We Now Take A Moment For Pretentious Musing
 
In all likelihood, it's because the girlfriend herself has been going back to art school, but for some reason, the whole notion of "What is art anyway?" has been bouncing around a lot in my head lately.
 
The funny thing about painting and sculpture to me is that they seem so relatively untouched by technology.  I mean, yeah, there's new chemicals and new tools that people can use in order to create new paintings or sculptures, but the fact is, it seems to me that these two areas of art have yet to be hit in the face by the modern miracle of mass production.
 
Music, for example, can be recorded and distributed digitally so that everyone can enjoy it.  Film is slowly making the migration to a digital media, but of course, you can download movies or record them (Or buy the DVD... GO PETE!  LORD OF THE RINGS RUUUUUULLLEZZZ!!111!!ONEONE), print was one of the FIRST of the arts to be subjected to mass production and distribution (With a strong argument going for it that it couldn't BECOME an art really--as in novels--without the creation of the printing press) but painting and sculpture have steadfastly remained analogue and impervious to reproduction.
 
You can say that that's pish posh and that the press has also made it possible to reproduce works of art as posters and such, but then why is it that the posters themselves are never considered valuable, only the original canvas, or the statue?  With literature, music and film the value is inherent in the work itself, we treasure the good book, the moving composition or the memorable film.  With painting, we only care if it's the original canvas we stand in front of, and most people will dimiss a poster as you being a poser.
 
So why is it that in a world where the inherent value comes from the content and intent, painting is still assigned value based on whether or not that was a brush stroke from the original artist?  I think that also has a large influence the very slow progress that digital art is making, since that's easily reproducible to begin with...
 
Question of the Day:
 
Someone help me out here...
 
Has there ever been a movie where Al Pacino didn't yell? 
 
I'm trying to think of one, but every film that comes to mind seems to involve him yelling quite dramatically at some point...
 
 
 

Labels: Movies, Musing

Peter S. Beagle = Genius

So I made the mistake last night of watching the animated movie The Last Unicorn with the girlfriend.

Now I've seen this movie before, and often. But it was when I was a lot younger, and I think probably the last time I watched it was when I was 15 or something. High School anyway. Over the years I've learned a few interesting things about it. Like the fact that even though it was produced by an American company (The "Stick More Songs In It Than You Can Shake A Stick At Rankin-Bass JR.) it was actually animated by... wait for it... STUDIO GHIBLI! Well, they weren't called Studio Gimli back then, but yes, the same guys that brought us MY Neighbor Totoro, Spirited Away and my personal favorite Nausicaa And The Valley Of The Wind we also the ones who were responsbile for completely nailing the sadness and fraility in the eyes of the Unicorn/Amalthea.

Summary O' Plot

Originally a novel written by Peter S. Beagle (Who then went on to adapt it for both stage and screen) The Last Unicorn, at least the animated version, is kind similar in its dialogue/acting choices to The Princess Bride in that even though it's clearly a period fantasy setting, the dialogue often comes out as very modern with modern references sprinkled throughout (IE, a butterfly singing I'll Be Home On The A-Train).

The story concerns one of the immortal unicorns, living her immortal life in the forest of her choosing and generally being blissful and ignorant of the occurrences in the outside world, until she overhears the conversation of a pair of hunters. One of the hunters proclaims that she is the last of the unicorns, all the others having disappeared mysteriously, and shouts out into the forest before they depart that he advises her to stay there and keep the forest perptually green and enchanted.

This of course, gets her attention and like most people who are told not to do something, she goes ahead and does it, seeking an answer to whether or not she truly is the last unicorn left.

I won't go into much detail of the rest of the plot since this is one of those timeles stories that everyone should experience for themselves. But I will say that this is one of those few stories that is close to, if not completely, perfect.

I'm not talking about the animation which was done in the 80's and so quite primitive by today's standards. Or the obvious cuts that were made throughout the film, so obvious in fact that you can even hear the music jump where the cut was made. But the story and characters themselves are ones that I think lovers of story can respect, and all writers should take lessons from.

What struck me the most about it on this viewing was how multi-layered it was. While concessions such as comedy relief, some minor slapstick and the usual action sequences have been thrown in to keep younger viewers enthralled, there's also an amazing amount of intelligence and heart in this story and these characters. No one is really stupid in this story, all of them drop at least one one-liner nugget of wisdom about life that can be endlessly quoted and thought upon, and all of them have very complex motivations that can be either understood and respected, or understood and pitied.

The acting is also completely amazing. Christopher Lee as King Haggard brings an authority and resonance to his character that makes it difficult not to fear him. Angela Lansbury puts in an amazing (And totally unrecognizable performance) as Mommy Fortuna, a deranged witch who comes off as a true psycopatch, Alan Arkin as Schmendrik gives an intelligent and melancholy turn to the character that perfectly nails his sad eyes.

But the two most outstanding performances in the story have to go Mia Farrow as the Unicorn, for the delicate turn of phrase that is both unearthly and achingly frail, and Tammy Grimes as the broken scullery maid who was content in her having lost hope until she saw the unicorn and realized perhaps she'd given up hope too soon.

Watching all these elements weave together in a cartoon of all things really made me wonder at how surprising art can be sometimes. I know many will disagree but for me this little animated feature made in the 80's says some of the most important and significant things about life, ambition, love, imagination and desire that we often forget. From Schmendrik's desire to become a true wizard, to Haggard's obsession with keeping only things that make him happy around him, to Lear's innocent love for Amalthea and Molly's tragic rediscovery of hope when it is almost too late for her... All of them have moments where they say something about human nature that everyone would be a lot better remembering from time to time.

And of course the ending is the killer, and one that I've tried aping in my own writing. A happy ending of sorts, that comes at great cost to the people involved, and often does more harm to the heroes in exchange for doing the greater good for many.

So I got kind of kicked in the head again last night after watching it. And of course the girlfriend was monumentally depressed afterwards and could only say "It's so sad. It's so, SO SAD..." because this move was another one of those key influential moments on her emotional life, and she can't watching it too often without becoming pyschologically damaged...

Labels: Anime, Icky Couple Stuff, Movies, Musing, Writing

What Do I Do Now, Pete?

Damn you, Peter Jackson...

Now that the Lord of the Rings trilogy has ended, you've left me with nothing to look forward to at the end of the year. For the last three years, no matter how bad the movies were, I could always console myself with, "At least Lord of the Rings is coming."

Now... Damn you... You've taken all hope away from me.

What really annoys me about this whole LotR phenomenon is that Pete made LotR the Star Wars experience that the new Star Wars movies should have been. A solid--if traditional--story weaved with some good acting and some of the most jaw dropping, "Oh-my-God-Am-I-Actually-Seeing-This" visuals and battle sequences that have ever graced the screen. True, the new Star Wars trilogies also have their share of amazing visuals, but since the acting is NOT there, the story is drowning in confusion and the writing and pace are all completely off... It makes it hard to care.

Even the much vaunted Matrix trilogy ended up getting lost in itself. And though I am and always will be a fan of the One True Trilogy, even I have to admit that the Ewoks towards the end kind of killed the whole effect of the first Star Wars series. LotR on the other hand simply got better and better with each successive film, leaving viewers totally exhausted and depressed at the end of it, not because it was bad, but because it was over, and we wished it didn't have to be.

It would be really cool to actually create something some day that would have that same impact on people, but that's really a once in a generation opportunity, and Peter Jackson took the torch from George who is now fumbling badly with his beloved franchise.

Video Games I Cannot Ignore

Xenosaga II:

Quite possibly the most ambitious, well-written and epic RPG made in the history of RPGs to date, I am soooo looking forward to this since the first installment sucked me in with the grandiose ideas and themes it addressed. I never thought a video game could seriously tackle questions of religion and existentialism, but somehow Xenosaga did it, and it's bound to get even more complicated in the sequel now that all the character set-up stuff is out of the way.

Final Fantasy XII

It's Square-Enix. It's Final Fantasy. 'Nuff said if you know anything about games.

Silent Hill 4: The Room

I have a bad, bad feeling that this game may be so disturbing it has the potential to actually traumatize young players. Silent Hill has a bad habit of actually disturbing and frightening its players, but Silent Hill 4, with its deranged monsters and crawling, long haired, gasping ghost women might just be enough to be too sick to play. Nevertheless, I will give it a try if only because the girlfriend will put me on the couch until I agree to play it.

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas

For the misanthrope in everyone! Probably one of the single most fun to play games ever created, GTA has a bad habit of bringing the bad out in everyone. Perhaps you really wouldn't drive down the street shooting innocent people only to get out of your car and thrash an old lady to death with a baseball bat, but in this game, you can, and when your curiosity (or repressed evil side) gets the better of you, believe me you WILL. And you'll enjoy it in that sick way you can never admit...

Bah! Enough teasing myself! I need to get back to a review of another turgid game.

Labels: Games, Movies, Rants

There Is Only One Thing That Could Possibly Bring Me Back Here

I can't play with my Jedi.

Bleah.

I'm kind of astounded that I haven't made a post here since last year, but it would seem that once I got access to Star Wars Galaxies and started "To Live The Greatest Saga Ever Told: Yours (tm)" it got its grubby little claws into me deeper than a Crack Monkey named Louis with Adamantium claws.

Yes. I have been playing SWG that long.

Yes. I got a Jedi character and get to play with a lightsaber. It took months to do it.

No. The girlfriend didn't dump me. Amazingly, she even played it for a while.

But to recap everything that's happened since nearly a year ago when the SWG madness began in quick succession. Oh, heck, let's do a Q & A session...

Do you still have a job?

Incredibly, the answer is yes, I do. Although it's not with the video game magazine that I was formerly with. Things got pretty ugly there, and so there's no reason to drag names out and sling mud, suffice to say the short form is, they weren't paying (An occurrence that seems to happen to me a lot despite the fact that for some reason people seem to think I'm a necessity...) and in desperation (And with the help of an enraged girlfriend) I held the magazine for ransom and wouldn't hand it over until I got paid, then promptly quit once I got my rent money and they got their issue.

For the past little while I have been writing reviews now for competitor of that magazine. Anyone curious to see what kind of stuff I've been cranking out can find it here. There's usually something put out by me here every week or so.

The other thing I've been doing is working on an animated series. I can't say anymore than that really if I want to keep my job, but it's ideal since it lets me stay out home, stay out of offices, avoid a tie and harrass my cats. It's still in the initial stages with me doing the script and concept work, but presumably if it actually ever goes to air, then I can talk at length and ad nauseum about what is a decidedly odd ball project. When are you going to ask me about Star Wars Galaxies?

Fantastic. How are you and the girlfriend?

We are fine. Things are still, much to my stunned disbelief, peachy keen between us and everything is smooth sailing. She has recently started going back to school (fine arts) and is picking up a cynicism for modern art interpretation that does me proud. It's gratifying to know that I'm not the only one that believes a blank canvas with a tag explaining its meaning roughly the size of Mt. Rushmore is not necessarily genius artwork. When are you going to ask me about Star Wars Galaxies?

Hey, are you two married yet?

No, we're not, but that's a foregone conclusion at this point anyway. Quit putting ideas into her head. When are you going to ask me about Star Wars Galaxies?

How are the cats?

Zero and Uno are fine. Uno has grown fat with domestic bliss and Zero is just as paranoid about total strangers as ever. We recently rescued yet another hapless kitten! This one was a little black thing with a meow that sounded like a dying infant vulture. When asked what to name it, I replied "Uh... Ragamuffin?" which promptly got shortened to "Muffin" on the grounds that it was cuter and would make said kitten easier to adopt. After three days of having two miserable cats, some gal who worked with the Singapore Zoo adopted said kitten and the cats are once more back to their usual neurotic selves. We have also unofficially adopted a stray cat that is an orange tabby and so was, in a stroke of creative genius, named "Orange." This one now hangs out near our building, meows once, quietly, when it sees us and runs up to us then promptly remains silent until its fed, we get bored and ditch it on the street till the next day. When are you going to ask me about Star Wars Galaxies?

Hey, didn't you have a couple of novels pending publication?

Well, there's some bad news...

Sadly, after a little over two years, the publishers who were considering it finally said NO. The books--according to my agent--are now in the hands of another publisher who hopefully doesn't read at the rate of five sentences a day and will come a decision faster. Still waiting on that, and probably won't get more confirmation for a couple of months yet. When are you going to ask me about Star Wars Galaxies?

So what else are-grk*...

Ah, I'm so glad you asked. Star Wars Galaxies... A chance to go back long ago, in a galaxy far, far away...

For months I have been slowly navigating my way through that game, making friends, seeing some pretty spectacular things, participating in everything from big game hunts for Rancors to fighting against the dreaded Empire... all the time really just trying to figure out how to become a Jedi Knight and then going about doing it. After months, the wholly uninspired mystery was revealed; master a whole bunch of different professions within the game and once the ones on your "secret list" have all been completed, you get a new Force Sensitive Character that is all ready to swing a saber. I promptly went at it for several months and earlier this year finally attained my goal; a character that is strong with the force, pure of heart, full of justice, and able to kill anyone that looks at me funny with some carefully applied force lightning or a saber slash to the brain pan.

Since that time, things have been slowing down somewhat in the game since my Ultimate Goal was achieved, but the real reason I am posting now instead of playing is that due to some bizarre changes made to the game and its internet infrastructure recently, I can no longer play it. That is to say, when a change to the game is made, a patch must be downloaded and integrated with your existing game before play can resume. I don't know whether it's Sony Online Entertainment, my Internet Service Provider, or maybe even the building I live in, but for some reason, I can no longer download these patches, and thus, can no longer play.

If you are thinking that this is a like a Crack Addict who suddenly finds out his dealer has been arrested, you are not even remotely close to understanding my grief, but that's a good start.

In a pathetic bid to ease the pain, I even resorted to trying to play another game, Lineage II, but after realizing that game is impossible to play unless you have an armada of bodyguards to protect you from all the player killers in the game, I quickly gave up on it after a couple of days of trying to play, only to get ganked the second I set foot outside of my starting area by other players with such witty retorts as "Die, fu*king noob! I pwnz j00!"

Not quite as dramatic as "Give into your hate and join the dark side!" but I guess we can't all be literate. Unless you're a glutton for punishment, or don't mind being the pawn in someone's deluded attempt to have a virtual dominance to make up for their lack in real life, I strongly advise against playing this game. It's obviously for people who enjoy making others suffer, and I am squarely NOT in this category.

Oh well, the pining away for Tatooine continues...

PS: If any kind readers out there are technically inclined and familiar with the intricacies of Internet connections, I would greatly appreciate it if you could share some techno-wisdom with me, as Sony Online Entertainment has described my problem as "experiencing packet loss" and failed to further elaborate. Damn you, faceless multinational corporations that step on the little guy! Damn you to heeeeell!

Please let me play Jedi, oh please... I'm asking nicely. Good SOE. Nice SOE. Let us have our precious back, we wants it, oh yeeees, we wants it...

Labels: Games, Icky Couple Stuff, Massively Multiplayer Online Games, My Life, Them Crazy Kitties, Writing