I'm not writing anything at the moment. I came up with a badass filmmaking idea a couple of days ago, but I'm waiting to see if My Boyz are into it.
So I've been passing the time with my secondary "obsessive activity": Magic.
It's a BRILLIANT pass-time because it requires creative thinking, AND it ENTERTAINS!!! (And that's what I love about movies and novels, the entertainment factor!)
But there's been a bit of an unforeseen problem: Brian and I have been vanishing quarters, and we CAN'T FIND THEM, l0l! I imagine some alternate dimension peopled with aliens and just when one is about to "seal the deal" with some hot alien chick, a quarter pops into existence and bounces off his gray dome, and he's all "What the hell?!!" lol
We work our magical voodoo and the quarters drop into some quantum vortex and then POOF! Int's no longer in our dimension!
All because of Criss Angel and MINDFREAK, lol!
I really, really hope that Tommy stops by today because Brian and I have INVENTED a couple of illusions!!! (Not Criss-Angel-worthy, but cool, none the less!)
I'm kind of thinking that it's about time we make a video to email My Gnomey-Goddess so she can see what I've been going on about for a while, lol. Lately, I'm asleep when she's awake and vice versa. So my only contact with my baby has been emails and voicemails to, and text messages from, her. (OMG I CAN'T WAIT until I figure out a way to get her HERE so that she can see all our silly shit first-hand!)
In the meantime, I think I might be winning Brian over to my way of thinking about MINDFREAK... The more he re-visits magic and the more tricks he learns/creates, the more he thinks that maybe Criss Angel's show isn't about camrea tricks and movie magic.
So that's cool!
I found a video clip from Season 3 that blows away MY theories of how Criss does the levitation thang here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47pRIniVg1Y (Although, I've got to admit that it makes my case about Criss NOT using movie magic to pull off his stunts even MORE difficult to make, lol.)
Still, my li'l bro was into magic as a kid, so our current fascination with the subject is A LOT of FUN!
Also...
This is weird...
I woke up this morning with a burning desire for some MAVERICK.
I used to own the Mel Gibson movie on dvd, but it was one of the many lost in the Great Loss of 200?, when I was forced to pawn $2,000 worth of dvds to pay my (then) $560 rent. :(
But the reason I loved that movie so much is because I was, as a kid, a HUGE fan of the MAVERICK TV show, which was rerun on this Chicago cable channel. And so I woke up this morning JONESING for some MAVERICK, and I discovered some of the original episode HERE!!!
So that's cool!
No idea how MAVERICK ties into Criss Angel MINDFREAK, other than the simple link of deception and cards, but there we are, lol.
Btw, the MAVERICK TV show... That was some really cool writing! Especially for the late-1950s! Back then, American television wanted it's heroes to be white-as-snow... But Bret Maverick was, essentially, a coward, and he even wore predominantly BLACK! (In old American Westerns, the Good Guy wore a white hat and the bad guy wore a black hat... a bit of quite obvious symbolism. But MAVERICK -- intentionally -- broke that particular mold.)
Okay, so... to sum up: (1) BRET MAVERICK is one of the best characters ever created and (2) performing magic has unexpected consequences that could possibly result in an inter-dimensional war between us and aliens from WHERE-the-fuck-EVER.
Class dismissed.
:D
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Last HP Book DOES NOT Disappoint!!!
I'm taking a break from doing some research at work, and I thought I'd bring any and all interested parties up to date on my weekend...
HAPPY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS RULES!!! (To start off with.) ;)
Finished the book before going to sleep Tuesday morning.
LOVED IT!!!
It's epic, thrilling, shocking and fulfilling. Rowling seems to have had an overall plan since the first book. Every book has been adding to the ongoing saga, revealing secrets from before Harry was first deposited at his aunt's and uncle's house at Privet Drive, but this last book fills in all kinds of interesting details that happened before the first book, and over the course of the first 6 books!
You'll know what I'm going on about after you read it. But I was shocked to see the whole story finally play out in it's entirety, and was well impressed with J. K. Rowling's handling of all the details you're wondering about and many, many details you didn't even realize are important to the over-all picture!!!
It's kind of a brutal book, though, lol! Not "Harry Dresden" brutal, in many ways. But sometimes really, really close.
It's hard to write anything coherent without giving away spoilers, because it's all the specific scenes and events that make the book so amazing!
VERY cool read!
And better than I hoped it would be!!! (And, naturally, after the last 3 books my expectations were high!)
So then after that, I reverted back to re-watching episodes of MINDFREAK, lol.
I read an article Friday night about screenwriting by a guy who is a professional screenwriter, selling scripts as his day-job, who offers advice based on his own working habits.
A bit of advice that really struck my interest was to develop a secondary "obsessive activity". He explains that writing is an obsessive activity, and that the only way to truly take a break from it is to have another to balance it out. He grows tomatoes. I don't have a green thumb, but it occurred to me that I could allow my newly rekindled fixation with magic to become my secondary obsessive activity.
I'm still mulling it over.
I mean, I have no aspirations to making a career out of it. But it might be cool to have a store of tricks that I can whip out whenever the situation calls for some entertainment.
Who knows, maybe there's a screenplay or novel in it somewhere way down the road.
Anyway, Tuesday when Tommy came over we all seemed to fixate on magic and spent a few hours showing each other the tricks we remember and laughing a lot.
So who knows...
Okay, I'm getting back to work for now.
OH! Mom's in town, and Brian and I are having breakfast with her when I get off work! That'll be cool!
The reason Mom's in town is sad, though... My Gan-Gan's not doing well at the moment. She's in the hospital, and not conscious much over the last couple of days. The doctors have found some things wrong with her, but not what the real problem is, as of Mom's last report. :(
So I'm praying for her. But this woman has one of the strongest spirits I have ever seen! She embodies Eddie Izzard's joke about "old ladie's just keep powerin' on," hehe! ("Men, we reach 65 or 70 and just drop dead. But old ladies, they just keep going." Or words to that effect... and said funnily, lol.) My Gan-Gan has survived all kinds of weird stuff as she started getting older, and then the next time you see her you'd never guess anything had ever been wrong with her!
So I'm praying, but I also have a great deal of confidence. She's not giving up easily.
Hey, I hope you and all your families are healthy and happy!!! And if they are, a quick "I love you" wouldn't be out of order. ;)
PEACE!!!
:D
HAPPY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS RULES!!! (To start off with.) ;)
Finished the book before going to sleep Tuesday morning.
LOVED IT!!!
It's epic, thrilling, shocking and fulfilling. Rowling seems to have had an overall plan since the first book. Every book has been adding to the ongoing saga, revealing secrets from before Harry was first deposited at his aunt's and uncle's house at Privet Drive, but this last book fills in all kinds of interesting details that happened before the first book, and over the course of the first 6 books!
You'll know what I'm going on about after you read it. But I was shocked to see the whole story finally play out in it's entirety, and was well impressed with J. K. Rowling's handling of all the details you're wondering about and many, many details you didn't even realize are important to the over-all picture!!!
It's kind of a brutal book, though, lol! Not "Harry Dresden" brutal, in many ways. But sometimes really, really close.
It's hard to write anything coherent without giving away spoilers, because it's all the specific scenes and events that make the book so amazing!
VERY cool read!
And better than I hoped it would be!!! (And, naturally, after the last 3 books my expectations were high!)
So then after that, I reverted back to re-watching episodes of MINDFREAK, lol.
I read an article Friday night about screenwriting by a guy who is a professional screenwriter, selling scripts as his day-job, who offers advice based on his own working habits.
A bit of advice that really struck my interest was to develop a secondary "obsessive activity". He explains that writing is an obsessive activity, and that the only way to truly take a break from it is to have another to balance it out. He grows tomatoes. I don't have a green thumb, but it occurred to me that I could allow my newly rekindled fixation with magic to become my secondary obsessive activity.
I'm still mulling it over.
I mean, I have no aspirations to making a career out of it. But it might be cool to have a store of tricks that I can whip out whenever the situation calls for some entertainment.
Who knows, maybe there's a screenplay or novel in it somewhere way down the road.
Anyway, Tuesday when Tommy came over we all seemed to fixate on magic and spent a few hours showing each other the tricks we remember and laughing a lot.
So who knows...
Okay, I'm getting back to work for now.
OH! Mom's in town, and Brian and I are having breakfast with her when I get off work! That'll be cool!
The reason Mom's in town is sad, though... My Gan-Gan's not doing well at the moment. She's in the hospital, and not conscious much over the last couple of days. The doctors have found some things wrong with her, but not what the real problem is, as of Mom's last report. :(
So I'm praying for her. But this woman has one of the strongest spirits I have ever seen! She embodies Eddie Izzard's joke about "old ladie's just keep powerin' on," hehe! ("Men, we reach 65 or 70 and just drop dead. But old ladies, they just keep going." Or words to that effect... and said funnily, lol.) My Gan-Gan has survived all kinds of weird stuff as she started getting older, and then the next time you see her you'd never guess anything had ever been wrong with her!
So I'm praying, but I also have a great deal of confidence. She's not giving up easily.
Hey, I hope you and all your families are healthy and happy!!! And if they are, a quick "I love you" wouldn't be out of order. ;)
PEACE!!!
:D
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Been A Whole Week!
Sorry about the absence.
Not much to report... I spent Monday and Tuesday watching seasons 1 & 2 of MINDFREAK.
Wednesday -- on an irrepressible impulse -- I bought Criss Angel's book. Read it all that day.
Well... The autobiographical part is only 175 pages. But still, for ME... that's quite a feat! I'm a slow reader. The rest of the book is called "40 Mindfreaks" and I read most of those, as well.
Thursday... Um... Oh, yeah: WORK! (As always.)
Also, last Monday (I think) I ordered 3 decks of Criss Angel's playing cards -- the same ones he uses on his show -- and Friday they arrived!!! I ordered a deck for Brian, a deck for My Genius Friend Dave and a deck for myself.
The decks for Brian and me are because we've been totally geeking-out on Criss Angel's show and music. The deck for My Genius Friend Dave is because he was a Loyal long before I was: He's the guy who turned me onto Criss Angel, which lead to me turning Brian onto him. So My Genius Friend Dave deserves a deck of Criss Angel playing cards.
And, as you know, yesterday HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS was released!!!
The news was filled with the announcement of spoilers getting out and stuff. I ignored it all. I just want to read the thing and experience it for myself.
Or... in my case... you know, LISTEN to it, hehe. :)
BUT...
It's not yet for sale on iTunes!!! WTF?!! I mean, C'MON!!! It's THE LAST HARRY POTTER BOOK!!! HOW can they NOT be selling it yet?!! Does Apple not realize that people will want to buy this book the moment it comes out? And some people prefer audio! PORTABLE audio! They could have made a killing!
So on my way to work I stop off at a Barnes & Noble to try to pick up a copy on cd -- realizing it'll be much more expensive than buying it off iTunes, but not caring because I want to have finished the book by the time my friends have, 'cause they're gonna wanna talk about it -- and THEY DIDN'T HAVE ANY IN STOCK!!!
Let me say this again:
Barnes & Noble didn't have any copies of DEATHLY HALLOWS on cd.
Not ONE.
Wtf is THAT all about?!!
One of the largest bookseller chains in the United States didn't think that people might want a copy of THE LAST HARRY POTTER BOOK on cd?!!
What? I'M the only person who listens to audiobooks?
I kind of doubt that.
So I get to work and My Genius Friend Dave read the first 100 or so pages last night, and he talked about it a very, very little... And in a fury of excitement I was asking if he'd mind if I ran off to Book People to see if they had a copy, and returning with the book, lol.
All he really said was that after reading the first 100 pages "I was not disappointed," lol. But coming from My Genius Friend Dave that was quite enough!
So I listened to the first 2 chapters, and got started on the third between work, the grocery store, and home.
When I got home I converted the first 2 discs to mp3s so I can load them onto my iPod and continue converting mp3s while I listen.
It's 21.7 hours long, so most of my weekend will probably be listening to this last Harry Potter adventure. But I hope to put a huge dent in it before I go to sleep. (Cuz I'm OFF TOMORROW!!!) :D
I'm kinda hopin' that if the book keeps me up really late, I might bump into my Gnomey Goddess online, hee-hee. That would be cool! :D
But we'll see.
Hey, if you stumble onto this blog and you're reading THE DEATHLY HALLOWS too, I'd love to hear what you're thinking of it so far! No spoilers, please, but it would be cool to hear from you! Sort of share the reading experience!
Check in with you later!
PEACE!!! :D
Not much to report... I spent Monday and Tuesday watching seasons 1 & 2 of MINDFREAK.
Wednesday -- on an irrepressible impulse -- I bought Criss Angel's book. Read it all that day.
Well... The autobiographical part is only 175 pages. But still, for ME... that's quite a feat! I'm a slow reader. The rest of the book is called "40 Mindfreaks" and I read most of those, as well.
Thursday... Um... Oh, yeah: WORK! (As always.)
Also, last Monday (I think) I ordered 3 decks of Criss Angel's playing cards -- the same ones he uses on his show -- and Friday they arrived!!! I ordered a deck for Brian, a deck for My Genius Friend Dave and a deck for myself.
The decks for Brian and me are because we've been totally geeking-out on Criss Angel's show and music. The deck for My Genius Friend Dave is because he was a Loyal long before I was: He's the guy who turned me onto Criss Angel, which lead to me turning Brian onto him. So My Genius Friend Dave deserves a deck of Criss Angel playing cards.
And, as you know, yesterday HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS was released!!!
The news was filled with the announcement of spoilers getting out and stuff. I ignored it all. I just want to read the thing and experience it for myself.
Or... in my case... you know, LISTEN to it, hehe. :)
BUT...
It's not yet for sale on iTunes!!! WTF?!! I mean, C'MON!!! It's THE LAST HARRY POTTER BOOK!!! HOW can they NOT be selling it yet?!! Does Apple not realize that people will want to buy this book the moment it comes out? And some people prefer audio! PORTABLE audio! They could have made a killing!
So on my way to work I stop off at a Barnes & Noble to try to pick up a copy on cd -- realizing it'll be much more expensive than buying it off iTunes, but not caring because I want to have finished the book by the time my friends have, 'cause they're gonna wanna talk about it -- and THEY DIDN'T HAVE ANY IN STOCK!!!
Let me say this again:
Barnes & Noble didn't have any copies of DEATHLY HALLOWS on cd.
Not ONE.
Wtf is THAT all about?!!
One of the largest bookseller chains in the United States didn't think that people might want a copy of THE LAST HARRY POTTER BOOK on cd?!!
What? I'M the only person who listens to audiobooks?
I kind of doubt that.
So I get to work and My Genius Friend Dave read the first 100 or so pages last night, and he talked about it a very, very little... And in a fury of excitement I was asking if he'd mind if I ran off to Book People to see if they had a copy, and returning with the book, lol.
All he really said was that after reading the first 100 pages "I was not disappointed," lol. But coming from My Genius Friend Dave that was quite enough!
So I listened to the first 2 chapters, and got started on the third between work, the grocery store, and home.
When I got home I converted the first 2 discs to mp3s so I can load them onto my iPod and continue converting mp3s while I listen.
It's 21.7 hours long, so most of my weekend will probably be listening to this last Harry Potter adventure. But I hope to put a huge dent in it before I go to sleep. (Cuz I'm OFF TOMORROW!!!) :D
I'm kinda hopin' that if the book keeps me up really late, I might bump into my Gnomey Goddess online, hee-hee. That would be cool! :D
But we'll see.
Hey, if you stumble onto this blog and you're reading THE DEATHLY HALLOWS too, I'd love to hear what you're thinking of it so far! No spoilers, please, but it would be cool to hear from you! Sort of share the reading experience!
Check in with you later!
PEACE!!! :D
Sunday, July 15, 2007
More Luv 4 Criss Angel
I went to sleep this morning rockin' out to the MINDFREAK soundtrack (my kind of music, baby!) and I woke up to my bro watching the second disc of Season 1. We watched a few episodes, ordered some Rockin' Tomato -- a large Pepperoni, Sausage & Mushroom Pizza and a dozen Pepperoni Rolls with extra, extra Ranch Dressing to dip them in -- and watched the first disc of Season 2.
Oh, and this was preceded by a text from my baby before I went to sleep, and an IM from her when I woke up!!! (She saw PIRATES 3 again!)
So good, GOOD day for Ray Jay!!! :D
Criss Angel is ASTOUNDING!!! I have always loved magic! I love when stuff doesn't behave the way you expect it to! I mean, not like a car refusing to start when you're on your way to work or something, but like when someone realizes that they can shove their thumb through the back of a styrafoam cup and make you believe they're levitating the cup.
You know?
Or like when a writer convinces you that this character you love IS GOING TO DIE, and then they figure out a believable way to keep the character alive!
Think of Indiana Jones...
Every five minutes of RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK Indy is finding himself in situations that you know he shouldn't be able to survive! And yet he always finds a way out of it!
Same thing with John McClane in DIE HARD. (Still need to see the 4th movie!)
There's a similar dynamic working in writing and magic, which is understanding the Human Condition, understanding what people think (in a general, universal way), creating a situation that intrigues them and engages them and presents a fundamental impossibility, and then defying that situation in a satisfying way and creating an outcome that people fundamentally want to see.
Like Criss says "I'm gonna try to make you believe I have made a 4-ton elephant disappear" and he actually makes you believe he made the elephant disappear!
Genius!
Incidentally, the sequence where he performs magic for the chimpanzees... BRILLIANT!!! OMG, I laughed until I HURT!!! I'm glad I bought both seasons of the show IF ONLY for that sequence!!!
I mean, what does a chimp think when you make something disappear in front of it?!!
I haven't laughed that hard in a while!!!
It HURT! :P
Oh, and there's a bone of contention in the Edwards household: Brian loves the show, but he's convinced (along with some people on the Internet Community) that the gag behind Criss's magic is that he IS using movie magic to pull off some of his bigger illusions. Criss has shown how he does enough of his tricks that I believe his mind works in a different way from most people's and that when he's levitating a girl in a Las Vegas street, people surrounding him aren't paid conspirators, and REALLY DON'T KNOW how he does it.
Coincidentally...
Season 1 has 4 interractive dvd tricks as a bonus feature. The viewer is asked to think of a card or pick a word or something like that, and Criss Angel guesses your card, word, whatever. Brian did the first 3 tricks, and CRISS ANGEL WAS RIGHT ALL 3 TIMES!!! I took the last trick -- guessing a word from the dictionary -- and the word he guessed was a different word from what I guessed. :( But it started with the same letter! Out of an alphabet of 26 letters, that's fairly impressive, hehe!
I needled Brian, because he had just said -- maybe 2 minutes before we did this -- that if he were in the audience, he'd play along and not spoil the trick. But he insisted that he wasn't "playing along" and that he hadn't watched that part of the dvd before I woke up!
Still, I think Brian believe Criss Angel does enough small-scale tricks that are mind-blowing so that when he does the hugantic ones we won't even consider that he might be using movie tricks.
He has a point, to be sure.
I need to get enough money now so we can go to Vegas as see Criss in person, so that maybe we can see which one of us is correct.
OOH! AND GNOMEY SHOULD BE WITH US!!! THAT WOULD BE SOOOOO COOOOL!!!
Now... If only I can use my literary prestidigitation to conjure us some money...
;)
Oh, and this was preceded by a text from my baby before I went to sleep, and an IM from her when I woke up!!! (She saw PIRATES 3 again!)
So good, GOOD day for Ray Jay!!! :D
Criss Angel is ASTOUNDING!!! I have always loved magic! I love when stuff doesn't behave the way you expect it to! I mean, not like a car refusing to start when you're on your way to work or something, but like when someone realizes that they can shove their thumb through the back of a styrafoam cup and make you believe they're levitating the cup.
You know?
Or like when a writer convinces you that this character you love IS GOING TO DIE, and then they figure out a believable way to keep the character alive!
Think of Indiana Jones...
Every five minutes of RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK Indy is finding himself in situations that you know he shouldn't be able to survive! And yet he always finds a way out of it!
Same thing with John McClane in DIE HARD. (Still need to see the 4th movie!)
There's a similar dynamic working in writing and magic, which is understanding the Human Condition, understanding what people think (in a general, universal way), creating a situation that intrigues them and engages them and presents a fundamental impossibility, and then defying that situation in a satisfying way and creating an outcome that people fundamentally want to see.
Like Criss says "I'm gonna try to make you believe I have made a 4-ton elephant disappear" and he actually makes you believe he made the elephant disappear!
Genius!
Incidentally, the sequence where he performs magic for the chimpanzees... BRILLIANT!!! OMG, I laughed until I HURT!!! I'm glad I bought both seasons of the show IF ONLY for that sequence!!!
I mean, what does a chimp think when you make something disappear in front of it?!!
I haven't laughed that hard in a while!!!
It HURT! :P
Oh, and there's a bone of contention in the Edwards household: Brian loves the show, but he's convinced (along with some people on the Internet Community) that the gag behind Criss's magic is that he IS using movie magic to pull off some of his bigger illusions. Criss has shown how he does enough of his tricks that I believe his mind works in a different way from most people's and that when he's levitating a girl in a Las Vegas street, people surrounding him aren't paid conspirators, and REALLY DON'T KNOW how he does it.
Coincidentally...
Season 1 has 4 interractive dvd tricks as a bonus feature. The viewer is asked to think of a card or pick a word or something like that, and Criss Angel guesses your card, word, whatever. Brian did the first 3 tricks, and CRISS ANGEL WAS RIGHT ALL 3 TIMES!!! I took the last trick -- guessing a word from the dictionary -- and the word he guessed was a different word from what I guessed. :( But it started with the same letter! Out of an alphabet of 26 letters, that's fairly impressive, hehe!
I needled Brian, because he had just said -- maybe 2 minutes before we did this -- that if he were in the audience, he'd play along and not spoil the trick. But he insisted that he wasn't "playing along" and that he hadn't watched that part of the dvd before I woke up!
Still, I think Brian believe Criss Angel does enough small-scale tricks that are mind-blowing so that when he does the hugantic ones we won't even consider that he might be using movie tricks.
He has a point, to be sure.
I need to get enough money now so we can go to Vegas as see Criss in person, so that maybe we can see which one of us is correct.
OOH! AND GNOMEY SHOULD BE WITH US!!! THAT WOULD BE SOOOOO COOOOL!!!
Now... If only I can use my literary prestidigitation to conjure us some money...
;)
7 Hours Into My 10-Hour Shift...
I am 3 hours away from my weekend!!!
YAY!
Nothing big planned. Maybe write a novel... You know, nuthin' big, hehe.
Actually, there's no way I'm writing a novel this weekend, but I feel one sort of growing inside me. (I'M A MOMMY!!!) But I'm only in my first trimester, so I'm dealing with the morning sickness and mild cravings, but I'm not really showing yet, lol. ;)
The novel I put a few months' worth of work into is stalled... It's basically just me killing people off with clever setups/payoff and flawless structure, but no real theme or "soul".
And if you've seen STRANGER THAN FICTION, you might have a decent idea of what that feels like. (I mean, SHE was struggling with killing a character and creating HER MASTERPIECE... This thing WOULD NOT have been my masterpiece... And I killed A LOT MORE people, lol.)
Blah.
But I've got something potentially BRILLIANT cooking now.
I'm not really blogging about my writing, though. I'm pretty much just blogging because it's been a while.
OOH! My dealer hooked me up with my next 2 fixes, lol! My Genius Friend Dave gave me a copy of the 1st and 2nd episodes of BURN NOTICE. Can't wait to tear into those!!! He has so
far NOT been disappointed with the series, so I'm really excited!
Also...
Since my last blog entry, my pusher struck again...
If you get him started about Criss Angel -- street magician and MINOR DEITY -- he'll go on and on about how badass this guy is and how much fun his show on A&E is and blah, blah, blah. My Genius Friend Dave even had me pause in my work one night because Criss Angel was on an episode of VEGAS that he was airing, and he wanted me to see this guy.
I watched.
I thought the guy was a bit pretentious, and I never would have considered coining the term over-Goth-y before seeing the episode. But My Genius Friend Dave liked him, so cool.
Anyway, this was months ago. (Maybe even close to a year ago. Seriously.)
After my last blog I'm sitting vigil for my Gnomey Goddess, and I find entire episodes of CRISS ANGEL: MINDFREAK on this site, so I watch them...
...and...
I AM SO A CONVERT!!!
CRISS ANGEL FRICKIN' RULES!!!
I was a couple minutes late getting to work last night because I had to track down season's 1 and 2 on dvd, as well as the soundtrack cd (because -- alas -- my beloved iTunes does not carry it, even though they do carry both seasons of the show) so that I could listen to Criss Angel's music on my way to work!!!
It was a crazy night last night. The morning before my shift ended was crazy, AFTER it turned Friday the 13th, I noticed. So my Friday the 13th finished up crazy, as well. I got through with little pain and fuss thanks to My Genius Friend Dave, actually!!! (I have a kind, caring dealer/pusher.) And I wanted some Criss Angel music to sort of pump me up going into what I knew would be a crazy situation.
It worked, too... If you are curious.
Anyway... MINDFREAK!!! If you're even passively interested in illusions, you should give this cat a watch. If you tell me you know how he does his tricks, I'm likely to call you a liar, lol. Mind-blowing stuff!!! And I studied magic quite passionately in my teens and early-20s, too! I mean, I never inteded to go into it because in my teens it was all about acting, and my early-20s was the beginning of my studies in writing. But it's always been a passionate fascination for it, and I could probably show you a couple of trick to make you scratch your head.
But Criss Angel... DUDE! Most of his stuff, I don't have a CLUE how he did it! And I used to watch Penn & Teller stuff and I could at least guess at how some parts of the illusion were performed. (Not because I'm genius like them, but because they produced enough videos and books talking about how to do magic that I got a flavor for their style and how they work.)
As a special feature on his second season dvds, he shows you 3 tricks, and the second one BLEW ME AWAY! I just watched it, and I'm blown away, as I normally am, but you know.... This is becoming usual. Then he said "Wanna know how I did it? I'm gonna show you," AND HE DID!
And it was BRILLIANT!!!
Moreover, if you research Criss Angel on the Net you'll get the haters or the merely disinterested who feel comfortable dismising the Criss Angel phenomenon as him paying off people to pretend to be surprised, though they are part of the trick. (And if you don't enjoy experiencing a sense of wonder, I can see how dismissing what Criss Angel does would definitely help you sleep better at night, lol.) But after seeing this trick, then having him show me how it's done -- if you're familiar with his show, it's the trick with his makeup/hair stylist and another girl, and a lipstick mark that jumps from his hand to hers -- I TOTALLY believe that when he says "What you see is what you get" it's not bullshit!
Well, relatively speaking, of course... His job IS misdirection and slight-of-hand, after all, lol.
But probably the biggest reason I'm all Mindfreak-ed now is because I have yet another inspiration in my life, lol.
I can't help it, I just DIG ON folks who not only master their passion, but take it to knew heights!!! Criss Angel is that guy! He makes magic COOL!!!
You see pictures of Harry Houdini atop a skyscraper in New York back in the 1920s, and the city is gathered around watching whatever he's doing... You get the idea that for those people Houdini's magic WAS cool! Our concept of magic devolved since then... Too many elementary-school-cafagynatorium magicians who make flowers appear from their sleeves and pour milk into rolled-up newspapers , transforming it to sand.
But, you know... The FIRST time we saw that trick... It was kinda cool! (I was probably 6 the first time I saw it, but it WAS cool then!)
Now Angel comes around and does stuff that just BLOWS YOUR MIND, and I feel like I'm a kid again! I'm all like, "He's a wizard, and he's just pretending to be an illusionist so as not to reveal that magic REALLY DOES exist!!!" ;P
Okay, I should get back to work now.
It's 10:00 am UK-time... You think my baby's awake at 10:00 am on a Sunday morning?
She has been working a lot lately...
Hmm...
Only one way to find out, hehe.
PEACE!!!
YAY!
Nothing big planned. Maybe write a novel... You know, nuthin' big, hehe.
Actually, there's no way I'm writing a novel this weekend, but I feel one sort of growing inside me. (I'M A MOMMY!!!) But I'm only in my first trimester, so I'm dealing with the morning sickness and mild cravings, but I'm not really showing yet, lol. ;)
The novel I put a few months' worth of work into is stalled... It's basically just me killing people off with clever setups/payoff and flawless structure, but no real theme or "soul".
And if you've seen STRANGER THAN FICTION, you might have a decent idea of what that feels like. (I mean, SHE was struggling with killing a character and creating HER MASTERPIECE... This thing WOULD NOT have been my masterpiece... And I killed A LOT MORE people, lol.)
Blah.
But I've got something potentially BRILLIANT cooking now.
I'm not really blogging about my writing, though. I'm pretty much just blogging because it's been a while.
OOH! My dealer hooked me up with my next 2 fixes, lol! My Genius Friend Dave gave me a copy of the 1st and 2nd episodes of BURN NOTICE. Can't wait to tear into those!!! He has so
far NOT been disappointed with the series, so I'm really excited!
Also...
Since my last blog entry, my pusher struck again...
If you get him started about Criss Angel -- street magician and MINOR DEITY -- he'll go on and on about how badass this guy is and how much fun his show on A&E is and blah, blah, blah. My Genius Friend Dave even had me pause in my work one night because Criss Angel was on an episode of VEGAS that he was airing, and he wanted me to see this guy.
I watched.
I thought the guy was a bit pretentious, and I never would have considered coining the term over-Goth-y before seeing the episode. But My Genius Friend Dave liked him, so cool.
Anyway, this was months ago. (Maybe even close to a year ago. Seriously.)
After my last blog I'm sitting vigil for my Gnomey Goddess, and I find entire episodes of CRISS ANGEL: MINDFREAK on this site, so I watch them...
...and...
I AM SO A CONVERT!!!
CRISS ANGEL FRICKIN' RULES!!!
I was a couple minutes late getting to work last night because I had to track down season's 1 and 2 on dvd, as well as the soundtrack cd (because -- alas -- my beloved iTunes does not carry it, even though they do carry both seasons of the show) so that I could listen to Criss Angel's music on my way to work!!!
It was a crazy night last night. The morning before my shift ended was crazy, AFTER it turned Friday the 13th, I noticed. So my Friday the 13th finished up crazy, as well. I got through with little pain and fuss thanks to My Genius Friend Dave, actually!!! (I have a kind, caring dealer/pusher.) And I wanted some Criss Angel music to sort of pump me up going into what I knew would be a crazy situation.
It worked, too... If you are curious.
Anyway... MINDFREAK!!! If you're even passively interested in illusions, you should give this cat a watch. If you tell me you know how he does his tricks, I'm likely to call you a liar, lol. Mind-blowing stuff!!! And I studied magic quite passionately in my teens and early-20s, too! I mean, I never inteded to go into it because in my teens it was all about acting, and my early-20s was the beginning of my studies in writing. But it's always been a passionate fascination for it, and I could probably show you a couple of trick to make you scratch your head.
But Criss Angel... DUDE! Most of his stuff, I don't have a CLUE how he did it! And I used to watch Penn & Teller stuff and I could at least guess at how some parts of the illusion were performed. (Not because I'm genius like them, but because they produced enough videos and books talking about how to do magic that I got a flavor for their style and how they work.)
As a special feature on his second season dvds, he shows you 3 tricks, and the second one BLEW ME AWAY! I just watched it, and I'm blown away, as I normally am, but you know.... This is becoming usual. Then he said "Wanna know how I did it? I'm gonna show you," AND HE DID!
And it was BRILLIANT!!!
Moreover, if you research Criss Angel on the Net you'll get the haters or the merely disinterested who feel comfortable dismising the Criss Angel phenomenon as him paying off people to pretend to be surprised, though they are part of the trick. (And if you don't enjoy experiencing a sense of wonder, I can see how dismissing what Criss Angel does would definitely help you sleep better at night, lol.) But after seeing this trick, then having him show me how it's done -- if you're familiar with his show, it's the trick with his makeup/hair stylist and another girl, and a lipstick mark that jumps from his hand to hers -- I TOTALLY believe that when he says "What you see is what you get" it's not bullshit!
Well, relatively speaking, of course... His job IS misdirection and slight-of-hand, after all, lol.
But probably the biggest reason I'm all Mindfreak-ed now is because I have yet another inspiration in my life, lol.
I can't help it, I just DIG ON folks who not only master their passion, but take it to knew heights!!! Criss Angel is that guy! He makes magic COOL!!!
You see pictures of Harry Houdini atop a skyscraper in New York back in the 1920s, and the city is gathered around watching whatever he's doing... You get the idea that for those people Houdini's magic WAS cool! Our concept of magic devolved since then... Too many elementary-school-cafagynatorium magicians who make flowers appear from their sleeves and pour milk into rolled-up newspapers , transforming it to sand.
But, you know... The FIRST time we saw that trick... It was kinda cool! (I was probably 6 the first time I saw it, but it WAS cool then!)
Now Angel comes around and does stuff that just BLOWS YOUR MIND, and I feel like I'm a kid again! I'm all like, "He's a wizard, and he's just pretending to be an illusionist so as not to reveal that magic REALLY DOES exist!!!" ;P
Okay, I should get back to work now.
It's 10:00 am UK-time... You think my baby's awake at 10:00 am on a Sunday morning?
She has been working a lot lately...
Hmm...
Only one way to find out, hehe.
PEACE!!!
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
A pox upon My Genius Friend Dave!
I mean, a harmless pox. I don't want bad things to happen to him for real. Like maybe a Chicken Noodle Soup Pox. That makes him crave Chicken Noodle Soup for, like, a minute and a half.
Anyway, the reason for my impotent rancor is My Genius Friend Dave likes to get me addicted to things. The reason I got addicted to computers in the late '90s is because the scoundrel GAVE me my first computer! (That treacherous villain!) And as with everyone else, once I got use to using the thing, I became irrevocably dependent upon it.
Of course, the computer did give me my girlfriend... And allows me a means to communicate with her...
But STILL...
My Genius Friend Dave got me hooked on THE DRESDEN FILES, too. He plied me with copies of the episodes as they aired (starting at the end of the season) until I HAD TO watch ALL the episodes.
Then somehow (I don't even remember how now -- probably Wikipedia) I discovered that the TV series was based on a series of books. So I had to read them, too.
Vicious miscreant!
But I got him BACK!!! I gave him his first Dresden novel, which got HIM hooked, too! So Justice was, after a fashion, served there.
But then he gave me a copy of the pilot for a new USA series called BURN NOTICE. And I just watched it.
And now I'm hooked.
Consarn it.
After the pilot I'm ACHING to see the first episode!!!
It's a GOOD SHOW!!!
You gotta love a clever hero, and this cat's clever!
It's a bit like watching CASINO ROYALE, but with tons of background T&A. Very nice. (The show takes place in Miami.)
But it's not on iTunes, so I have to wait for my dealer to hook me up with my next fix.
I'll live. But why must My Genius Friend Dave addict me! I mean, sure, it's a bit like accusing him of making me addicted to a healthy diet and profitable investment habits, as he never gets me addicted to anything that's not super cool. But STILL!
I mean, a harmless pox. I don't want bad things to happen to him for real. Like maybe a Chicken Noodle Soup Pox. That makes him crave Chicken Noodle Soup for, like, a minute and a half.
Anyway, the reason for my impotent rancor is My Genius Friend Dave likes to get me addicted to things. The reason I got addicted to computers in the late '90s is because the scoundrel GAVE me my first computer! (That treacherous villain!) And as with everyone else, once I got use to using the thing, I became irrevocably dependent upon it.
Of course, the computer did give me my girlfriend... And allows me a means to communicate with her...
But STILL...
My Genius Friend Dave got me hooked on THE DRESDEN FILES, too. He plied me with copies of the episodes as they aired (starting at the end of the season) until I HAD TO watch ALL the episodes.
Then somehow (I don't even remember how now -- probably Wikipedia) I discovered that the TV series was based on a series of books. So I had to read them, too.
Vicious miscreant!
But I got him BACK!!! I gave him his first Dresden novel, which got HIM hooked, too! So Justice was, after a fashion, served there.
But then he gave me a copy of the pilot for a new USA series called BURN NOTICE. And I just watched it.
And now I'm hooked.
Consarn it.
After the pilot I'm ACHING to see the first episode!!!
It's a GOOD SHOW!!!
You gotta love a clever hero, and this cat's clever!
It's a bit like watching CASINO ROYALE, but with tons of background T&A. Very nice. (The show takes place in Miami.)
But it's not on iTunes, so I have to wait for my dealer to hook me up with my next fix.
I'll live. But why must My Genius Friend Dave addict me! I mean, sure, it's a bit like accusing him of making me addicted to a healthy diet and profitable investment habits, as he never gets me addicted to anything that's not super cool. But STILL!
I've been takin' it LAZY this Monday!!!
I fell asleep watching THE SIMPSONS and woke up watching it, then logged on to catch my baby if she logged in before bed. Then I watched both versions of THE HITCHER!
VERY cool!!!
I had seen the first, natch, back in '88 when it came out. Great flick! Very disturbing and tense.
But the remake RULES!!!
And it was really neat to watch them back-to-back, and see just how closely the remake writers and director stuck to the original!!! I'm talking some SERIOUS respect here!
Then, for the last few hours, I've been in SecondLife with Brian.
He found these sound effects that create an aural ambience of a haunted forrest when the sun goes down (in SL)!!! It made the Cemetary behind Freddy's Alley (one of Brian's stores) even COOLER!
Then I needed to reboot the computer, so now here I am.
OH! But the reason I'm able to make a blog entry while the main computer that I use is rebooting is because Brian installed a Linux operating system on the computer I'm using at the moment!!!
LISTEN: If you have a choice between Windows Vista or Linux Tophat or Linux Umbutu, TAKE THE LINUX!!! Vista is designed to MAKE YOU PAY for watching video, for movies, for music, FOR EVERYTHING! Linux is part of the OPEN SOURCE MOVEMENT! It wants knowlege to be FREE!!!
More practically speaking, Windows is a resource HOG! It uses more RAM than it should running background programs that YOU DO NOT NEED OR WANT RUNNING! Linux, uses ONLY the resources you want/need running! So an 1997 computer can play video off the Net!!! While a 2001 computer running Windows just BARELY can!!!
LINUX RULES!!!
AND...
It's 9:31 am in the UK, so my baby might be logging on any time within the next 3 or 4 hours. So that's cool! :D
Okay, back to SL...
I fell asleep watching THE SIMPSONS and woke up watching it, then logged on to catch my baby if she logged in before bed. Then I watched both versions of THE HITCHER!
VERY cool!!!
I had seen the first, natch, back in '88 when it came out. Great flick! Very disturbing and tense.
But the remake RULES!!!
And it was really neat to watch them back-to-back, and see just how closely the remake writers and director stuck to the original!!! I'm talking some SERIOUS respect here!
Then, for the last few hours, I've been in SecondLife with Brian.
He found these sound effects that create an aural ambience of a haunted forrest when the sun goes down (in SL)!!! It made the Cemetary behind Freddy's Alley (one of Brian's stores) even COOLER!
Then I needed to reboot the computer, so now here I am.
OH! But the reason I'm able to make a blog entry while the main computer that I use is rebooting is because Brian installed a Linux operating system on the computer I'm using at the moment!!!
LISTEN: If you have a choice between Windows Vista or Linux Tophat or Linux Umbutu, TAKE THE LINUX!!! Vista is designed to MAKE YOU PAY for watching video, for movies, for music, FOR EVERYTHING! Linux is part of the OPEN SOURCE MOVEMENT! It wants knowlege to be FREE!!!
More practically speaking, Windows is a resource HOG! It uses more RAM than it should running background programs that YOU DO NOT NEED OR WANT RUNNING! Linux, uses ONLY the resources you want/need running! So an 1997 computer can play video off the Net!!! While a 2001 computer running Windows just BARELY can!!!
LINUX RULES!!!
AND...
It's 9:31 am in the UK, so my baby might be logging on any time within the next 3 or 4 hours. So that's cool! :D
Okay, back to SL...
Thursday, July 05, 2007
WHEW!!!
Just finished book three of The Dresden Files, GRAVE PERIL after a 3-day near-marathon!
YIKES that's a rough ride!
"Rough" in the very best senses of the term! It's rough because you care so much about the characters and the author is so skilled at wreaking havock throughout his universe!!!
What's really cool, though, is that having finished the third, book, I'm caught up to the fourth book, which was the first one I read.
Now... Onward and upward!!!
...after a little break, maybe.
I've got 5 (soon to be 6) more novels ahead of me, and following Dresden on his adventures (and misadventures) is SO EXHAUSTING, lol!
Seriously, if you're an empathetic person Jim Butcher really takes your legs out from under you with the abuse he deals Dresdens and those he loves (and by extension, those you love)!
Maybe I'll re-watch the TV show for a bit. (That's a much kinder universe than the novels, lol.)
OOH! Yesterday was the 4th of July!!! So the last 2 episodes of DRIVE aired last night!
Which means they should be on iTunes within the next couple of days!
AND THEN...
After I've seen the last 2 episodes, then rewatched the series all together...
I can read THE FIRST 13 TELEPLAYS on TimMinear.net! Right now there are only the first 4 up, but I've read that 5-13 will be available after the last 2 produced episodes air.
AND, I've read that Tim Minear had planned some closure at Episode 13, so after the frustration that will undoubtedly come from the end of Episode 6, I can then go back and read the teleplays, reading all the way up to a sort of ending.
So that'll be cool.
:)
It's wierd, this should be a Hell Night for me at work (and, to be fair, the night is still QUITE young) but so far I've been able to wrap-up GRAVE PERIL, AND I'm also AHEAD of the work I need to have done before 11:30 pm. I basically have another hour to kill, even AFTER I post this blog entry!
How cool is that?!!
I'm gonna go run around in circles really, really fast.
YIKES that's a rough ride!
"Rough" in the very best senses of the term! It's rough because you care so much about the characters and the author is so skilled at wreaking havock throughout his universe!!!
What's really cool, though, is that having finished the third, book, I'm caught up to the fourth book, which was the first one I read.
Now... Onward and upward!!!
...after a little break, maybe.
I've got 5 (soon to be 6) more novels ahead of me, and following Dresden on his adventures (and misadventures) is SO EXHAUSTING, lol!
Seriously, if you're an empathetic person Jim Butcher really takes your legs out from under you with the abuse he deals Dresdens and those he loves (and by extension, those you love)!
Maybe I'll re-watch the TV show for a bit. (That's a much kinder universe than the novels, lol.)
OOH! Yesterday was the 4th of July!!! So the last 2 episodes of DRIVE aired last night!
Which means they should be on iTunes within the next couple of days!
AND THEN...
After I've seen the last 2 episodes, then rewatched the series all together...
I can read THE FIRST 13 TELEPLAYS on TimMinear.net! Right now there are only the first 4 up, but I've read that 5-13 will be available after the last 2 produced episodes air.
AND, I've read that Tim Minear had planned some closure at Episode 13, so after the frustration that will undoubtedly come from the end of Episode 6, I can then go back and read the teleplays, reading all the way up to a sort of ending.
So that'll be cool.
:)
It's wierd, this should be a Hell Night for me at work (and, to be fair, the night is still QUITE young) but so far I've been able to wrap-up GRAVE PERIL, AND I'm also AHEAD of the work I need to have done before 11:30 pm. I basically have another hour to kill, even AFTER I post this blog entry!
How cool is that?!!
I'm gonna go run around in circles really, really fast.
Wednesday, July 04, 2007
Happy 4th of July!!!
I woke up to a text from my Gnomey Goddess and a card from her, wishing me a Happy 4th! :)
I'm working tonight, so I won't get to step out onto the balcony and watch the local fireworks with my bubba, like we usually do on the 4th and on New Years, so I bought A LOT of fireworks in SL and we had our own virtual fireworks display for about half an hour!
VERY COOL!
And if you're interested, here are some pics:
That's me wearing the "Don't Panic" T-shirt, one of my own creations! Brian is looking like Ghost Rider these days.
Also, the car between us: That's a virtual replication of his actual car, lol! For some reason he decided his powder-blue Tempo needs to exist in-world! (He gave me one, too.)
Like I said, this went on for more than half an hour. Then when my fireworks panel had used itself up, Brian took care of the finale for us in his own fashion...
Now THAT is a fireworks display, lol!!!
I can hear firecrackers going off outside the window as I type this, and it reminds me that it's getting late and I should be getting ready for work.
Hope you have a GREAT 4th!!!
Oh, and HERE!!! Be sure to celebrate the holiday with this classic Homestar Runner toon!!!
I'm working tonight, so I won't get to step out onto the balcony and watch the local fireworks with my bubba, like we usually do on the 4th and on New Years, so I bought A LOT of fireworks in SL and we had our own virtual fireworks display for about half an hour!
VERY COOL!
And if you're interested, here are some pics:
That's me wearing the "Don't Panic" T-shirt, one of my own creations! Brian is looking like Ghost Rider these days.
Also, the car between us: That's a virtual replication of his actual car, lol! For some reason he decided his powder-blue Tempo needs to exist in-world! (He gave me one, too.)
Like I said, this went on for more than half an hour. Then when my fireworks panel had used itself up, Brian took care of the finale for us in his own fashion...
Now THAT is a fireworks display, lol!!!
I can hear firecrackers going off outside the window as I type this, and it reminds me that it's getting late and I should be getting ready for work.
Hope you have a GREAT 4th!!!
Oh, and HERE!!! Be sure to celebrate the holiday with this classic Homestar Runner toon!!!
Monday, July 02, 2007
Just Saw OCEANS THIRTEEN :)
I think I need to see it again. (On dvd.) I'm tempted to say it was better than the second but can't touch the first.
And yet...
It was really only the end of the second movie that made me feel a bit let down. That was a DYNAMIC flick, if you think back. Stuff's happening all fast-paced like the first one. But in the first one, the resolution was PERFECTION. In the second you sort of felt that Soderberg and the writers hadn't really played fair with you.
Thirteen...
It's a bit of a blur now, but I'm tempted to say that the story's better with the third but the romp is better with the second. You know?
Good flick, mind you!
The thing is, once you've seen it for the 15th time on dvd it's just part of the overall story.
EDDIE IZZARD GETS MORE LINES IN THIS ONE!!!
He gets some MAJOR screen time with Clooney and Pitt, and THAT'S a GREAT thing!!! In fact, you could fairly say that Izzard carries the opening exposition. If not for him, it might have been a slow opening.
So that's cool!
I'll need a second viewing of the third flick.
Anyway, I got to see if for free, and I got to see it at the Alamo, so THAT'S groovage!
My baby had to go early tonight, so I did my laundry and I said to myself, "Hey... I could go see Ocean's Thirteen tonight..."
Then I replied, "Yup. You sure could, sir."
So I did.
OH!!! GUESS WHAT!!!
Okay, I'm a HUGE Dirk Maggs fan. The cat's BRILLIANT, and he's doing with audio something I thought SHOULD be done with audio since I was a kid. And I was passively researching him last night and discovered that he has done something ELSE that I wanted to do with audio...
Okay, first I should tick off the things he's ALREADY done with audio:
First and formost, his aproach to sound design for audio theatre is what he calls "sound movies". He applies the same techniques and theory to designing audio theatre that cinematic sound designers do, giving the audience -- in affect -- a movie without the images!
It works amazingly well!
Traditional sound design principal is based on stage plays. You have actors and sound effects. The acting sometimes comes off as good (or bad, in some cases) stage acting, rather than filmic acting. Then you bring in whatever sound effects you HAVE TO HAVE to complete the sort of perfunctory illusion.
Cinematic sound design conversely, is ROBUST!
First off, the acting isn't a representation of being in a moment, it is absolute mimicry of being in that moment.
For instance, a stage actor running in a play can only run so far, as the stage is only so long. So he might pant an pull off some dramatics to give the audience the IMPRESSION of someone physically exerting themselves. In a FILM, however, the actor will ACTUALLY run whatever distance he is meant to run. And if the scene calls for a cut immediately after the running, so the camera can be repositioned to get a better angle on the actor for the next chunk of action/dialog, the actor is very likely to have a good run after the camera is in its next position, so that when he starts the shot he is ACTUALLY panting, lending even more believability to his performance.
Stage and film acting are really 2 very, very different styles of acting. The latter being more of a recreation of life than a representation of life. Academically speaking, this can be argued, as acting is a great deal more subtle than represented here, but I'm trying to make a general point here, and not about acting.)
Secondly, and most obviously (to those who have the ear) cinematic sound is a GREAT DEAL more subtle! Movie sound designers have be able to account, aurally, for everything the eye sees in the frame. (They don't have to always incorporate it all, because sound is used just as shrewdly as framing, lighting, music, writing, acting to focus on each important moment, and to emphasize each story moment as ti is happening to ensure the audience is following the import of what's going on at every given moment.)
But the movie sound designer will often include incidental noise (that may not be available on the master track) to enhance the illusion of reality.
For instance:
Two people are having a quiet discussion in a New York apartment.
But the conversation was actually filmed on a sound stage in Los Angeles. All you hear on the master reel is the voices of those people, because sound stages are DESIGNED to keep all other sound out.
But the sound designers will take a recording of a New York City street (and most likely THE street that the apartment is supposed to be located on, as cinematic sound designers are famously anal retentive when it comes to authenticity and detail) and layer it in under the scene. So in between lines of dialog -- even during, when it's not distracting -- you will hear cars and trucks driving by.
The effect will go unnoticed by the audience. But if the outside traffic weren't there, there would be a subliminal sense of something missing.
So Dirk Maggs recognized this long ago, and adapted this approach to his audio plays. (Going so far as to introduce Dolby Surround Sound to BBC Radio series!)
So that's a HUGE thing he's done that I'm jealous of. (I still want to do it, but by the time I get a chance, they will simply call me the "next Dirk Maggs", if anything at all. I can't be the first to do it now, lol.)
Next, he's done stories featuring Superman, Batman and Spider-man! I've always wanted to work with those characters, and he ahs.
Next, he got to be the one to adapt (masterfully, I should add) the last the Hitchhiker's Guide novels back to radio! THAT is a MONUMENTAL feat!!! He got to work with Douglas Adams! He got to -- in a sense -- BE Douglas Adams!!!
And he'll be doing it again at the end of the year, with his Dirk Gently series!!!
And here's another thing he's gotten to do that I just discovered:
I'm a huge Marx Brothers fan. I think they're genius! Always have!
In 1988 someone found all but one script to the Marx Brothers one and only radio series, and he released them in a collection.
I bought that collection and I SO wanted to produce that series! I mean, I've always loved radio theatre -- aka "The Theatre of the Mind" -- and I wanted to be the person to bring the genius of the Marx Brothers in audio to life!
But Maggs beat me to it.
In 1990 (and again in 1992 and 1993) he produced 3 BRILLIANT series which recreated mosty of those scripts!!!
And I scored me some mp3s of 16 of the 18 total episodes!
So while I was doing my laundry and washing dishes and decided whether or not to see OCEAN'S THIRTEEN tonight, I listened to several episodes of this show, FLYWHEEL, SHYSTER AND FLYWHEEL.
Genius! :D
(I love my iPod!)
And now...?
Not sure. I should probably polish my short story and post in on MySpace, but I don't really feel up to that. I polished an audio script I wrote some time ago and sent it to Kelly. He may direct in in L.A. and let me produce it here. We'll see how that goes. But I'm not itching to write tonight.
Not sure what I'll do.
But if it's interesting, you know I'll tell you about it!
PEACE!!! :D
And yet...
It was really only the end of the second movie that made me feel a bit let down. That was a DYNAMIC flick, if you think back. Stuff's happening all fast-paced like the first one. But in the first one, the resolution was PERFECTION. In the second you sort of felt that Soderberg and the writers hadn't really played fair with you.
Thirteen...
It's a bit of a blur now, but I'm tempted to say that the story's better with the third but the romp is better with the second. You know?
Good flick, mind you!
The thing is, once you've seen it for the 15th time on dvd it's just part of the overall story.
EDDIE IZZARD GETS MORE LINES IN THIS ONE!!!
He gets some MAJOR screen time with Clooney and Pitt, and THAT'S a GREAT thing!!! In fact, you could fairly say that Izzard carries the opening exposition. If not for him, it might have been a slow opening.
So that's cool!
I'll need a second viewing of the third flick.
Anyway, I got to see if for free, and I got to see it at the Alamo, so THAT'S groovage!
My baby had to go early tonight, so I did my laundry and I said to myself, "Hey... I could go see Ocean's Thirteen tonight..."
Then I replied, "Yup. You sure could, sir."
So I did.
OH!!! GUESS WHAT!!!
Okay, I'm a HUGE Dirk Maggs fan. The cat's BRILLIANT, and he's doing with audio something I thought SHOULD be done with audio since I was a kid. And I was passively researching him last night and discovered that he has done something ELSE that I wanted to do with audio...
Okay, first I should tick off the things he's ALREADY done with audio:
First and formost, his aproach to sound design for audio theatre is what he calls "sound movies". He applies the same techniques and theory to designing audio theatre that cinematic sound designers do, giving the audience -- in affect -- a movie without the images!
It works amazingly well!
Traditional sound design principal is based on stage plays. You have actors and sound effects. The acting sometimes comes off as good (or bad, in some cases) stage acting, rather than filmic acting. Then you bring in whatever sound effects you HAVE TO HAVE to complete the sort of perfunctory illusion.
Cinematic sound design conversely, is ROBUST!
First off, the acting isn't a representation of being in a moment, it is absolute mimicry of being in that moment.
For instance, a stage actor running in a play can only run so far, as the stage is only so long. So he might pant an pull off some dramatics to give the audience the IMPRESSION of someone physically exerting themselves. In a FILM, however, the actor will ACTUALLY run whatever distance he is meant to run. And if the scene calls for a cut immediately after the running, so the camera can be repositioned to get a better angle on the actor for the next chunk of action/dialog, the actor is very likely to have a good run after the camera is in its next position, so that when he starts the shot he is ACTUALLY panting, lending even more believability to his performance.
Stage and film acting are really 2 very, very different styles of acting. The latter being more of a recreation of life than a representation of life. Academically speaking, this can be argued, as acting is a great deal more subtle than represented here, but I'm trying to make a general point here, and not about acting.)
Secondly, and most obviously (to those who have the ear) cinematic sound is a GREAT DEAL more subtle! Movie sound designers have be able to account, aurally, for everything the eye sees in the frame. (They don't have to always incorporate it all, because sound is used just as shrewdly as framing, lighting, music, writing, acting to focus on each important moment, and to emphasize each story moment as ti is happening to ensure the audience is following the import of what's going on at every given moment.)
But the movie sound designer will often include incidental noise (that may not be available on the master track) to enhance the illusion of reality.
For instance:
Two people are having a quiet discussion in a New York apartment.
But the conversation was actually filmed on a sound stage in Los Angeles. All you hear on the master reel is the voices of those people, because sound stages are DESIGNED to keep all other sound out.
But the sound designers will take a recording of a New York City street (and most likely THE street that the apartment is supposed to be located on, as cinematic sound designers are famously anal retentive when it comes to authenticity and detail) and layer it in under the scene. So in between lines of dialog -- even during, when it's not distracting -- you will hear cars and trucks driving by.
The effect will go unnoticed by the audience. But if the outside traffic weren't there, there would be a subliminal sense of something missing.
So Dirk Maggs recognized this long ago, and adapted this approach to his audio plays. (Going so far as to introduce Dolby Surround Sound to BBC Radio series!)
So that's a HUGE thing he's done that I'm jealous of. (I still want to do it, but by the time I get a chance, they will simply call me the "next Dirk Maggs", if anything at all. I can't be the first to do it now, lol.)
Next, he's done stories featuring Superman, Batman and Spider-man! I've always wanted to work with those characters, and he ahs.
Next, he got to be the one to adapt (masterfully, I should add) the last the Hitchhiker's Guide novels back to radio! THAT is a MONUMENTAL feat!!! He got to work with Douglas Adams! He got to -- in a sense -- BE Douglas Adams!!!
And he'll be doing it again at the end of the year, with his Dirk Gently series!!!
And here's another thing he's gotten to do that I just discovered:
I'm a huge Marx Brothers fan. I think they're genius! Always have!
In 1988 someone found all but one script to the Marx Brothers one and only radio series, and he released them in a collection.
I bought that collection and I SO wanted to produce that series! I mean, I've always loved radio theatre -- aka "The Theatre of the Mind" -- and I wanted to be the person to bring the genius of the Marx Brothers in audio to life!
But Maggs beat me to it.
In 1990 (and again in 1992 and 1993) he produced 3 BRILLIANT series which recreated mosty of those scripts!!!
And I scored me some mp3s of 16 of the 18 total episodes!
So while I was doing my laundry and washing dishes and decided whether or not to see OCEAN'S THIRTEEN tonight, I listened to several episodes of this show, FLYWHEEL, SHYSTER AND FLYWHEEL.
Genius! :D
(I love my iPod!)
And now...?
Not sure. I should probably polish my short story and post in on MySpace, but I don't really feel up to that. I polished an audio script I wrote some time ago and sent it to Kelly. He may direct in in L.A. and let me produce it here. We'll see how that goes. But I'm not itching to write tonight.
Not sure what I'll do.
But if it's interesting, you know I'll tell you about it!
PEACE!!! :D
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