story and not dicking around my blog or spending hours trying to make my podcast proposal just right. Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps...

Wow, that would have been a good way to finish this blog, but I think readers will acknowledge that is completely out of character for me. Unfortunately I feel like I have this overwhelming urge to type, but I don’t appear to have the focus that drives me to do some of the things I feel I should do. I’m hoping that with this podcast that some opportunities that have eluded me which suddenly become available for the first time, including a readership on this that will exceed the amount of digits on my feet and toes.

 

Sunday 8 September 2013

Kill Your Coalition.

Well not in that sense, at least not yet, but it's been sometime for a while which has personally buggered the ever loving crap out of me and I think it ruins a lot of the democracy within this country. The idea that a major political party is allowed to combine with several minor parties in a deliberate bid to bolster their seats to mean undermines the entire process. If someone wants to vote for a particular party, I'm fine with that, even if some of the reasons for doing so I don't personally agree with (e.g. family preferences, how pretty the candidate is, etc.), however the notion that you voting for a party adds to a different parties tally seems weasely and undemocratic... and I'm aware that I'm probably the minority in this regard.

That being said, we are to believe that the Liberal Party won the Election, more or less. We know there is a coalition, although you rarely hear or see it referred to as such nowadays, and one was probably assume that the other parties don't really do much to account for their success... well you would be wrong. Now of course there are also those that say "Well no shit, the Libs couldn't get elected without all those taggers on!" and you would probably be right again, except that there is a history of the Coalition being defeated several times (including the first time is was officially formed I believe). However in the sake of interest and curiosity lets see just how the numbers would have effected the outcome if the Coalition didn't exist.

We are led to believe that the Liberals beat Labor 86-57, as indeed the Coalition did... but there is an interesting peculiarity in those statistics that I would love to point out. I'm looking at the Virtual Tally Room on the Australian Electoral Commision website (vtr.aec.gov.au), which tells you who won what seat where per state. Lets break these numbers down

ALP
  • NSW = 19
  • VIC = 19
  • QLD = 7
  • WA = 3
  • SA = 5
  • TAS = 1
  • ACT = 2
  • NT =
  • TOTAL = 57
LIB/NAT
  • NSW = 29
  • VIC = 15
  • QLD = 20
  • WA = 12
  • SA = 6
  • TAS = 3
  • ACT = 0
  • NT = 1
  • TOTAL = 86
Pretty much a forgone conclusion wouldn't you think? HOWEVER they also list the separate parties tallies, so this is what happens when you look at Liberal alone.

LIB
  • NSW = 22 (Slightly less then before, but still strong)
  • VIC = 14 (Again, only one less, still very strong)
  • QLD = 0 (Yes, that is a zero, I haven't left a digit off the front)
  • WA = 12 (Yeah, I live in a Liberal state... doesn't feel very liberal)
  • SA = 6 (Equal, same as WA)
  • TAS - 3 (Equal again)
  • ACT = 0 (No change)
  • NT = 0 (okay, only slightly less again but statistically unimportant)
  • TOTAL = 57
Wait, what? That's exactly the same number of seats as the ALP?!? Well it turns out the "Liberal National Party" contributed all 20 seats from QLD and the Nationals Party (the one that joined the Libs to form the Coalition) only scored a total of 8. Keep in mind that to win either side needed 76 seats, although it can be argued that without the Nationals help then they wouldn't have one the election (also please note that 1 seat in the Coalition went to the "Country Liberals (NT)" Party for that are keep a tally).

Now I'm not entirely privy to the politics in the other states (particularly QLD), so I don't know how much of the other side knows who exactly they are voting for when it comes to voting for the other parties that aren't Liberal. It just all seems quite disingenuous, and believe me I'd have the same opinions if it were on the other side as well. The idea that the voting public voting for one party to have it being tallied to another just doesn't seem right, it seems that our morals are being manipulated for someone else's desires.

If the National party wanted to join in with the Liberal party, that's fine I suppose but then it should be one entity, not one version here and another version there, and you do hear people go "I don't like the Liberals, I'm voting National!" and you want to facepalm so badly but you fear you'll crack your skull.

Saturday 7 September 2013

On Voting Today...

So yeah, I just came back from voting and I'm still mixed in my thoughts in this. Whilst I must say as much as it's probably still bothersome, I prefer the old paper and ballet box method of voting as opposed to touch screen alternatives... I've read enough of those shenanigans over in the US, and whilst I love technology this just seems to be too open to corruption or exploitation. That being said it's also a society that find itself incapable from punching a hole in a card, so I'm guessing voting "1" might be a little extreme, let alone the rest of the numbers... I imagine it would go something like, "Whut do you mean we 'ave to count to '7'? I don't 'ave dat there many fingers on ma hand!" before running off to make out with their cousin in a barn. I apologise to my American readers, I love your country but Jeebus some of your education standards need to be raised (and not in a "No child left behind" manner either).

So anyway I think I voted in good conscious, which doesn't say much as I ultimately didn't have much choice in the matter as most of the parties  I would have liked to have voted for weren't on my ballot. The thing that really got me annoyed was that we hold all our polling events at public schools, and obviously they allow the various political parties to post their campaign posters to be visible to the voters as they walk in (to then be confronted by the pamphlet wavers which do bug me). However this wasn't the annoying part, although somewhat tedious it's something we probably have to endure as its a way of the parties getting themselves exposure (as opposed to the months of constant media noise, numerous print and TV adverts, and Rupert Morduck constantly telling us who we have to vote for), however today just made me a tad angry.

As I approached the school, I noticed that all along the wired fencing was campaign posters for one of the major parties we shall call A (those on my twitter and facebook know which one, but for this point I'm keeping the party obscured), with little to no sign or mention of the other major party we shall call B. Now I can be fairly certain that the district I'm in is probably one of those annoying ones were the candidate is in a 'safe' seat, and that my vote ultimately has no sway in any regard to this, and this is quite possibly why these posters are heavy handed. I must admit ignorance at this point in that I don't recall which party holds the seat in my district, it's partly that I didn't find out and partly because I don't really care... at least I'm being honest here. Anyway there was a huge presence of A there, numerous volunteers, lots of people handing out pamphlets, etc; however there was hardly any presence of B there! I didn't see any volunteers, no pamphlets, barely any signs, not even a B representative trying to butter up the crowd. And this bothered me.

I'm one of the imbeciles who believes that polling centres should be completely unbiased in these regards, yes allow the parties to have their banners, signs, and their pamphlets hander outers, but there should be a limit or at least one party should not be allowed to dominate an area. The fact that the majority of polling centres are held in PUBLIC SCHOOLS, concerns me more than anything. We pay through our taxes to maintain the public school system, so for me that automatically means that no one particular party should be allowed to even advertise there at all, but I suppose ultimately there isn’t any choice in the matter. The fact that one party feels that it’s their right to be so vigorous is cause enough for concern, but knowing that this is not only allowed but no one seemed to be bothered by it worries me.
 
I suppose because we have been in an uncertain political climate for so long, and that both sides just seem to spend most of the time being complete dicks to each other, it becomes hard to gauge who should be the one that ultimately leads us. I’m dreading that this country has decided it wants to move towards a more intolerant and backwards society that soon enough we’ll be walking with our fists dragging on the ground and grunting, whilst clobbering women over the heads to drag them back to our caves to watch Fox News. A gross exaggeration, but it made me giggle.

Friday 6 September 2013

New Take On An Old Joke...

How can you tell when a Politician is lying? ... You read it on their twitter!!!

Wednesday 4 September 2013

Electorally Conflicted

As the deadline looms closer to Saturday’s Federal Election, I find myself morally conflicted on who to vote for, as I assume a lot of people are as well. I’m hoping through the sheer act of typing all this out that I’ll somehow come to a magical conclusion, but I’m sceptical it’ll be that easy. On the one hand I don’t want to vote to any of the major political parties, neither of them have managed to sway me with their policies, on the other hand I really really REALLY can’t fucking stand Tony Abbott. You would think that it would be simple, Vote 1 Rudd right?

Well no, I don’t fully care for some of his views on things like the Carbon Tax and whilst the NBN would be an awesome thing, I believe there is still some issues about privacy and censorship that still need to be ironed out (like full privacy and no censorship... but I’m obviously living in a world of make believe if I think that’ll ever fucking happen), however his stance on Gay Marriage is a selling point... although if I think for a minute that the bill he says he is proposing will go through relatively unscathed then I’m definitely more delusional than I actually believe.

I also firmly believe that Abbott has got an incredibly strong chance of becoming PM, not because of his sound policies (which he has none), or strong economic plans (same again), or because he’s the man for the job (back to self delusion territory). No I think he appeals to the lowest common denominator; he’s a backwards, misogynistic homophobe (or catholic). Honestly this wouldn’t be enough to sway the votes in my humble opinion, but he’s got the full support by the Sith Lord Rupert Morduck, whose campaign has been mostly about destroying the public image of Labor, Gillard, and Rudd, mostly because trying to make Abbott seem like a decent human being was beyond even the power of the Dark Side of the Force.

So I’m torn. I usually give my vote to anyone but the major parties, and slowly work my way through backwards through all the other ones I can’t stand like One Nation, Christian Democrats (contradiction in terms), until I finally vote for the least detestable party... I think I vote for the Guns and Fisheries once, but I can’t remember. Although after the last election, I’m more worried now more than ever.

Last Federal Election was a tie and the PM seat was ultimately determined by the Independents in the House of Representative, which is not necessarily a bad thing, but it clearly had a psychological impact on these last three years. During this time we’ve been constantly reminded that Gillard got in on a plea bargain... the hypocrisy is that this is obvious an Abbott tactic but the same would have been for him if HE had gotten in. During that same period the WA State Election was similarly deadlocked, and ultimately Colin Barnett got through, and some would say this was a bad thing (I’m one of them). He recently got re-elected back into office for no sensible reason beyond apparently I’m living in a state slightly over half filled with morons (or the fact that State Labor can’t get them themselves elected for love nor money), but it’s bothersome because this does seem like an indication of things to come.

Again, I’m torn. Some of the minor parties I agree with, some I don’t. For example I’m feeling the need to vote Green because I’m hoping they might be a balancing force if Lord Tone gets into power, but some of their environmental policies don’t sit well with me (one touting a 100% carbon free environmental policy... which is just stupid when you think about it!) but their social policies I’m quite keen on, however I’ve read probably a little bit too much about environmental activism (and how much of it is just sheer bullshit) which honestly clouds my judgment. So I don’t know. I wouldn’t mind voting for the Secular Party but I can’t help but feel like I’m pissing my vote away, which I know isn’t logically true, but it feels like it. Wikileaks Party sounds like a fantastic idea, until they turned around and supported One Nation... pass. Similar things can be said about other parties like The Sex Party, The Nationals...

Wait what about the Nationals? They are part of a coalition with the Liberals, and I strongly believe this was one of the reasons that Johnny Howard was able to sustain his position for as long as he did. Why is that? Every seat that the Nationals win counts as a Liberal win, their combined totals allow them to potentially win the Election with Liberals naturally taking the top spot (which the National leader becoming Deputy PM, but who honestly cares a fuck about that position in politics). Sounds stupid doesn’t it, but apparently dems da rules. So whenever I heard people go. “I don’t like Liberal, I’m voting National!” it makes me want to facepalm so hard I fear I’ll crack my skull open.

Oh and then there is the Senate voting, which should be a lot easier... and because it kinda is, but don’t let that fool you. Voting into the power a third party can be a great balancer whenever the House of Representatives want to push through some bullshit onto the people, but it works both ways as it could possibly delay something beneficial too. That role for the longest time was taken care of by the Australian Democrats, whose slogan was “Keep the bastards honest”, but their power was demolished from the backlash of the GST.

Okay let’s back up a second. From what I remember John Howard throughout most of his political career has been wanting to introduce the Goods and Services Tax, but it become sometime akin to political poison when John Hewson used it in his bid to become PM in 1993, and ultimately lost to Paul Keating. When Jackboot Johnny got into power in 1996 it seems that it was always lurking the background somewhere, despite Jonny saying during a televised debate “No GST, never ever.” Then he finally brought it in after the 2000(?) election. Somehow the public perception became that the Australian Democrats were responsible for the GST in ways I don’t even want to go into. This ultimately led to a massive loss for the Australian Democrats in the 2004 election, but in the biggest “ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME???” moment in politics the Liberal Party got voted in leading the Senate AND the House of Representatives... which lead to the unopposed introduction to the “Work Choices” program, which I’m sure everyone remembers was a good thing </sarcasm>. The point here is DON’T VOTE FOR THE MAJOR PARTY! But I suppose it’s a moot point most of the time nowadays.

Ultimately I suppose I think it’s a great thing that we have to vote, we all have a direct way of expressing how we wish the country to proceed, but I instinctively don’t like politicians and I don’t like the bullshit that comes with it. I’m still torn on this, and I don’t think that feeling will go away even after I put my ballet in the box.

Monday 2 September 2013

Collector Zone Toy and Hobby Fair

So one of the many reasons I haven't been on here much lately is because I've been prepping as a seller for the Collector Zone Toy and Hobby Fair... that's my excuse and I'm sticking with it. I do have this long ass rant that I didn't finish due to three hours of distractions, and now I don't have the right energy to work on it.. it's the vibe your honour.

Seriously though, I kinda want to make some extra cash (and a female parental unit wants me to get rid of a load of my stuff) so I bit the bullet and went through a load of my crap and got rid of a lot of it, well mostly a load of doubled comics, carded action figures and some other random cool stuff, but the books/movies barely moved (so not bothering next time).

The one thing I just realised just then is that one of things that kinda got me through that day, which btw I was dressed as Forbush Man and that costume isn't really forgiving in regards to heat dispersion, was seeing all my friends throughout the day .. and my mom bringing me water which kept me hydrated so that's a big thing.

I know it's kinda daft and silly but looking back it made that day pretty great. Sure it was at time a little bit depressing to stand around with no one wanting to buy stuff (I think I sold three $1 comics in the last hour) but I was just so happy to see my friends come and say hello and hang out a bit, it made an exhausting day really cool.

Monday 26 August 2013

In Place of Something Else... or Future Project Helium Fun.

So I was about to post this to on Facebook...

"3 hours later and still on the same damn blog post... I think I'll finish it tomorrow. The distractions didn't bother me, had some damn good conversations going and starting to build momentum on things"

when I realised this would shortly become a long ass post more suited for this blog. So here it is... Oh now I stop thinking about typing... sheesh, you can be a bitch sometimes brain.

Anyway, I've been working on this blog post for a while and I really, and I do mean REALLY, fired up about it, but then I remembered something I needed to get done for PAC, which lead to a long conversation in the committee which was good, fun and made me nearly die from laughter... which lead to trying to sort of other a table for this weekends Collector Zone Toy Fair were I'm looking to offload some of my precious loot so I can get some cash (and to free up some room). Still debating if I want to offload some props or not because I do loves them, but they are the most space consuming ANYWAY I seem to be easily distracSHINY.

During this I started the ball rolling on something I'm hoping will lead into my long delayed documentary project by talking podcasting with my friend and awesome author Danny, which of course led off from an earlier discussion with another friend Luke to see me finally return to The Book Was Better in the very near future.

Okay, so I went a little link crazy right there. I don't want to say too much, not because I think someone's going to steal my idea but because I don't like having too many promises for future projects up in the air that they never come down, because as you should know future projects are full of helium, that's why a person's voice gets super squeaky when they are excited about one coming true... true story, google it.

Friday 23 August 2013

Fandumb Film Casting... or A Call for Reason.

Well it’s that time once again, as today the rumour has spread fast and wide that Paris Hilton’s le... I don’t know where that came from, but anyway the word travelled so fast it must have been delivered by The Flash (who still doesn’t have a movie yet) that Ben Affleck has been cast as Batman in the new Superman vs Batman movie by the same imbeciles that dredged up Man of Steel... I’m sorry I’ll get off my soapbox, and get onto this other soapbox conveniently placed next to it.

Now then, I’m not going to talk about if it was the right or wrong decision about his casting, don’t worry I’m sure you’ll find someplace on the internet to have that particular argument, but more that I’m appealing to those that don’t have their head so far up their own ass (or possible Zack Snyder’s) to settle the fuck DOWN for a moment and consider our comic book movie history for just a few damn minutes before charging like a bull as a moving flag.

For decades now whenever a new movie project is announced based on one of our beloved comic book characters we all have anticipation as to who is involved with the project, the excitement is usually tenfold when it’s the first in a potential series of films as we want them to do it right. However this exuberance quickly turns into fanrage whenever the casting comes about because inevitably the filmmakers always get it wrong and the fans get it right, and despite how good or how popular the film eventually becomes this is a recurring trend... and don’t get me wrong I get it too, I don’t want to see some complete asshat become one of my favourite characters and I want to see it treated with the care and love that I share for it.

That being said in almost all cases the fan community has been up in arms about casting as far back as Michael Keaton and possibly beyond. Oh what’s that? You didn’t know that there were boycotts because “Mr Mom” was playing Batman (as so many eloquently put it), despite becoming one of the best portrayals of the character in the character’s history? So yeah we’ve been doing this shit for a while now, and what happens when that actor blows us away? Do we ever say “Sorry” for our snap judgements or are we too busy having a mental masturbation session over it? I can honestly say there are few casting decisions in comic book movies that I’ve seen where I’ve been almost violently opposed to the decision AFTER watching the film, mostly I have more issues with the film itself then I ever do for the actors, although upon reflection I can’t think of any (although Costner’s Jon Kent came close, again I blame the movie more).

As I’ve mentioned to a few people about the only time the fans didn’t have a crying fit was when Patrick Stewart was cast as Professor X, you know in that movie the fans all hated because they got rid of the spandex and dressed in leather, and cast an unknown aussie to play Wolverine, and the message boards were crammed about how much the movie was going to suck? We now know it as X-Men, a movie that was the most responsible for making Marvel into a major power player in the movie business (yes I know Blade was first, but it sucked, deal with it) and was directly responsible for a little movie called Spider-Man to finally get greenlit after decades of development hell and legal issues.

Ultimately it’s great that people are actively talking about this, but seriously stop with the hate until the damn thing has been made as it’s not going to make a lick of difference either way, then fire away until your heart’s content.

Shut Up, Little Man!

There is a documentary that I highly recommend called “Shut Up, Little Man!”, it’s currently on the ABC iView and watch it before it expires in approximately 9 days.

Well if that’s not enough to tempt ya then he’s the documentary in a nutshell *cue Austin Powers in a nutshell*. It’s about these two young adults who record their loud, obnoxious, borderline homicidal and hilarious neighbours as they verbally abuse each other on a nightly basis. It slowly become a viral underground hit back in the 80s, originally circulated via mix-tapes back when they were actually tapes... kids ask your parents, then ask them why the hell you’re reading this.

I’m going to try and not spoil the documentary but that notions about intellectual property and privacy are some of the most compelling, as well as the most important, arguments that are probably more important today than they were back in the 80s; especially with all the anti-piracy debates and the notion of creative commons being a big deal in modern net culture. It’s an interesting dialogue that occurs between those who become deeply connected with this, especially when money becomes involved, and getting their views on the situation is a big part of why I liked this as a filmmaker and (hopefully) future documentarian. The only real disappointment is there were a couple of questions that remained unanswered, but that’s mostly because I’m curious as to some of the legal ramifications as a content producer.

Ultimately it is an interesting story which leads to some thought provoking, and that’s probably one of the best ways to present these events.

Wednesday 21 August 2013

Still Not Feeling It...

Yesterday I was pretty much exhausted by the time I even wanted to write something, and yet I still couldn't get to sleep with my head so full of crap. I am slowly getting over some of my personal crises but as stated it's a slow process. I still want to write and yet I can't help but feel like I'm slowly going insane in the process because for how long can one write about not feeling like writing. Of course I can always point out to myself that hasn't stropped me from writing a paragraph, but let's face it it's not exactly riveting literature. Today has also been a very busy day, followed by a very busy evening, concluded with a very brain dead night... hopefully this will all pay off by the weekend and my costume wouldn't entirely suck ass compared to all the brightly coloured spandex. I think that's all the energy I've got for the moment.

Monday 19 August 2013

Get Over It!

Some people might disagree with me when I say that telling someone to “get over it!” is without a shadow of a doubt one of the most stupid pieces of advice to give to someone, or at least in most cases it seems to be. Trying to get over a problem or an emotion that is hurting you is not an easy thing to accomplish on a whim, and sometimes no matter how many positive, life affirming thoughts you try to conjure up it sometimes just doesn’t work. The bluntness of that statement is sometimes like trying to hammer a square peg into a round hole.

I’ve been trying to do such things to myself lately, so no one has said this thing to me, but I keep trying to tell myself it and for the most part I go through my day without thinking about what has been troubling me lately... and then when I go to rest my head and try to get some semblance of sleep, the bad thoughts come back to me like a possession once I’ve let my guard down for a second. For a while I’ve not been able to sleep without playing a DVD in the background (and particular ones at that), but even that’s not been working lately and sleep has been getting pretty hard sometimes that I’m pushed to the point of sheer exhaustion some days; especially coupled with the fatigue I’ve had fending off the cold/flu/whatever they call it now. I’ve reached a point in my life where I have so many creative options laid out in front of me (all non-paying naturally) but I don’t seem to have the energy to pursue anyone of them, or at least don’t feel up to working on them, and some of the recent blows haven’t helped.

I’m trying my best to try and remain positive (especially as a natural cynic) but sometimes it’s a struggle in a never-ending sea of debts, obligations, personal crises, and all the other bullshit that seems to flood into my life on an almost regular basis, which also bogs me down mentally especially when I’m trying to work on things that I hope will benefit a lot of people. Doesn’t help that this time of the year I still getting terribly lonely and reflect upon how absolutely pathetic my love life has been since the dawn of time itself. And whilst I’m whinging, I’ve got this pain in my shoulders which is also giving me the shits and restricting my arm movement *le sigh*.

That being all said and done tomorrow I’m finally moving full steam ahead on a costume build for Saturday, especially as I’ve finally managed to find the right paint for the job (and could afford it) so it’ll be a busy week for me as long as the weather doesn’t rape me in the ass in regards to drying times.

Sunday 18 August 2013

Arbiturary Numbers

I’ve been putting this post off for way too long; and all because it’s the 150th post... which probably seems stupid in that it probably doesn’t mean much to anyone and I’m getting bothered over nothing, but that hasn’t stopped the hesitation one bit. I know people read my blog, they tell me so, and yet it someone doesn’t seem real that people do. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not like I don’t believe them and they clearly talk to me about it, although typically not on the blog itself, or even on my facebook feed when I post an update. Again not a criticism or a cry for attention, just an observation (I realise the irony that this might indeed cause some engagement, and I welcome it any form).

I suppose the delay has been a couple of factors, my health is still bothering me, a few personal things have occurred which has caused some sleepless nights (and I’m not comfortable to divulge) which naturally hasn’t helped the first bit, and yet I’ve been incredibly busy with so many projects that is making me feel drained almost all the time. I’ve been starring at that blinking cursor for over a week and it’s been haunting me. I was going to right this big post about all my costumes this year as I realised I’ve posted a lot of progress but no results, and hopefully I’ll fix that in the near future. I still haven’t finished a couple of pieces I started on, including a write-up of Oz Comic-Con which I promised 5 months ago, as well as reviews of some movies I’ve seen recently and wanted to talk about (including Pacific Rim and The Wolverine).

To be perfectly honest I do miss being able to write some bullshit every day, and I knew if I didn’t keep it up I would slip and not return... and yet I still have. These last months have been sparse I agree, but I still keep coming back, and yes a lot of it has to do with knowing you read this. Or at least you do when I post it on my facebook (trust me, I’ve seen the stats), except for the “1” follower and possibly a couple of others who must indeed lurk.

All I’m trying to really say is, thanks :)

Friday 2 August 2013

Back in the Groove...

A short one because a) still feeling very under the weather and b) I wanna go play Minecraft and zone out for the rest of the night. Yeah I know, not been posting much because I've still been rather busy and I've also been feeling pretty ill, which has been a cramping my creativity and desire to write.

Yesterday I had less then no sleep whatsoever but I came up with a solution to a problem I was having with my Volstagg problem, it being the thin MDF I was needing for a bit was constantly breaking when I was trying to shape it. I know there are probably a few calling me an imbecile right now but I've learnt from my mistakes and I've got better tools then I did almost 14 months ago when I started trying to build it (yes it's been that long...). I replaced the annoying breaky stuff with FOAM, the stuff I've only recently been learning how to use. In fact I was thinking of rebuilding the entire thing out of foam mats but thought what's the point I almost have the axe head done anyway. I was going to leave it till the weekend and get over this flu some more, but the house had it's net and power shut off today for reasons... so this is what happened down the shed.


Once power was restored (which honestly didn't last long) I ended up using my bandsaw and belt sander to finish off all the other pieces and finally finished assembling the axe head!!! just need to glue down the rest of the foam, finish some sanding and then drill out the hole for the pole. Sadly the pole I bought I ended cutting it up for different things (including the handle on Forbush Man's helmet), so a new one is required in the near future but I'm happy with how this is turning out. It's gonna have a bit of heft to it and be top heavy, which I think is a good thing.

Hopefully within the next month or so I'll start working on the rest of Volstagg's costume, based on the first Thor movie as images of his new rendition are very few and the detail is lacking so far.

Wednesday 24 July 2013

What I've Been Up Too...

So yeah, it's been a couple of days since I last posted.. okay a few more then a couple.. OKAY FIVE! Ya happy now?

So as I was saying it's been a busy week and I've been fairly busy. I saw Pacific Rim on Thursday and it took a lot of the bad taste of Man of Steel out of my mouth, although in many ways I still found my comparing it to that pile of crap in a "This is the Superman movie 'Man of Steel' should have been!" kind of way. I've also had a PAC meeting on the Friday, where future plans are a foot. That being said we are going to show up in costume to see The Wolverine this Friday at Hoyts Carousel in Cannington at about 8pm and then seeing the movie at 9:15pm.

Here is a sneak peek at what I'm working on for the event....

A small hint, he's big, blue and fuzzy.

Friday 19 July 2013

Pacific Rim - The Mini Review

Saw Pacific Rim today and it's one of, if not THE best movie I've seen in the cinemas all year. I know I've got a terrible particular movie on the brain but this movie was what Man of Steel should have been, full of hope against brutal odds, great characters you actually care about when they are threatened, a hero that actually is saving people despite all the destruction going on, and some great moments (both comedic and dramatic) that just get you invested with the characters and their stories. Brilliant storytelling by Guillermo del Toro (as always), a great cast and brilliantly written and executed.

Wednesday 17 July 2013

Man of Steel – The Review

I’ll admit, I had really low expectations about this going in and boy were they met and then some. I pretty much avoided the majority of the spoilers for this, except for the case of one major spoiler, although all the death and destruction memes were pretty hard to miss. More after the break it’ll get spoilery.

*EDIT* - Added one more thing that bugged the crap out of me...

Tuesday 16 July 2013

Too Many Projects To Work On, So I’m Playing Minecraft.

I know it seems counterintuitive that I’ve got a couple of projects building up, but nothing that is immediately needs doing and I need a break from costuming for a while. So I’ve been spending a lot more time catching up on some podcasts and digging out a massive underground forest in Minecraft. It might not seem exciting but it’s some cathartic and helps me unwind a bit, especially as I can kind of take my mind of the hook because I don’t need to be too attentive to mine these things out, and lately I’ve been a bit too focused on some things.

Admittedly after spending so much time being so productive, or at least so active in producing sometime (despite the fatigue and monotony), it’s kinda hard to just switch it off even though I’m feeling incredibly burnt out. It’s that kind of fatigue where you think you can accomplish something but you get started and all of a sudden you just have no energy. I really need to spend a couple of days in bed and recharge some of my batteries, especially as I’ve got a couple of books I’m desperately trying to get through, but my concentration is completely off. I’m also trying to do more writing, but I find myself just completely tapped unless I have something that I really want to say. I must admit, coming up with daily content is very difficult and I simply haven’t had time to write a lot of the things I’ve wanted to write (especially banking up some of them up for future posts).

I honestly like doing this blog, and it’s extremely gratifying knowing that there are at least a few people who like what I’m doing and getting the occasional feedback is genuinely awesome, and it’s sorta, kinda, leading to a couple of projects that I’m not going to forward promote JUST yet because I think it’s a bad idea to talk about such things until they are set in concrete (or am I the only that hates seeing projects hyped up that never come out?) but are at least somewhat project based.

As for the current future, I’m ten costumes into my goal of twelve, although I don’t think I’ll be stopping as I’d like to see twelve brand new proper costumes for this year and I don’t think my original GB nor “Captain Buster” should technically count but I do have at least two more costumes in the works that I’m definitely building, and a potential two to three on top of that. I’m also hoping to do more photography work as I’m hoping to train my eye a little better, get some better equipment and hopefully start working with some models to make some truly creative stuff, especially as I’m hoping to turn my old defunct Fanboy Crossing site into a photo blog and try and throw up some more content and maybe generate some buzz for it as well as some of my old projects.

In fact I’ve been thinking a lot about my photography, and I’ve been thinking about doing a weekly thing where I just get on the train and ride to a different place, walk around randomly and do some urban photography, or go to locations people direct me too and take shots there. I’d love to do some abandoned buildings photo work and I love taking photos of graffiti art, so any advice on where to go for that would be brilliant. I might try and keep a journal on the locations where I take them for future shoots with costumers and models, as well as potential filming locations for any future movie projects, which is something I want to get back into at some point.

Monday 15 July 2013

Happy Life Day

Well not exactly but I went to a Star Wars Life Day* themed party today and can finally reveal another costume to knock off the list.

I'm the one of the right!\
 
So with that, it's time to update the costume blog... which has had more revisions lately then a DC character. Just a quick note, I'm so happy I've got so many completed costumes on this list already and I'm still adding more as events occur. I think I'm way on to making my goal of 12 costumes throughout the year, but it has been tough going at times however it's paying off for me emotionally and mentally (although not financially).

2013
  • Big Macintosh – Completed!
    • Notes = Needs a better shirt, better pants, otherwise pretty neat.
  • Real Ghostbusters – Completed!
    • Notes = Need to finish missing parts on the thrower, create a proper hooking system for pack. {2013-04-23} completed Mk I Gun Hook, partial success, needs improvement but also need a sturdier thrower.
  • Eureka Sheriff – Completed!
    • Notes = Gun Belt never arrived and thus didn’t purchase holsters. Pants didn’t fit exactly well, will need new pair if done again.
  • Forbush Man – Completed!
    • Notes = Formerly [SECRET PROJECT ALPHA], need to recondition the helmet and it’s starting to get some dings and is flaking paint.
      • Helmet has been reconditioned and looking a lot better for it!
  • Cybershade – Completed!
    • Notes = Formerly [SECRET PROJECT BETA], still needs to be finished cutting up all the strips of fabric but was able to troll a couple of my Whovian friends on the Saturday at Supanova who didn't know I was making the costume.
      • Brought ahead in time as a secondary costume but has proven to be an easier build to work on by myself than Goliath (which I needed help to make the muscle suit but scheduling hasn’t been great in that regard).
  • Wreck It Ralph – Completed
    • Notes = Managed to successfully shock so many of my friends throughout the Sunday with my freshly shaved face, as most of my current friends hadn't seen me without the beard and especially as I still had the beard underneath the Cybershade mask the day before.
  • Life Day Wookiee – Completed
    • Notes = Formerly [SECRET PROJECT GAMMA], kept secret to surprise my friends who are huge Star Wars fans, who were also hosting the party. Quite quickly put together but looks very effective and will be used in a future performance possibly in 2015.
  • Beast - Due end of July
    • Notes = Got two weeks to construct this for the Wolverine screening with PAC, shouldn't be too bad as long as I can make my mask look good and rework the abandoned Goliath muscle suit to work with my concept... time to learn to work with fur.
  • [SECRET PROJECT OMEGA] – Due October
    • Notes = Halloween costume that I don’t want to spoil JUST yet.
  • Volstagg – Due November
    • Notes = I won’t be starting this for another couple of months.
  • Hobbit – Due December 
    • Notes = Still no clue which character I’ll do at this stage so progress won’t happen until I am.
  • Doctor Octopus – Due December
    • Notes = Should have this build ready for the Telethon Christmas Pageant, if not it’ll be at Oz Comic-Con Perth 2014
2014 Potentials

I keep coming up with more and more ideas that I’ve so far haven’t wrote down, but these are pretty much in flux until such time when I’m actually making them.

  • Arrested Development Series 4 Fantastic Four skit
    • Notes = I've wanted to make either a Rock Monster or Human Flamer costume since I saw this!
  • Galaxy Quest – Due Supanova Perth 2014
    • Notes = Got the prop kit online, need to construct
  • Baseketball
    • Notes = Just talked myself into doing this but no real goal in mind except that I want a 'Beers' outfit and make a Baseketball at some point (maybe with the Laz-E-Boy printed on it).
  • Kung Pow – Enter The Fist
    • Notes = Maybe Supanova 2014, don't know the character yet but might be Wimp-Lo at this stage.
Cancelled/On-Hold

  • Eddie (Rocky Horror) – TBA
    • Notes = No idea if/when this project will come about, but possibly if there is a Rocky Horror Screening in the near future.
  • Goliath (Borderlands 2) – Postponed due to financial/health/time issues.
    • Notes = On-hold, maybe in the future.
  • Ghost Smashers – TBA
    • Notes = On-hold for now, maybe 2014.
* - If you haven't heard of it, it's from the ill-fated Star Wars Holiday Special... and that's probably all you needed to know.

Friday 12 July 2013

Deadpool: The Video Game – The Review

So after some unpleasantness (see previous post) recently I decided to say “Fuck This” to things I really should have gotten down but felt too miserable and angry to do to play a game I’d barely gotten through because of everything that was happening up to and including Supanova, and hadn’t even touched it afterwards because I felt too crappy *breath in*.

Before I start the ranting and raving, just a little forewarning that this game is probably not for... well anyone really. Certainly not for children (lots of swearing, blood, “Sexual Situations” and yet sadly no nudity), and would definitely not appeal to anyone who doesn’t know a single thing about Deadpool or his characterisations. Personally I prefer the earlier issues of the first ongoing and most of the current stuff with Deadpool kinda reminds me of Wolverine back in the nineties, where he had to be in everything and the writing quality of the character just plummeted, but I think Deadpool is the character that can work with that as any lame writing or canon breaking can be typically explained to part of his particular breed of insanity.

For clarification I’ve played it through on the Xbox 360 and not on either the PS3 nor the PC (which is only $30 but I’m unsure if the controls will translate over too well for mouse and keyboard, as other games usually fail on this issue). I've heard grumbles from a PS3 owner about issues that I never personally experienced so I just don't know if there is a problem between platforms or not.

If it isn’t already apparent this review will be spoilerific, so I think I’ll finally use that page break device that I keep hearing about, so read on at your own peril.

Thursday 11 July 2013

Well That’s Put Me In A Foul Mood

I’ve just witnessed (and unwittedly participated) a massive pissing contest on facebook between two imbeciles on a friend’s post promoting another friend’s page, and all melts down to who had the bigger troll dick... and it made me fucking mad. Not only did their actions really show just how much a fucking bunch of massive pricks we be at times, but it really poorly reflects upon two people I know do not deserve such treatment. I’m not naming names, nor am I linking, but this sort of thing makes me goddamn angry and part of this post is to try and get some of out of me... I’m literally trembling with anger here.

Okay I’ve been researching a lot of fandom lately for a documentary I’ve been working on for the last year, highlighting the good and negative aspects of it... and I hate to say it but it’s been mostly negative with all the articles that seem to be popping up lately (including sexism, racism and abuse in the cosplay community), and that has even gotten to me to a point of depression in these regards. I honestly got to the point the other week were I thought it was pointless working on something that might not be worth it, I honestly thought fandom and geek culture wasn’t worth it anymore. I love being a geek and I love this culture but I just couldn’t see the point anymore, it felt like I was trying to save a patient with inoperable cancer with 5 minutes to live.

And then Supanova came about and it reinvigorated me with positive feelings for fandom and this project, despite some of negative things I’ve heard about people during the con, and I was looking forward to working on it and maybe even start getting the ball rolling on getting funding... and this happened.

I just don’t know anymore. It feels like I’m on a sinking ship and I’m trying to patch the holes whilst the rest of the crew keep attacking the hull with pickaxes, and their rational is to save it from being boarded by the passengers... I need to think about this a lot more before moving forward, because at the moment I’m about ready to abandon ship.

p.s. in hindsight is seems that there was only really one troll (despite the amount of times he called everyone else a troll) and the rest of us got suckered into his ego contest... FML

Trying To Get Into The Swing Of Things.

A quick short post from my mobile before I sleep. I need to get back into posting on a regular basis again as I like having some productivity even when it seems like nothing else is going on.

Still feeling under the weather and I've been having connectivity problems which hasn't helped with things. Feeling a little burnt out and uninspired to tell you the truth, which sucks as there is a load of projects I want to work on but the drive to do so is currently stalled on the track. Yeah I must be a hack for that poor ass simile but Fuck it.

I'm really wanting to do more geek orientated stuff, especially a podcast even though I hate the sound of my own voice (so editing will be fun) and maybe some momentum going for a documentary I've been working on for over a year.

Hopefully I'll feel more energetic by the end of the week, I'll need it for the weekend.

Wednesday 10 July 2013

Insomina And Lack Of Writing

So it's currently 2am and despite being incredibly tired my arsehole brain won't shut the fuck up and go to sleep. About the one good thing with everything going on lately is that I have felt like this sleepless in a long time, and part of my scumbag brain is constantly thinking of projects and other bullshit whilst I'm trying to sleep. Yes, I'm referring to my brain as a separate entity because it's being such an incredible dick. I must admit I have been feeling pretty guilty about not writing more on my blog, although truth be told I haven't felt up to it nor has things been interesting enough to even write again, but I guess what pisses me off is that I knew I'd fall out of the habit by taking a break. I guess history does repeat itself in these matters. I'm hoping to write more in the coming weeks, but I think I may of somehow picked up a bug from 'nova, although truth be told I was feeling shitty before the con but just pushed through it despite myself. I guess because I haven't had a looming deadline I haven't felt truly motivated as well, despite several projects I want to see completed or at least set in motion. Urgh, I've still got more sewing and such to do before Saturday but lately I just feel completely drained. Oh well better try and get some sleep, hopefully my brain with allow me some damn rest.

Saturday 6 July 2013

Post Supanova Costume Update

Well now that Supanova is over with I decided to quickly update the costume list!

2013
  • Big Macintosh – Completed!
    • Notes = Needs a better shirt, better pants, otherwise pretty neat.
  • Real Ghostbusters – Completed!
    • Notes = Need to finish missing parts on the thrower, create a proper hooking system for pack. {2013-04-23} completed Mk I Gun Hook, partial success, needs improvement but also need a sturdier thrower.
  • Eureka Sheriff – Completed!
    • Notes = Gun Belt never arrived and thus didn’t purchase holsters. Pants didn’t fit exactly well, will need new pair if done again.
  • Forbush Man – Completed!
    • Notes = Formerly [SECRET PROJECT ALPHA], need to recondition the helmet and it’s starting to get some dings and is flaking paint.
      • Helmet has been reconditioned and looking a lot better for it!
  • Wreck It Ralph – Completed!
    • Notes = Learnt a thing or two about sewing with this one, and for the most part I was happy about how it turned out. The only real disappoints for me was the fake collar just didn't really work and I couldn't make the fake feet work in time (although no body noticed I was wearing black boots). Successful trolling of most of the people I knew because they didn't know I was shaving for this and most of them have never seen me without facial hair.
  • Cybershade – Completed...ish!
    • Notes = Formerly [SECRET PROJECT BETA] and kept secret because I wanted to troll some of my Whovian friends. Brought ahead in time as a secondary costume but has proven to be an easier build to work on by myself than Goliath (which I needed help to make the muscle suit but scheduling hasn’t been great in that regard). {2013-07-05] This costume nearly broke me with the insane amount of sewing and cutting I had to do to make the gillie suit. I had been working on this and everything else for a month solic I still didn't finish the back of it in time for nova, and was even working on it until midday on Saturday just to make it presentable. Quite possibly one of my favourite costumes despite everything and I'm looking forward to wearing it again multiple times.
  • [SECRET PROJECT GAMMA] – Due July
    • Notes = Working on a costume for Star Wars Life Day... in July. Plans are a foot with this and should be ready in time for the big reveal.
  • [SECRET PROJECT OMEGA] – Due October
    • Notes = Halloween costume that I don’t want to spoil JUST yet... Especially as I'm not sure if I'll end up making it, depending on things.
  • Volstagg – Due November
    • Notes = I won’t be starting this for another couple of months.
  • Hobbit – Due December 
    • Notes = Still no clue which character I’ll do at this stage so progress won’t happen until I am.
  • Doctor Octopus – Due December
    • Notes = Should have this build ready for the Telethon Christmas Pageant, if not it’ll be at Oz Comic-Con Perth 2014
2014 Potentials

I keep coming up with more and more ideas that I’ve so far haven’t wrote down, but these are pretty much in flux until such time when I’m actually making them.

  • Arrested Development Series 4 Fantastic Four skit
    • Notes = I've wanted to make either a Rock Monster or Human Flamer costume since I saw this!
  • Galaxy Quest – Due Supanova Perth 2014
    • Notes = Got the prop kit online, need to construct it. Possible will have to make this costume from scratch as no one seems to be making this yet.
  • Baseketball
    • Notes = Just talked myself into doing this but no real goal in mind except that I want a 'Beers' outfit and make a Baseketball at some point (maybe with the Laz-E-Boy printed on it).
  • Kung Pow – Enter The Fist
    • Notes = Maybe Supanova 2014, don't know the character yet but might be Wimp-Lo at this stage.
Cancelled/On-Hold

  • Eddie (Rocky Horror) – TBA
    • Notes = No idea if/when this project will come about, but possibly if there is a Rocky Horror Screening in the near future.
  • Goliath (Borderlands 2) – Postponed due to financial/health/time issues.
    • Notes = On-hold, maybe in the future.
  • Ghost Smashers – TBA
    • Notes = On-hold for now, maybe 2014.