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.

Friday 5 July 2013

“last published on 26-Jun-2013”

What the crap happened here!!! Well that’s pretty easy to explain... I was so fucking exhausted after everything leading up to and during Supanova that I needed a break. Didn’t really get one as I was busy with doing stuff for PAC and working on a costume for a Star Wars party on the 14th and... you know, I’ve been too busy and when I’ve not been busy I’ve been so fried that I just can’t bring myself to write anything. Last night I got home from an all-day/night gaming session at Good Games St James that I realised I haven’t posted in a week and was about to reach for the phone to do a quick update when the siren call of the bed seductively drawn into its covers, every time I tried to reach for my phone afterwards felt like a drowning man struggling to swim for oxygen but ultimately succumbing to the briny depths that lay within... or something to that effect.

I feel like I should post a Con Report, but just like Oz Comic-Con from a few months ago I just don’t think I have it in me, I’m just too tired to think straight. However I will sum it up thusly...
  • Worked my arse off on two costumes to the point where I didn’t turn up to ‘nova on Saturday until nearly 1pm because I was sewing and cutting my Cybershade gillie suit like a possessed monkey. However it was awesome because I trolled so many people who didn’t know about my costume and scared a load of kiddies... it was fantastic.
  • Sunday was ‘Epic Troll Day’ for me as I had told no-one that I was shaving for Wreck-It Ralph and proceeded to freak out the majority of my friends at Nova (especially as I still had my beard on Saturday).
  • Got to meet Alan Tudyk who was awesome. Also got to meet Margot Kidder was also awesome, and we chatted about Superman II and why the Richard Donner cut was better. Got to meet Alex Suviak, one of my favourite 90s Spidey artists, who was just so kind and awesome. I wish I could have a chance to meet other stars who were there, but alas it was a matter of lack of time and money (and I think if I had stood up in lines any longer they would have taken me out in a stretcher).
Anyway, this is taking way too long to get done because of the constant interruptions that constitutes my life, so I’m finishing up by saying it was one of my favourite con experiences and I really enjoyed myself despite how much I nearly breaking myself (physically and mentally) in the process.