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.