Thursday, May 31, 2007
Resetting The Clock
Waking up and going to bed at bizarre hours continues. This is largely due to the fact that the In-Laws will be making their first visit to Toronto in a week or so, and it would be inconvenient at best if we were conked out and unable to show them around during the majority of the day. As a result, rather than simply try to endure an all-nighter to crash back into more acceptable hours, we've been going to bed a few hours later every day. This particular day, that meant getting up at some point in the early evening, having coffee, only to be invited down for a talk in the backyard with the neighbors, who were having their after dinner wine. Weird, but it works.
I still haven't finished that script for the second Liquid City story, but it's getting there. Definitely 3/4 done at least.
Waking up and going to bed at bizarre hours continues. This is largely due to the fact that the In-Laws will be making their first visit to Toronto in a week or so, and it would be inconvenient at best if we were conked out and unable to show them around during the majority of the day. As a result, rather than simply try to endure an all-nighter to crash back into more acceptable hours, we've been going to bed a few hours later every day. This particular day, that meant getting up at some point in the early evening, having coffee, only to be invited down for a talk in the backyard with the neighbors, who were having their after dinner wine. Weird, but it works.
I still haven't finished that script for the second Liquid City story, but it's getting there. Definitely 3/4 done at least.
Labels: Creating Comics, Liquid City, My Life
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Gamerz Rite The Guudest!11 ZOMG LOLZ!11
Today I got my free copy--or should I say login name and password for a PDF download--of The Videogame Style Guide and Reference Manual. It is supposed to be a reference book for aspiring game journalists that provides the same kind of definitive rules as Strunk & White's Elements of Style, but specific to the needs of game journalism, which, unlike its much older ancestors has little in the way of standardization, or public respect.
It's an interesting read, although I think that anyone who's already established in the industry will find the majority of the content not that useful. The bulk of the book consists of a glossary that explains most of the terms commonly used in gaming, such as "1-up" and the merits of using the word "console" versus "system." Just about the only thing that I walked away with from that particular section was the fact that all these years, I should have been writing PlayStation, not Playstation. The other, more arbitrary decision is the guide's stance on using "videogame" versus "video game." I think that for the most part, this book will be most useful to two kinds of readers; those who are new to writing in general, and writing about games in particular, and those who broke into game journalism with a profound belief that neither grammar nor structure are necessary for game journalism because that kind of stuff is for nerds. Since game journalism tends to be far more lenient about people that "break in" than counterparts in news journalism, film journalism and music journalism, I suspect there are far, far more of this second type of reader than the game industry would like to admit.
But one part in particular that I found interesting was the theoretical bit towards the end. Here they make a stand on "reviews" versus "criticism" and they break it down into a fairly simple line of division. Reviews are pieces that talk about what something IS. Criticisms are pieces that explore what something MEANS. The book goes on to state that most reviewers tend to fall somewhere in the middle, leaning heavily towards the review aspect and throwing in another element, which is personal taste. The guide believes that while having a personal opinion is obviously something is important, it should not be the final destination of a really good piece, as, at least in film, it is the critical aspect that separates a thoughtful exploration of a game from a merely gushing/acerbic holler. It likens this difference to what readers see when they read a review by Harry Knowles ("That scene was awesome! THIS MOVIE IS AWESOME!") versus Roger Ebert or Pauline Kael ("That scene was an interesting play on both societal concerns and anxieties, as well as a reference to cinematography of the German Expressionist era, working on two levels to engage the audience."). Obviously the feel that game journalists are too much of the former and there aren't anywhere near enough of the latter.
Of course that brings up an interesting question, which is, "Do we need that kind of reviewer yet?" I'm firmly in the camp that games are an art form, albeit a new and still emerging one. For the moment, games are still viewed as a shallow, vacuous (and dangerously influential) entertainment for the masses, with no social, cultural or artistic value. That should be a familiar line to anyone who was there at the birth of film, comics or rock and roll, and as time has proven, that perception eventually ends up being discarded as the form matures. I think games too, will have to start being taken very, VERY seriously when two inevitable factors kick in. 1) The academics get into it, something that is already happening, and 2) The people who grew up playing videogames are entrenched in every level of society, including political policy making. Perhaps, for example, Fredic Wertham and his anti-comic study Seduction of the Innocent held sway in the 50's when comics were still perceived as new and threatening, but try telling any psychiatrist today that comics are responsible for the evils of the world and they'll say you're wrong and tout videogames as far more dangerous. However, give it another 30 years, when every decision maker has grown up exposed to--if not playing--games, and you'll see them saying games are harmless and the real danger is all that crazy Neural Simulated Reality the kids are plugging into.
By the time it gets to that stage, hopefully there will be less superstition surrounding games and more critical thinking. But the thing I'm wondering is, how do we move NOW into that transition where game journalists are sort of third party advertisers, and into a position where they are regarded as thinkers that contribute insights to games and their impact on society? What's it gonna' take before we get that Lester Bangs or Pauline Kael that this style guide holds up as the paragon that we should be shooting for? Do we need some gonzo journalist to start writing for Wired in the same way that bangs did for Rolling Stone Magazine?
Today I got my free copy--or should I say login name and password for a PDF download--of The Videogame Style Guide and Reference Manual. It is supposed to be a reference book for aspiring game journalists that provides the same kind of definitive rules as Strunk & White's Elements of Style, but specific to the needs of game journalism, which, unlike its much older ancestors has little in the way of standardization, or public respect.It's an interesting read, although I think that anyone who's already established in the industry will find the majority of the content not that useful. The bulk of the book consists of a glossary that explains most of the terms commonly used in gaming, such as "1-up" and the merits of using the word "console" versus "system." Just about the only thing that I walked away with from that particular section was the fact that all these years, I should have been writing PlayStation, not Playstation. The other, more arbitrary decision is the guide's stance on using "videogame" versus "video game." I think that for the most part, this book will be most useful to two kinds of readers; those who are new to writing in general, and writing about games in particular, and those who broke into game journalism with a profound belief that neither grammar nor structure are necessary for game journalism because that kind of stuff is for nerds. Since game journalism tends to be far more lenient about people that "break in" than counterparts in news journalism, film journalism and music journalism, I suspect there are far, far more of this second type of reader than the game industry would like to admit.
But one part in particular that I found interesting was the theoretical bit towards the end. Here they make a stand on "reviews" versus "criticism" and they break it down into a fairly simple line of division. Reviews are pieces that talk about what something IS. Criticisms are pieces that explore what something MEANS. The book goes on to state that most reviewers tend to fall somewhere in the middle, leaning heavily towards the review aspect and throwing in another element, which is personal taste. The guide believes that while having a personal opinion is obviously something is important, it should not be the final destination of a really good piece, as, at least in film, it is the critical aspect that separates a thoughtful exploration of a game from a merely gushing/acerbic holler. It likens this difference to what readers see when they read a review by Harry Knowles ("That scene was awesome! THIS MOVIE IS AWESOME!") versus Roger Ebert or Pauline Kael ("That scene was an interesting play on both societal concerns and anxieties, as well as a reference to cinematography of the German Expressionist era, working on two levels to engage the audience."). Obviously the feel that game journalists are too much of the former and there aren't anywhere near enough of the latter.
Of course that brings up an interesting question, which is, "Do we need that kind of reviewer yet?" I'm firmly in the camp that games are an art form, albeit a new and still emerging one. For the moment, games are still viewed as a shallow, vacuous (and dangerously influential) entertainment for the masses, with no social, cultural or artistic value. That should be a familiar line to anyone who was there at the birth of film, comics or rock and roll, and as time has proven, that perception eventually ends up being discarded as the form matures. I think games too, will have to start being taken very, VERY seriously when two inevitable factors kick in. 1) The academics get into it, something that is already happening, and 2) The people who grew up playing videogames are entrenched in every level of society, including political policy making. Perhaps, for example, Fredic Wertham and his anti-comic study Seduction of the Innocent held sway in the 50's when comics were still perceived as new and threatening, but try telling any psychiatrist today that comics are responsible for the evils of the world and they'll say you're wrong and tout videogames as far more dangerous. However, give it another 30 years, when every decision maker has grown up exposed to--if not playing--games, and you'll see them saying games are harmless and the real danger is all that crazy Neural Simulated Reality the kids are plugging into.
By the time it gets to that stage, hopefully there will be less superstition surrounding games and more critical thinking. But the thing I'm wondering is, how do we move NOW into that transition where game journalists are sort of third party advertisers, and into a position where they are regarded as thinkers that contribute insights to games and their impact on society? What's it gonna' take before we get that Lester Bangs or Pauline Kael that this style guide holds up as the paragon that we should be shooting for? Do we need some gonzo journalist to start writing for Wired in the same way that bangs did for Rolling Stone Magazine?
Labels: Journalism, Writing
Monday, May 28, 2007
More Stories
A typical Monday in the Annex with some perfect weather (that is to say, warm enough to walk around with a jacket, but not warm enough to actually break a sweat). All the usual stops were made, Beguiling, Suspect Video, a resupply of coffee and some groceries. I still haven't finished that second story for the Liquid City anthology, but soon, dammit, SOON...
The Wife herself is also going to be very busy. She made the mistake one day of saying, "I have no stories to tell," and immediately had a big one she wanted to do before the day was out. I won't say much about it here, 'cause it's her story and all, after all, but between Nowhere, Liquid City the Other Anthology, a couple of stories she'd previously forgotten about, and this new one, she's got a lot on her plate.
And on my list of reccomends for this week comes yet another anime series courtesy of Suspect:
Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi
This one is completely random. I'd heard absolutely nothing about it, didn't know a thing in advance, and hadn't even heard about it. The only reason we ended up watching it was because the cover of the DVD case caught the Wife's eye and I figured, "What the hell, could be fun."
It's a weird amalgamation of Coming of Age and Sliders. The story starts out with two 12 year old kids, Arumi (the adorable one in the white dress in the foreground) and her childhood friend, Sasshi (the one with the hat) as they face their last summer together. Both of them have spent their entire lives living in shophouses on the north and south end of a large complex called the Abenobashi Shopping Arcade. Arumi's family runs the Pelican French restaurant on the north side--adorned with a big pelican on the roof--and Sasshi's family runs Turtle baths--similarly adorned with a big turtle on the roof--but the years have not been kind to the arcade. Now, plots of land are being sold off, and the old place is gradually being dismantled. Arumi's family will be moving away and Sasshi's not looking forward to it.
What starts out as seemingly charming young love/coming of age story quickly takes a turn for the strange when the kids end up getting caught in a kind of spatial warp that constantly moves them from one bizarre, fantastical version of their shopping arcade to another. They go from Japanese fantasy role-playing game styled arcades to giant robot science fiction ones, and even film noir. It is just downright hilarious, and while it's only 13 episodes in total length, this is another one of those little treasures that I need to add to the list of things for the collection
And, on a totally random note, here's a baby panda:
A typical Monday in the Annex with some perfect weather (that is to say, warm enough to walk around with a jacket, but not warm enough to actually break a sweat). All the usual stops were made, Beguiling, Suspect Video, a resupply of coffee and some groceries. I still haven't finished that second story for the Liquid City anthology, but soon, dammit, SOON...
The Wife herself is also going to be very busy. She made the mistake one day of saying, "I have no stories to tell," and immediately had a big one she wanted to do before the day was out. I won't say much about it here, 'cause it's her story and all, after all, but between Nowhere, Liquid City the Other Anthology, a couple of stories she'd previously forgotten about, and this new one, she's got a lot on her plate.
And on my list of reccomends for this week comes yet another anime series courtesy of Suspect:
Magical Shopping Arcade AbenobashiThis one is completely random. I'd heard absolutely nothing about it, didn't know a thing in advance, and hadn't even heard about it. The only reason we ended up watching it was because the cover of the DVD case caught the Wife's eye and I figured, "What the hell, could be fun."
It's a weird amalgamation of Coming of Age and Sliders. The story starts out with two 12 year old kids, Arumi (the adorable one in the white dress in the foreground) and her childhood friend, Sasshi (the one with the hat) as they face their last summer together. Both of them have spent their entire lives living in shophouses on the north and south end of a large complex called the Abenobashi Shopping Arcade. Arumi's family runs the Pelican French restaurant on the north side--adorned with a big pelican on the roof--and Sasshi's family runs Turtle baths--similarly adorned with a big turtle on the roof--but the years have not been kind to the arcade. Now, plots of land are being sold off, and the old place is gradually being dismantled. Arumi's family will be moving away and Sasshi's not looking forward to it.
What starts out as seemingly charming young love/coming of age story quickly takes a turn for the strange when the kids end up getting caught in a kind of spatial warp that constantly moves them from one bizarre, fantastical version of their shopping arcade to another. They go from Japanese fantasy role-playing game styled arcades to giant robot science fiction ones, and even film noir. It is just downright hilarious, and while it's only 13 episodes in total length, this is another one of those little treasures that I need to add to the list of things for the collection
And, on a totally random note, here's a baby panda:
Labels: Creating Comics, Random Blargh, Writing
Sunday, May 27, 2007
Quiet Sunday
Not much happening today, aside from some minor insomnia that resulted in bedtime at a very odd hour, and a little bit of work. Some of the script for the second Liquid City story was written, a little bit of Hanger 18 was played (and failed. Repeatedly. MAN, those final solos are tough...) and a lot of Rogue Galaxy was grinded out in the evening. It was a bit of a shock popping it in and realizing that despite the fact that this was the first Canadian game I'd bought since I arrived, I hadn't actually played it in a few months...
Not much happening today, aside from some minor insomnia that resulted in bedtime at a very odd hour, and a little bit of work. Some of the script for the second Liquid City story was written, a little bit of Hanger 18 was played (and failed. Repeatedly. MAN, those final solos are tough...) and a lot of Rogue Galaxy was grinded out in the evening. It was a bit of a shock popping it in and realizing that despite the fact that this was the first Canadian game I'd bought since I arrived, I hadn't actually played it in a few months...
Labels: Boring And Insipid Posts, Creating Comics, Games, Liquid City
Saturday, May 26, 2007
Red Octane Should Pay Me
Considering how much advertising I do for them, but MAN... with this latest news... Just... can't... stop... GETTING EXCITED!
There's an official promotional video out for the game now, and once again, it reveals a song that hadn't appeared on any lists. Considering what one Guitar Hero I know has said in past comments, this new song alone completely annihilates any "waning enthusiasm" he may have had for the game, and puts him squarely in the "OH MY GOD I HAVE TO HAVE THIS GAME! NOW!!" department. Although it looks like "The Warrior" by Scandal already did that. Here's the current list so far, with "???" indicating it's still unknown whether it'll be a cover or a master track:
Only 12 songs left on the list that haven't been revealed, and these are likely The Big Guns if the past two releases were anything to go by. Must... Finish... Hanger 18...
Considering how much advertising I do for them, but MAN... with this latest news... Just... can't... stop... GETTING EXCITED!
There's an official promotional video out for the game now, and once again, it reveals a song that hadn't appeared on any lists. Considering what one Guitar Hero I know has said in past comments, this new song alone completely annihilates any "waning enthusiasm" he may have had for the game, and puts him squarely in the "OH MY GOD I HAVE TO HAVE THIS GAME! NOW!!" department. Although it looks like "The Warrior" by Scandal already did that. Here's the current list so far, with "???" indicating it's still unknown whether it'll be a cover or a master track:
- "I Wanna Rock" (by Twisted Sister)
- "I Ran" (by Flock of Seagulls)
- "Round and Round" (as made famous by Ratt)
- "I Want Candy" (as made famous by Bow Wow Wow)
- "Metal Health" (as made famous by Quiet Riot)
- "Holy Diver" (as made famous by Dio)
- "Heat of the Moment" (as made famous by Asia)
- "18 and Life" (as made famous by Skid Row)
- "Bathroom Wall" (as made famous by Faster Pussycat)
- "Lonely is the Night" (as made famous by Billy Squier)
- "Nothing But a Good Time" (as made famous by Poison)
- "Play With Me" (as made famous by Extreme)
- "Shaken" (as made famous by Eddie Money)
- "Synchronicity II" (as made famous by Police)
- "The Warrior" (??? by Scandal) (I'm betting this is a master track myself, it sounds dead on)
- "Only A Lad" (??? by Oingo Boingo)
- "Balls To The Wall" (??? by famous by Accept)
- "We Got the Beat" (??? by the Go Gos)
Only 12 songs left on the list that haven't been revealed, and these are likely The Big Guns if the past two releases were anything to go by. Must... Finish... Hanger 18...
Labels: Guitar Hero
Friday, May 25, 2007
How Did THAT Happen?
Last night--which would technically be this morning for most people--we had one hell of a time actually falling asleep due to something which I thought I would never have to worry about here in Canada. It was too damn hot. The temperature outside during the day stayed at a steady 30 degrees Celsius, and then dropped to 26 degrees and pretty much stayed there for the rest of the night. While it was nowhere near as humid as what you get in the tropics, it was still enough to make for a fitful sleep. On the other hand, at least geek-wise, this may have been a blessing in disguise. The sleep deprivation, however light it was, may have contributed to shutting my brain down enough that my fingers could actually take over without any of that annoying concentration a conscious mind insists on, and when I took on Guitar Hero II today, it was a day of surprises. First up:
Institutionalized by Suicidal Tendencies.
Since this was my first time on the final tier of Expert, I did what I did for the previous Guitar Hero game, I went after my least favorite song first so I wouldn't have to worry about it anymore. Much to my surprise, I actually managed to finish this off on my first try. I'm strongly beginning to suspect that Psychobilly Freakout is kind of the "Pre-Requisite Mini-boss" song of Guitar Hero II, in that it acts as an artificial barrier that forces the player to hit a minimum level of proficiency that will make it possible to complete the rest to of the game. RPGs tend to do this a lot, but it seems like the same tactic has been employed here.
The Beast & The Harlot by Avenged Sevenfold
Having completely surprised myself by actually finishing the previous song and happy about the fact that it would not trouble me again (except in that nagging, "you really should 5-star this song" sort of way) I took on a song which initially pissed me off to no end, but, somehow, actually grew on me as I played it more and more. It was an easy 5-star on the Hard level for me, so I was expecting it be challenging but manageable. It turned out I was right. A couple of expectedly tricky bits shut me out on my first two attempts, but third time's a charm, and the song was finished. Which now brings me to...
Misirlou as covered by Dick Dale and the Del-Tones.
This song really surprised me when I found out it actually has Greek folk music roots, rather than the Hispanic/Mariachi style roots I'd originally thought were its influences. What didn't surprise me was the fact that it shut me out within 30 seconds of me starting the song. However, after getting lucky with the previous two songs, and feeling that burning pain in my left wrist that tells me I've been holding onto the guitar too hard, I decided it was time to give it Yet Another Shot and got lucky with getting just enough star power to cruise me through one Insanely Repetitive Passage, and after that, the rest of the song was actually just barely manageable. Now there's only one song left on the main list.
Hanger 18 by Megadeth.
I've already tried it a few times on Expert, and each time, I inched a little bit closer to finishing it. It's one of those songs that's actually pretty doable for the most part, until Mustaine and Friedman kick into those ELEVEN FREAKIN' GUITAR SOLOS right at the very end, which, of course, is where there's just not enough star power to carry you through and you just have to be good enough to survive it. I suspect a few more dedicated attempts will get me through this and then there will be the ultimate challenge, Freebird. And man... am I ever not looking forward to that...
And, just to keep the news going, the Guitar Hero Encore Rocks The 80's website is now live. It has a few surprises too. As with previous Guitar Hero websites, it features some of the songs that are on the game, and there were a few tunes there that haven't made it onto any "official" release lists. The new ones I noticed were:
The Warrior by Scandal, 1984.
Only A Lad, by Oingo Boingo, 1981
Balls To The Wall, by Accept, 1983.
Last night--which would technically be this morning for most people--we had one hell of a time actually falling asleep due to something which I thought I would never have to worry about here in Canada. It was too damn hot. The temperature outside during the day stayed at a steady 30 degrees Celsius, and then dropped to 26 degrees and pretty much stayed there for the rest of the night. While it was nowhere near as humid as what you get in the tropics, it was still enough to make for a fitful sleep. On the other hand, at least geek-wise, this may have been a blessing in disguise. The sleep deprivation, however light it was, may have contributed to shutting my brain down enough that my fingers could actually take over without any of that annoying concentration a conscious mind insists on, and when I took on Guitar Hero II today, it was a day of surprises. First up:
Institutionalized by Suicidal Tendencies.Since this was my first time on the final tier of Expert, I did what I did for the previous Guitar Hero game, I went after my least favorite song first so I wouldn't have to worry about it anymore. Much to my surprise, I actually managed to finish this off on my first try. I'm strongly beginning to suspect that Psychobilly Freakout is kind of the "Pre-Requisite Mini-boss" song of Guitar Hero II, in that it acts as an artificial barrier that forces the player to hit a minimum level of proficiency that will make it possible to complete the rest to of the game. RPGs tend to do this a lot, but it seems like the same tactic has been employed here.
The Beast & The Harlot by Avenged SevenfoldHaving completely surprised myself by actually finishing the previous song and happy about the fact that it would not trouble me again (except in that nagging, "you really should 5-star this song" sort of way) I took on a song which initially pissed me off to no end, but, somehow, actually grew on me as I played it more and more. It was an easy 5-star on the Hard level for me, so I was expecting it be challenging but manageable. It turned out I was right. A couple of expectedly tricky bits shut me out on my first two attempts, but third time's a charm, and the song was finished. Which now brings me to...
Misirlou as covered by Dick Dale and the Del-Tones.This song really surprised me when I found out it actually has Greek folk music roots, rather than the Hispanic/Mariachi style roots I'd originally thought were its influences. What didn't surprise me was the fact that it shut me out within 30 seconds of me starting the song. However, after getting lucky with the previous two songs, and feeling that burning pain in my left wrist that tells me I've been holding onto the guitar too hard, I decided it was time to give it Yet Another Shot and got lucky with getting just enough star power to cruise me through one Insanely Repetitive Passage, and after that, the rest of the song was actually just barely manageable. Now there's only one song left on the main list.
Hanger 18 by Megadeth.I've already tried it a few times on Expert, and each time, I inched a little bit closer to finishing it. It's one of those songs that's actually pretty doable for the most part, until Mustaine and Friedman kick into those ELEVEN FREAKIN' GUITAR SOLOS right at the very end, which, of course, is where there's just not enough star power to carry you through and you just have to be good enough to survive it. I suspect a few more dedicated attempts will get me through this and then there will be the ultimate challenge, Freebird. And man... am I ever not looking forward to that...
And, just to keep the news going, the Guitar Hero Encore Rocks The 80's website is now live. It has a few surprises too. As with previous Guitar Hero websites, it features some of the songs that are on the game, and there were a few tunes there that haven't made it onto any "official" release lists. The new ones I noticed were:
The Warrior by Scandal, 1984.
Only A Lad, by Oingo Boingo, 1981
Balls To The Wall, by Accept, 1983.
Labels: Guitar Hero, My Life
Thursday, May 24, 2007
YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEES!!!!
SCREW YOU, REVEREND, YOU ARE DONE.
And then, in a fit of Perfect Irony, I went straight into the encore, riding the high of Finally Finishing That God Damn Song, and played YYZ.
It must be some kind of sign that I finished it on my first try. It's horribly appropriate anyway, since this the first "new" song that I play in Toronto and YYZ just happens to be the airport designation for... Toronto.
I may just finish this game in time for Guitar Hero Encore Rocks the 80's yet...
SCREW YOU, REVEREND, YOU ARE DONE.And then, in a fit of Perfect Irony, I went straight into the encore, riding the high of Finally Finishing That God Damn Song, and played YYZ.
It must be some kind of sign that I finished it on my first try. It's horribly appropriate anyway, since this the first "new" song that I play in Toronto and YYZ just happens to be the airport designation for... Toronto.
I may just finish this game in time for Guitar Hero Encore Rocks the 80's yet...
Labels: Guitar Hero
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Middle Of The Week Pleasantness
It's not like anything particularly good happened today, it just played as most days have since we arrived in Toronto; quiet, relaxed and generally enjoyable. Living in Toronto--especially now, with the tree lined streets actually being lined with green, leafy trees--feels almost like a permanent vacation in some respects. The culture also has something to do with that, I suspect, since walking out into the Annex on any given day shows people sitting at benches in parks, reading books, neighbors sitting on the porch talking to each other, and cafes lined with students and other non-rich people, animatedly having conversations and laughing and smiling a lot. It's quite a contrast from Singapore were neighbors do not interact, parks are hothouses thanks to the equatorial heat, and cafes are where people go to preen and laugh amongst each other in a cruel, arrogant manner as they wonder what the poor people are doing, and hate or pity anyone that doesn't have at least a six figure income.
Or it could simply be that the Wife and I spend far too much time at home writing and drawing, or wandering the Annex, which is a haven for student/scholarly life anyway.
I am also, at some point going to owe a huge debt of thanks to Suspect Video for finally allowing me to do the one thing I couldn't do in Singapore; reasonably keep up with the anime scene. When I first discovered anime, it was the same way most kids did who were born in the 70's and grew up in the 80's. I saw a few Japanese animated shows which had been redubbed for English consumption. It started in fits and starts with things like Battle of the Planets and then finally really took off with Robotech, and by then I was hooked, but I wanted REAL anime, not the watered down stuff we were getting as dubbed episodes. In that pre-internet era, that really meant only one thing; watching VHS bootlegs of Japanese anime that were horrible in image quality because they were usually 8th or 9th generation copies with no subtitling.
It was in this way that I first got a taste of "pure anime" in the form of titles like Gunbuster, Fight! Iczer One!, Megazone 23 and, of course, giants like Akira. Eventually, these titles would start being released on VHS, and it was just as I left Canada that I was starting to see North America begin to embrace in the mainstream what I had been forced to hunt down and watch--usually without understanding the plot at all--back in the 80's.
Now, I'm back home, and what a change has been wrought in the geek landscape. Manga on sale in bookstores, anime freely available in every comic store, video store and available for rent even in places like Blockbuster.
All of which is to say that when I make my weekly pilgrimage down to Bloor & Bathurst to bathe in the geek sunshine that is Suspect Video and The Beguiling next door to each other, I'm a happy, happy little boy. Suspect may look like an obsessive/compulsive's bedroom, with DVDs stored in the front and their box-art stuck in filecases that you must rifle through--comic book hunting style, yo...--but this merely reinforces the idea that you are in a place where they understand what a sick, deprived schmuck you are and reinforce these unhealthy tendencies.
Which brings me to the point of this post. Now that I have regular access to anime, I am now raving with unabashed love, about these two shows:
Excel Saga
Pure, unadulterated, nonlinear, random, utterly hilarious insanity. ESPECIALLY if you're familiar with the tropes and conventions of anime, manga and Japanese culture.
The simplest, shortest way to describe this 26 episode television series is, "This is what would have happened if the Monty Python crew had grown up in Japan and been given an animation studio."
The plot--such as it is--centers on a super-secret conspiracy group named ACROSS, run by a stereotypical tall, dark, mysterious, deep voiced, effeminate anime pretty boy by the name of Ilpalazzo. He spends most of his time in a subterranean lair giving orders and playing girlfriend/dating video games. ACROSS is bent on world domination, but is deciding to start with the one city the underground HQ occupies first. The principle executor of Ilpalazzo's orders is the girl Excel Saga. Cheerful to psychotic levels and dumb as a sack of hammers, her adoration for Ilpalazzo sends her off on missions which are half designed to bring the world to its knees and half designed to kill her since her chief actually finds her supremely annoying. Her subordinate is a beautiful, anemic girl by the name of Hyatt who has a tendency to fall over dead as a result of the tuberculosis that makes her so pale, ethereal and delicate. They are frequently aided in their hopeless endeavors by the Great Will of the Macrocosm, which presents itself as a collection of spinning galaxies in the Great Void, and has women's arms attached to this. The Great Will frequently resets the universe to more convenient points, such as just before Excel blows herself up, gets hit by a truck, or brings an entire building tumbling down on herself an Hyatt.
There are so many moments of random insanity in the series that you're bound to keel over laughing at something. What's really great about the series is how each episode seeks to subvert certain conventions or cliches, such as the 80's Jungle Action picture, or the Japanese Dating Simulation genre of games. Not since the lunacy of Project A-Ko in 1986 has an anime production made my stomach hurt so badly from the laughter.
And on a completely different tack, I bring you:
Paranoia Agent
I knew I was in for a weird trip as soon as I heard the name Satoshi Kon, and his involvement with this series. The man is probably one of the single most interesting, exciting and "critically" accessible storytellers in the animation industry of Japan, and not in that warm, friendly Hayao Miyazaki way either. If Miyazaki is the Walt Disney of Japan, Kon is its Frederico Fellini. His films are beautiful to look at, wonderfully composed, full of characterization and frequently swerves into layers of dream and surreality without so much as a wink at the audience. His first feature, Perfect Blue, was an exercise in almost Hitchcock style psychological torture of its main character, but with a dose of Dali thrown in at the most unexpected moments. His next feature, Millennium Actress was a bittersweet reminiscence of love, growing older, and the march of both culture and film. After that came Tokyo Godfathers about a trio of Japanese homeless who find a baby and attempt to raise it. In each case, Satoshi has shown an enormous amount of care in building his characters, a fairly scathing amount of social commentary on the ills of Japanese society, and that dreamlike quality of playing with time, space, reality and imagination.
It was only because of Suspect Video that I finally realized he'd done a 13 episode series, I HAD to watch it.
And so far, I am not disappointed. Kon opens this series with a story about seemingly random attacks on diverse people in Tokyo, sweeping through streets with his inline skates and his bent aluminum baseball bat. But what starts as a case of trying to track down a violent delinquent quickly becomes far more mysterious as the show looks at the social ills of urban life; everything from jealousy at the office to a precocious (and unhealthy) drive to succeed and be popular in elementary school, seemingly cured through an good, swift, whack with a baseball bat to the head.
This is one of the few times where I've watched something, regardless of it being a live action or animated work, and simply did not know what was going to happen next. It's a show that's almost impossible to predict, and I'm enjoying the ride to no end. This is making me even more excited about the fact that Kon's next film, Paprika, is actually going to be screening here next month.
It is good to have anime back in my life on a regular basis. Especially since the subtitling is of high caliber and is grammatically correct, as opposed to the bizarrely random choices made by Singapore translation houses, who would regularly substitute what should have been an obvious "God DAMN you!" moment with... "THIS FELLOW!"
Yeah, I know. I don't get that either...
Oh, and more Guitar Hero news, new info has been released about Guitar Hero III, which will be going on sale in "Fall of 2007" for all the usual systems. One of the things that raised my eyebrow is that the new developers, Neversoft, will be including Boss Battles. I have no idea how this will work in practice, and my gut tells me that this may simply be a way of making change just to say "We're in charge, so screw you, Harmonix, we own this franchise now and we'll piss on it somehow to mark it as our territory." However, to their credit, the newly released playlist is definitely more mainstream friendly than the increasingly more technical selections of GHII and the upcoming Rocks The 80's, so I can see a lot of happy Guitar Heroes getting a big smile on their face from these more "radio" selections:
Paint It Black (by The Rolling Stones)
Cherub Rock (by Smashing Pumpkins)
Sabotage (by Beastie Boys)
The Metal (by Tenacious D)
My Name is Jonas (by Weezer)
Knights of Cydonia (by Muse)
Rock And Roll All Nite (as made famous by Kiss)
Schools Out (as made famous by Alice Cooper)
Slow Ride (as made famous by Fog Hat)
Cult of Personality (by Living Colour)
Barracuda (as made famous by Heart)
I gotta' admit... Tenacious D? LIVING COLOR?! FREAKIN' PAINT IT BLACK?!? YOWZA!
It's not like anything particularly good happened today, it just played as most days have since we arrived in Toronto; quiet, relaxed and generally enjoyable. Living in Toronto--especially now, with the tree lined streets actually being lined with green, leafy trees--feels almost like a permanent vacation in some respects. The culture also has something to do with that, I suspect, since walking out into the Annex on any given day shows people sitting at benches in parks, reading books, neighbors sitting on the porch talking to each other, and cafes lined with students and other non-rich people, animatedly having conversations and laughing and smiling a lot. It's quite a contrast from Singapore were neighbors do not interact, parks are hothouses thanks to the equatorial heat, and cafes are where people go to preen and laugh amongst each other in a cruel, arrogant manner as they wonder what the poor people are doing, and hate or pity anyone that doesn't have at least a six figure income.
Or it could simply be that the Wife and I spend far too much time at home writing and drawing, or wandering the Annex, which is a haven for student/scholarly life anyway.
I am also, at some point going to owe a huge debt of thanks to Suspect Video for finally allowing me to do the one thing I couldn't do in Singapore; reasonably keep up with the anime scene. When I first discovered anime, it was the same way most kids did who were born in the 70's and grew up in the 80's. I saw a few Japanese animated shows which had been redubbed for English consumption. It started in fits and starts with things like Battle of the Planets and then finally really took off with Robotech, and by then I was hooked, but I wanted REAL anime, not the watered down stuff we were getting as dubbed episodes. In that pre-internet era, that really meant only one thing; watching VHS bootlegs of Japanese anime that were horrible in image quality because they were usually 8th or 9th generation copies with no subtitling.
It was in this way that I first got a taste of "pure anime" in the form of titles like Gunbuster, Fight! Iczer One!, Megazone 23 and, of course, giants like Akira. Eventually, these titles would start being released on VHS, and it was just as I left Canada that I was starting to see North America begin to embrace in the mainstream what I had been forced to hunt down and watch--usually without understanding the plot at all--back in the 80's.
Now, I'm back home, and what a change has been wrought in the geek landscape. Manga on sale in bookstores, anime freely available in every comic store, video store and available for rent even in places like Blockbuster.
All of which is to say that when I make my weekly pilgrimage down to Bloor & Bathurst to bathe in the geek sunshine that is Suspect Video and The Beguiling next door to each other, I'm a happy, happy little boy. Suspect may look like an obsessive/compulsive's bedroom, with DVDs stored in the front and their box-art stuck in filecases that you must rifle through--comic book hunting style, yo...--but this merely reinforces the idea that you are in a place where they understand what a sick, deprived schmuck you are and reinforce these unhealthy tendencies.
Which brings me to the point of this post. Now that I have regular access to anime, I am now raving with unabashed love, about these two shows:
Excel SagaPure, unadulterated, nonlinear, random, utterly hilarious insanity. ESPECIALLY if you're familiar with the tropes and conventions of anime, manga and Japanese culture.
The simplest, shortest way to describe this 26 episode television series is, "This is what would have happened if the Monty Python crew had grown up in Japan and been given an animation studio."
The plot--such as it is--centers on a super-secret conspiracy group named ACROSS, run by a stereotypical tall, dark, mysterious, deep voiced, effeminate anime pretty boy by the name of Ilpalazzo. He spends most of his time in a subterranean lair giving orders and playing girlfriend/dating video games. ACROSS is bent on world domination, but is deciding to start with the one city the underground HQ occupies first. The principle executor of Ilpalazzo's orders is the girl Excel Saga. Cheerful to psychotic levels and dumb as a sack of hammers, her adoration for Ilpalazzo sends her off on missions which are half designed to bring the world to its knees and half designed to kill her since her chief actually finds her supremely annoying. Her subordinate is a beautiful, anemic girl by the name of Hyatt who has a tendency to fall over dead as a result of the tuberculosis that makes her so pale, ethereal and delicate. They are frequently aided in their hopeless endeavors by the Great Will of the Macrocosm, which presents itself as a collection of spinning galaxies in the Great Void, and has women's arms attached to this. The Great Will frequently resets the universe to more convenient points, such as just before Excel blows herself up, gets hit by a truck, or brings an entire building tumbling down on herself an Hyatt.
There are so many moments of random insanity in the series that you're bound to keel over laughing at something. What's really great about the series is how each episode seeks to subvert certain conventions or cliches, such as the 80's Jungle Action picture, or the Japanese Dating Simulation genre of games. Not since the lunacy of Project A-Ko in 1986 has an anime production made my stomach hurt so badly from the laughter.
And on a completely different tack, I bring you:
Paranoia AgentI knew I was in for a weird trip as soon as I heard the name Satoshi Kon, and his involvement with this series. The man is probably one of the single most interesting, exciting and "critically" accessible storytellers in the animation industry of Japan, and not in that warm, friendly Hayao Miyazaki way either. If Miyazaki is the Walt Disney of Japan, Kon is its Frederico Fellini. His films are beautiful to look at, wonderfully composed, full of characterization and frequently swerves into layers of dream and surreality without so much as a wink at the audience. His first feature, Perfect Blue, was an exercise in almost Hitchcock style psychological torture of its main character, but with a dose of Dali thrown in at the most unexpected moments. His next feature, Millennium Actress was a bittersweet reminiscence of love, growing older, and the march of both culture and film. After that came Tokyo Godfathers about a trio of Japanese homeless who find a baby and attempt to raise it. In each case, Satoshi has shown an enormous amount of care in building his characters, a fairly scathing amount of social commentary on the ills of Japanese society, and that dreamlike quality of playing with time, space, reality and imagination.
It was only because of Suspect Video that I finally realized he'd done a 13 episode series, I HAD to watch it.
And so far, I am not disappointed. Kon opens this series with a story about seemingly random attacks on diverse people in Tokyo, sweeping through streets with his inline skates and his bent aluminum baseball bat. But what starts as a case of trying to track down a violent delinquent quickly becomes far more mysterious as the show looks at the social ills of urban life; everything from jealousy at the office to a precocious (and unhealthy) drive to succeed and be popular in elementary school, seemingly cured through an good, swift, whack with a baseball bat to the head.
This is one of the few times where I've watched something, regardless of it being a live action or animated work, and simply did not know what was going to happen next. It's a show that's almost impossible to predict, and I'm enjoying the ride to no end. This is making me even more excited about the fact that Kon's next film, Paprika, is actually going to be screening here next month.
It is good to have anime back in my life on a regular basis. Especially since the subtitling is of high caliber and is grammatically correct, as opposed to the bizarrely random choices made by Singapore translation houses, who would regularly substitute what should have been an obvious "God DAMN you!" moment with... "THIS FELLOW!"
Yeah, I know. I don't get that either...
Oh, and more Guitar Hero news, new info has been released about Guitar Hero III, which will be going on sale in "Fall of 2007" for all the usual systems. One of the things that raised my eyebrow is that the new developers, Neversoft, will be including Boss Battles. I have no idea how this will work in practice, and my gut tells me that this may simply be a way of making change just to say "We're in charge, so screw you, Harmonix, we own this franchise now and we'll piss on it somehow to mark it as our territory." However, to their credit, the newly released playlist is definitely more mainstream friendly than the increasingly more technical selections of GHII and the upcoming Rocks The 80's, so I can see a lot of happy Guitar Heroes getting a big smile on their face from these more "radio" selections:
Paint It Black (by The Rolling Stones)
Cherub Rock (by Smashing Pumpkins)
Sabotage (by Beastie Boys)
The Metal (by Tenacious D)
My Name is Jonas (by Weezer)
Knights of Cydonia (by Muse)
Rock And Roll All Nite (as made famous by Kiss)
Schools Out (as made famous by Alice Cooper)
Slow Ride (as made famous by Fog Hat)
Cult of Personality (by Living Colour)
Barracuda (as made famous by Heart)
I gotta' admit... Tenacious D? LIVING COLOR?! FREAKIN' PAINT IT BLACK?!? YOWZA!
Labels: Anime, Guitar Hero, Mean Streets Of Toronto
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Oh YEAH.
And here's the list of songs officially on the game so far, with the newest additions highlighted:
Holy crap, that song is gonna' kill me.
Must... finish... Psychobilly... Freakout... But... so... damn... hard...
And here's the list of songs officially on the game so far, with the newest additions highlighted:- "I Wanna Rock" (by Twisted Sister)
- "I Ran" (by Flock of Seagulls)
- "Round and Round" (as made famous by Ratt)
- "I Want Candy" (as made famous by Bow Wow Wow)
- "Metal Health" (as made famous by Quiet Riot)
- "Holy Diver" (as made famous by Dio)
- "Heat of the Moment" (as made famous by Asia)
- "18 and Life" (as made famous by Skid Row)
- "Bathroom Wall" (as made famous by Faster Pussycat)
- "Lonely is the Night" (as made famous by Billy Squier)
- "Nothing But a Good Time" (as made famous by Poison)
- "Play With Me" (as made famous by Extreme)
- "Shaken" (as made famous by Eddie Money)
- "Synchronicity II" (as made famous by Police)
Holy crap, that song is gonna' kill me.
Must... finish... Psychobilly... Freakout... But... so... damn... hard...
Labels: Games, Guitar Hero
Monday, May 21, 2007
Another Convert
Today was a pretty quiet day consisting of doing some of the ground work and preliminary thinking for the Job With No Name, and just doing some minor chores and errands around the neighborhood. In the evening, the Old Friend came 'round, something she hadn't done in a few months, and now with the apartment fully set up and functioning, I got around to the one the thing I'd promising her since I arrived back in Canada.
I sat that gal down, stuck a plastic guitar in her hands, and made her play Guitar Hero II.
It should not come as a complete surprise to anyone with exposure to the game that she found it a little bit intimidating at first, but, since she'd taken piano lessons when we were younger, I was sure that some of the discipline in fingering and rhythm would actually help her and lo and behold, it did.
Her first reaction after completing Surrender by Cheap Trick:
"Oh. My. GOD. THIS IS AWESOME!"
She managed to pass her first few songs on Easy level on her first try and after that, she was totally hooked. She nearly blew a gasket when, after sitting down to take a break with cigarettes, I informed her, "In a couple of months a Guitar Hero 80's edition is coming out."
I'm not completely certain now, but the fact that she's moving to a new pad and thinking of finally getting kitted out with a decent High Def TV may now also involve a trip with me chaperoning to the nearest game store so that she can pick herself up a PS2 and whatever Guitar Hero package they're selling.
Yep. Gotta' spread the word...
Today was a pretty quiet day consisting of doing some of the ground work and preliminary thinking for the Job With No Name, and just doing some minor chores and errands around the neighborhood. In the evening, the Old Friend came 'round, something she hadn't done in a few months, and now with the apartment fully set up and functioning, I got around to the one the thing I'd promising her since I arrived back in Canada.
I sat that gal down, stuck a plastic guitar in her hands, and made her play Guitar Hero II.
It should not come as a complete surprise to anyone with exposure to the game that she found it a little bit intimidating at first, but, since she'd taken piano lessons when we were younger, I was sure that some of the discipline in fingering and rhythm would actually help her and lo and behold, it did.
Her first reaction after completing Surrender by Cheap Trick:
"Oh. My. GOD. THIS IS AWESOME!"
She managed to pass her first few songs on Easy level on her first try and after that, she was totally hooked. She nearly blew a gasket when, after sitting down to take a break with cigarettes, I informed her, "In a couple of months a Guitar Hero 80's edition is coming out."
I'm not completely certain now, but the fact that she's moving to a new pad and thinking of finally getting kitted out with a decent High Def TV may now also involve a trip with me chaperoning to the nearest game store so that she can pick herself up a PS2 and whatever Guitar Hero package they're selling.
Yep. Gotta' spread the word...
Labels: Friends, Guitar Hero, My Life, Mystery Job
Sunday, May 20, 2007
Sunday In The Suburbs
Work took a break today as we went out into the wilds of Mississauga. The Wife's buddies in her illustration group were having a barbecue at their home, and so we got picked up by another Sketch Motel-er that lives in the Annex and motored on down. The Wife had never seen a typical North American suburb before and her first thought was, "It looks like a Tim Burton movie."
We also met a few other new folks, some of whom now insist we come down for a visit to their studios, or, conversely, they come up and show us more of the Annex.
But on the whole, it was nice to just sit around outside, munch on burgers, and then, in true geek fashion, descend into the basement where I finally had a decent sit down with a Nintendo Wii and acquitted myself all right. Two strikes in bowling, a birdy in golf, though I apparently can't play baseball to save my life.
I have to admit though, after actually sitting down and playing with a Wii, my enthusiasm for the console is somewhat diminished. I'm clearly NOT the target market for this thing. It's fun, and I enjoy it, but I would get bored fast with only simple sports/party games to play, and by my particular tastes, there's only one game worth owning, and that's Zelda. All the other stuff is novel, but ultimately not very rewarding for me. I know the casual or non-gamers will go nuts for this stuff, but the Wii needs more games like Zelda before I'll seriously want it.
Work took a break today as we went out into the wilds of Mississauga. The Wife's buddies in her illustration group were having a barbecue at their home, and so we got picked up by another Sketch Motel-er that lives in the Annex and motored on down. The Wife had never seen a typical North American suburb before and her first thought was, "It looks like a Tim Burton movie."
We also met a few other new folks, some of whom now insist we come down for a visit to their studios, or, conversely, they come up and show us more of the Annex.
But on the whole, it was nice to just sit around outside, munch on burgers, and then, in true geek fashion, descend into the basement where I finally had a decent sit down with a Nintendo Wii and acquitted myself all right. Two strikes in bowling, a birdy in golf, though I apparently can't play baseball to save my life.
I have to admit though, after actually sitting down and playing with a Wii, my enthusiasm for the console is somewhat diminished. I'm clearly NOT the target market for this thing. It's fun, and I enjoy it, but I would get bored fast with only simple sports/party games to play, and by my particular tastes, there's only one game worth owning, and that's Zelda. All the other stuff is novel, but ultimately not very rewarding for me. I know the casual or non-gamers will go nuts for this stuff, but the Wii needs more games like Zelda before I'll seriously want it.
Labels: Friends, Mean Streets Of Toronto, My Life, Wiiiiii
Saturday, May 19, 2007
Getting Tired Of Boring Posts Yet?
Well too bad. A Saturday afternoon on Bloor was followed by me doing some research. Yup, spine tingling stuff...
Well too bad. A Saturday afternoon on Bloor was followed by me doing some research. Yup, spine tingling stuff...
Labels: Boring And Insipid Posts, Mean Streets Of Toronto, Mystery Job
Friday, May 18, 2007
The Boring Friday
Work continues with another GameAxis article down and off. Just one more to go, but that can wait, since it's a news article and that needs to be kept "fresh". For now, I'll just divert my attention to other stuff like another comic script for Liquid City, and some preliminary work that needs to be done on The Job With No Name. With any luck, it'll be at least somewhat good stuff, and I'll be able to move onto The Next Phase.
Work continues with another GameAxis article down and off. Just one more to go, but that can wait, since it's a news article and that needs to be kept "fresh". For now, I'll just divert my attention to other stuff like another comic script for Liquid City, and some preliminary work that needs to be done on The Job With No Name. With any luck, it'll be at least somewhat good stuff, and I'll be able to move onto The Next Phase.
Labels: Boring And Insipid Posts, Creating Comics, Journalism, Mystery Job, Writing
Thursday, May 17, 2007
Another Boring Day
Errands took longer than expected, though Queen Street West was relatively fast, a visit to the doctor for some minor ailments took out a big chunk of time in the waiting room, followed by business at the post office, groceries and...
Now too tired and cranky to work. Bring on the movies and games...
Errands took longer than expected, though Queen Street West was relatively fast, a visit to the doctor for some minor ailments took out a big chunk of time in the waiting room, followed by business at the post office, groceries and...
Now too tired and cranky to work. Bring on the movies and games...
Labels: Boring And Insipid Posts, My Life
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
More Work
Finished off another GameAxis article. Walked around in rain.
Finished off another GameAxis article. Walked around in rain.
Labels: Boring And Insipid Posts
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
More Work
Stayed at home, avoided the thunderstorms that washed across Toronto and wrote an article for GameAxis.
That is all.
Stayed at home, avoided the thunderstorms that washed across Toronto and wrote an article for GameAxis.
That is all.
Labels: Boring And Insipid Posts, Journalism, Writing
Monday, May 14, 2007
Semi-Productive
Today is really just about trying to tear myself away from the forums and get back to writing another script for one of the other anthologies. Speaking of which, I just found out that the Cities-themed anthology finally has a proper name. Henceforth, the story the Wife and I are doing will now appear in what is called Liquid City. I have no idea what the other anthology is called yet.
I also got a request to do some preliminary work on that Job That Shall Not Be Named, so I'll have to put on the ol' thinking cap for that and see what I can cook up. It will Very, Very Hard, but fun, I think.
Right, back to reading for-... er... working...
Today is really just about trying to tear myself away from the forums and get back to writing another script for one of the other anthologies. Speaking of which, I just found out that the Cities-themed anthology finally has a proper name. Henceforth, the story the Wife and I are doing will now appear in what is called Liquid City. I have no idea what the other anthology is called yet.
I also got a request to do some preliminary work on that Job That Shall Not Be Named, so I'll have to put on the ol' thinking cap for that and see what I can cook up. It will Very, Very Hard, but fun, I think.
Right, back to reading for-... er... working...
Labels: Creating Comics, Liquid City, Mystery Job, Writing
Sunday, May 13, 2007
No Big Post Today
'Cause it's my birthday.
Wow. 35. How did that happen?
'Cause it's my birthday.
Wow. 35. How did that happen?
Labels: Boring And Insipid Posts, My Life
Saturday, May 12, 2007
The Usual Saturday
A supply run to Queen Street West with a return to Bloor and then home to do some work. Or try to do some work if I could just stop reading the freakin' Secret World forums for a minute...
A supply run to Queen Street West with a return to Bloor and then home to do some work. Or try to do some work if I could just stop reading the freakin' Secret World forums for a minute...
Labels: Boring And Insipid Posts, Mean Streets Of Toronto
Friday, May 11, 2007
Yet Another Quiet Friday
In which a walk to Bloor for a short trip to pick up parcels turned into a full blown Usual Bloor Visit with cheese and coffee purchases, and an invite to dinner from the neighbors turned up. That quickly turned into a lovely dinner out in the backyard as the sunset with wine, lasagna, cigarettes, a lot of good ol' conversation, and then a double feature of eXistenZ and Marie Antoinnette. Then some playing of Fatal Frame 2, a game so frightening that even after having owned it for nearly two years, I've been too scared to finish it.
Also, some preliminary efforts on The Work I Cannot Name may be starting up soon and that is looking DAMN FUN. Can't wait to get started in earnest.
In which a walk to Bloor for a short trip to pick up parcels turned into a full blown Usual Bloor Visit with cheese and coffee purchases, and an invite to dinner from the neighbors turned up. That quickly turned into a lovely dinner out in the backyard as the sunset with wine, lasagna, cigarettes, a lot of good ol' conversation, and then a double feature of eXistenZ and Marie Antoinnette. Then some playing of Fatal Frame 2, a game so frightening that even after having owned it for nearly two years, I've been too scared to finish it.
Also, some preliminary efforts on The Work I Cannot Name may be starting up soon and that is looking DAMN FUN. Can't wait to get started in earnest.
Labels: Boring And Insipid Posts, Friends, Mean Streets Of Toronto, Movies, Mystery Job
Thursday, May 10, 2007
IT'S ALIVE!
I was beginning to have my doubts, because so little news had emerged since January and considering the fact that the original Guitar Hero creators have been split, it was possible that this project got canned, but once more, I HAVE HOPE FOR THE FUTURE AND LOOK FORWARD TO JULY AND/OR AUGUST WITH GLEE!
What was formally called Guitar Hero: 80's Edition is now Guitar Hero: Rocks the 80's and publisher Activision has confirmed that 30 songs will be on this "expansion" of the existing GH I & II games. They've already confirmed these seven tracks:
My God, just looking at those seven confirmed tracks already makes me realize that this will be my all time favorite game of 2007. I am Harmonix's bitch, and am damn happy about it. According to online retailers like Amazon.ca are already taking pre-orders, and they're estimating a shipping date of July 17 in the USA and July 31 in Canada. I AM SO FREAKIN' THERE, MAN... I'M SLAPPIN' THAT MONEY DOWN AND STRAPPING ON MAH GEE-TAR!
Now I just have to survive the seemingly impossible song Psychobilly Freakout...
And please, please, Oh Gods Of Most Bodacious Tunes, I implore thee in the most excellent and triumphant way, include "Turning Japanese" on this game. It would be most heinous and totally bogus to ignore it...
There's also some other Incredibly Happy News in the work department, but alas, employment obligations and a Non-Disclosure Agreement that I have to sign very soon preclude me from actually talking about this much. This may, in fact, be the last time I mention it for quite some time if all goes well, although I figure I'll be allowed to mention my role at some point in the future once it's all done.
I was beginning to have my doubts, because so little news had emerged since January and considering the fact that the original Guitar Hero creators have been split, it was possible that this project got canned, but once more, I HAVE HOPE FOR THE FUTURE AND LOOK FORWARD TO JULY AND/OR AUGUST WITH GLEE!What was formally called Guitar Hero: 80's Edition is now Guitar Hero: Rocks the 80's and publisher Activision has confirmed that 30 songs will be on this "expansion" of the existing GH I & II games. They've already confirmed these seven tracks:
- "I Wanna Rock" (by Twisted Sister)
- "I Ran" (by Flock of Seagulls)
- "Round and Round" (as made famous by Ratt)
- "I Want Candy" (as made famous by Bow Wow Wow)
- "Metal Health" (as made famous by Quiet Riot)
- "Holy Diver" (as made famous by Dio)
- "Heat of the Moment" (as made famous by Asia)
My God, just looking at those seven confirmed tracks already makes me realize that this will be my all time favorite game of 2007. I am Harmonix's bitch, and am damn happy about it. According to online retailers like Amazon.ca are already taking pre-orders, and they're estimating a shipping date of July 17 in the USA and July 31 in Canada. I AM SO FREAKIN' THERE, MAN... I'M SLAPPIN' THAT MONEY DOWN AND STRAPPING ON MAH GEE-TAR!
Now I just have to survive the seemingly impossible song Psychobilly Freakout...
And please, please, Oh Gods Of Most Bodacious Tunes, I implore thee in the most excellent and triumphant way, include "Turning Japanese" on this game. It would be most heinous and totally bogus to ignore it...
There's also some other Incredibly Happy News in the work department, but alas, employment obligations and a Non-Disclosure Agreement that I have to sign very soon preclude me from actually talking about this much. This may, in fact, be the last time I mention it for quite some time if all goes well, although I figure I'll be allowed to mention my role at some point in the future once it's all done.
Labels: Games, Guitar Hero, Mystery Job
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
More Work
Went for groceries, am now feeling uncomfortably hot as opposed to pleasantly warm, though this is still not as bad as the mind numbing heat of Singapore. Aside from that, it's time to dive into the next month's installment of the kid's comic, and continue on with the other work.
Went for groceries, am now feeling uncomfortably hot as opposed to pleasantly warm, though this is still not as bad as the mind numbing heat of Singapore. Aside from that, it's time to dive into the next month's installment of the kid's comic, and continue on with the other work.
Labels: Boring And Insipid Posts, Creating Comics
Tuesday, May 08, 2007
One Article Down
And... a whole bunch of other stuff to go...
Oh well, busy weeks are good weeks.
And... a whole bunch of other stuff to go...
Oh well, busy weeks are good weeks.
Labels: Boring And Insipid Posts, Journalism, Writing
Monday, May 07, 2007
Resurfacing Momentarily
Because this is going to turn into another one of those boring weeks for posts. It's a work week in that I still have the GameAxis articles to finish, still have the Top Shelf anthology script to finish so the Wife can start on it, still have a second script to start on for Sonny Liew's anthology (looks like the artist I approached within the group is interested in doing it) still have a script for the next month's installment of the kid's comic in Singapore to start on, and oh yeah... I was writing a novel, wasn't I?
In other news, the Wife finally got her first Canadian freelance job, and this is a Good Thing, because not only does it mean rent/food/utilities money, it is also critical to her self-esteem since she now knows that her work in Singapore wasn't just a fluke and she can stand with the best of 'em professionally even in North America. I have been telling her this repeatedly of course, but nothing decimates her considerable sense of inferiority more than the sweet, sweet smell of ink on a check that doesn't bounce.
We are now also the proud owners of Bram Stoker's Dracula (the super-bit version), Mystery Men and finally, one of my more recent, all-time-favorite comedies, Harold & Kumar go to White Castle, which, I am surprised to discover, was actually filmed largely around the Ontario, Greater Toronto/Mississauga area, rather than New Jersey, as I had assumed. Hell, all of the college scenes apparently took place at the University of Toronto. Now I know why I found those buildings suspiciously familiar when I first saw them...
This time around, I'm going to watch it more closely to see if I can find those innately Canadian commercial icons (like Shopper's Drugmart) that are supposed to sneak into some of the shots if you're really paying attention.
So yeah, back to work...
Because this is going to turn into another one of those boring weeks for posts. It's a work week in that I still have the GameAxis articles to finish, still have the Top Shelf anthology script to finish so the Wife can start on it, still have a second script to start on for Sonny Liew's anthology (looks like the artist I approached within the group is interested in doing it) still have a script for the next month's installment of the kid's comic in Singapore to start on, and oh yeah... I was writing a novel, wasn't I?
In other news, the Wife finally got her first Canadian freelance job, and this is a Good Thing, because not only does it mean rent/food/utilities money, it is also critical to her self-esteem since she now knows that her work in Singapore wasn't just a fluke and she can stand with the best of 'em professionally even in North America. I have been telling her this repeatedly of course, but nothing decimates her considerable sense of inferiority more than the sweet, sweet smell of ink on a check that doesn't bounce.
We are now also the proud owners of Bram Stoker's Dracula (the super-bit version), Mystery Men and finally, one of my more recent, all-time-favorite comedies, Harold & Kumar go to White Castle, which, I am surprised to discover, was actually filmed largely around the Ontario, Greater Toronto/Mississauga area, rather than New Jersey, as I had assumed. Hell, all of the college scenes apparently took place at the University of Toronto. Now I know why I found those buildings suspiciously familiar when I first saw them...
This time around, I'm going to watch it more closely to see if I can find those innately Canadian commercial icons (like Shopper's Drugmart) that are supposed to sneak into some of the shots if you're really paying attention.
So yeah, back to work...
Labels: Journalism, Movies, Writing
Sunday, May 06, 2007
Scott McCloud
So today was the day.
We tromped on down early in the evening to the OISE building (just across the street from the Royal Ontario Museum) and settled down to listen to Scott McCloud talk about comics.
First however came an impressive presentation from his daughter, Sky, in the eighth grade. She was frighteningly articulate and media savvy and I really fear for her workplace when she enters the world of gainful employment, she's a Ball o' Fire. Mostly she just talked about the genesis of the "Making Comics 50 State Tour," but it was obvious right from the start that this particular junior high student was an old hand at talking to hundreds of people and keeping them entertained. The only thing I ever did that involved public speaking at the age of 14 was alienating my entire junior highschool by accusing them of voting for Student Council President based on who was the most entertaining. As you can imagine, that didn't go over so well.
When the Senior McCloud finally took the stage, it was a kind of surreal experience, not because I was particularly star-struck or anything (while I have a great deal of respect and admiration for Scott McCloud he doesn't make me go weak in the knees the way Neil-O did) so much as it was jut bizarre having someone thoughtful, witty, engaging and articulate... talking about comics. In a thoughtful, witty, engaging and articulate way.
For the most part, the talk was cribbed straight from his latest book Making Comics. His first book Understanding Comics was essentially Comic Critical Theory. His second book, Reinventing Comics brought comics into the 21st century by discussing the impact that the digital revolution was having on what was traditionally a print medium. His third book, the one that is the subject of this tour, is about Applied Comic Theory, in that this one actually talks about the mechanics--and consequences thereof--of framing, time, panel construction, characterization, dialog and writing in general and all that other good stuff that actually goes into taking an idea from your head to something that people actually read.
Of particular interest to me was something that he talked about which I have always discussed with other people, but which McCloud has distilled into a much friendlier, more digestible version. He talks about how comics are essentially created from five choices; choice of moment, choice of frame, choice of image, choice of words and choice of flow. It's really quite straight forward when you break it down like that. Choice of moment is about which parts of your story you decide to cover. Unlike film where you can show a simple action like a guy starting a car in one continuous shot, comics must choose which moments are worth presenting, if any at all. Choice of frame is about the angle you pick, the distance from the "camera" and such. Choice of image is a bit misleading in that he seemed to be more covering the specific STYLE here. Photo-realistic, or stylized? Black & white or color? Choice of words is obviously how much writing actually appears as words versus how much as image. A good example of how redundant this can be would be an example he uses of a hero jabbing his finger at the camera with spectacular Kirby-esque foreshortening that completey undercuts itself with the caption, "And then he jabbed his finger and said..." and the word balloon "I JAB MY FINGER AT YOU!"
Choice of flow is the issue of pacing. Should the story be told sequentially from moment to moment? Do you throw in flash backs? Do you leap forward in time? Do you break up action moments suddenly with a voice over that analyzes character motivations that lead to this explosive moment? All of these can work quite well, given the proper application and an understanding of how this moves--or impedes--the story.
He also gave an interesting analysis of his take on the state of comics globally, particularly in the 80's before the internet started homogenizing everything. He noted, for example, that the European tradition, particularly the Franco-Belgian schools that had produced icons like Herge (of Tin Tin fame) or Moebius (The Airtight Garage) had a dominant characteristic of being much at ease with "world building" in that often, the environments and the culture and setting were as important to the comic as the story that took place. He showed a few panels from various comics showing the intricate detail, how bicycle fender or car had just as much attention paid to it as the hero.
The Japanese manga scene--aside from its obvious stylistic difference--played much more with contrasts and slower pacing. He showed how the Japanese manga artists liked to make their characters stand out much more by simplifying them against complex backgrounds, and how the larger length of manga made the Japanese artist much less afraid of "wasting panels" by showing slower paced, more leisurely images. He showed examples with the "camera" in Japanese manga wandering over various parts of an environment, or focusing on simple, every day moments that American comics might deem to trivial to cover.
And of course, on the American side, there was the undeniable aspect that it was dominated by super heroes to degree unheard of in either Europe or Japan, but, more subtly, he pointed out that American comics had been heavily influenced by the theatrical or vaudville tradition. Because American comics were originally comedic, and the first comics came out during the era of Vaudville, comics were framed much in the way that a stage play was composed. This was also carried on to a large degree as film was introduced to American culture and when it happened, McCloud noticed that American comics are far more inclined to compose "beauty shots" where the characters are facing the camera. He commented that one of the things Will Eisner tried to advise young artists on was to give up this habit, saying that "you have to let go of this obsession with the close up" and then he contrasted this with the European and Japanese comics that frequently show the backs of characters, long shots, or what have you, but are nowhere near as concerned with getting that "beauty close up" as their American counterparts.
Another interesting thing that came up in his talk was his classification of comics creators into four "tribes." There is the Classicist, and these are the people who are very much invested in perfecting craft and technique. These are the ones like Alex Ross or Jim Lee who make the kinds of pictures that are worthy of framing, who show people just how beautiful comics can be. Then there are the Animists, and these are people who strive for story, for engaging the audience and actual medium of delivery is secondary to the effect it has on the reader. There are the Formalists, of which McCloud counts himself a member, who play with ideas. These are the guys that are interested in the medium itself and want to pull, push and stretch the boundaries of it, just to see what it can do, how far it can go. And finally, there are the Iconoclasts, who believe that comics should be about Truth and strive for Authenticity, and try convey some kind of important theme or point.
It was all quite educational, and quietly mind-blowing. I think if this kind of course had been offered when I was in university, I probably would have majored in comics, because I found myself deeply, deeply fascinated by all the information that he was just throwing up there and really wished I could just get in a conversation with the man to talk about this stuff.
Now the only thing that's missing is that he needs to write a fourth book. I would find this book particularly useful if the titles was Publishing & Distributing Comics, since that's the particular stage that the Wife and I find ourselves needing the most help with.
Then again, what struggling comic book artist doesn't?
So today was the day.We tromped on down early in the evening to the OISE building (just across the street from the Royal Ontario Museum) and settled down to listen to Scott McCloud talk about comics.
First however came an impressive presentation from his daughter, Sky, in the eighth grade. She was frighteningly articulate and media savvy and I really fear for her workplace when she enters the world of gainful employment, she's a Ball o' Fire. Mostly she just talked about the genesis of the "Making Comics 50 State Tour," but it was obvious right from the start that this particular junior high student was an old hand at talking to hundreds of people and keeping them entertained. The only thing I ever did that involved public speaking at the age of 14 was alienating my entire junior highschool by accusing them of voting for Student Council President based on who was the most entertaining. As you can imagine, that didn't go over so well.
When the Senior McCloud finally took the stage, it was a kind of surreal experience, not because I was particularly star-struck or anything (while I have a great deal of respect and admiration for Scott McCloud he doesn't make me go weak in the knees the way Neil-O did) so much as it was jut bizarre having someone thoughtful, witty, engaging and articulate... talking about comics. In a thoughtful, witty, engaging and articulate way.
For the most part, the talk was cribbed straight from his latest book Making Comics. His first book Understanding Comics was essentially Comic Critical Theory. His second book, Reinventing Comics brought comics into the 21st century by discussing the impact that the digital revolution was having on what was traditionally a print medium. His third book, the one that is the subject of this tour, is about Applied Comic Theory, in that this one actually talks about the mechanics--and consequences thereof--of framing, time, panel construction, characterization, dialog and writing in general and all that other good stuff that actually goes into taking an idea from your head to something that people actually read.
Of particular interest to me was something that he talked about which I have always discussed with other people, but which McCloud has distilled into a much friendlier, more digestible version. He talks about how comics are essentially created from five choices; choice of moment, choice of frame, choice of image, choice of words and choice of flow. It's really quite straight forward when you break it down like that. Choice of moment is about which parts of your story you decide to cover. Unlike film where you can show a simple action like a guy starting a car in one continuous shot, comics must choose which moments are worth presenting, if any at all. Choice of frame is about the angle you pick, the distance from the "camera" and such. Choice of image is a bit misleading in that he seemed to be more covering the specific STYLE here. Photo-realistic, or stylized? Black & white or color? Choice of words is obviously how much writing actually appears as words versus how much as image. A good example of how redundant this can be would be an example he uses of a hero jabbing his finger at the camera with spectacular Kirby-esque foreshortening that completey undercuts itself with the caption, "And then he jabbed his finger and said..." and the word balloon "I JAB MY FINGER AT YOU!"
Choice of flow is the issue of pacing. Should the story be told sequentially from moment to moment? Do you throw in flash backs? Do you leap forward in time? Do you break up action moments suddenly with a voice over that analyzes character motivations that lead to this explosive moment? All of these can work quite well, given the proper application and an understanding of how this moves--or impedes--the story.
He also gave an interesting analysis of his take on the state of comics globally, particularly in the 80's before the internet started homogenizing everything. He noted, for example, that the European tradition, particularly the Franco-Belgian schools that had produced icons like Herge (of Tin Tin fame) or Moebius (The Airtight Garage) had a dominant characteristic of being much at ease with "world building" in that often, the environments and the culture and setting were as important to the comic as the story that took place. He showed a few panels from various comics showing the intricate detail, how bicycle fender or car had just as much attention paid to it as the hero.
The Japanese manga scene--aside from its obvious stylistic difference--played much more with contrasts and slower pacing. He showed how the Japanese manga artists liked to make their characters stand out much more by simplifying them against complex backgrounds, and how the larger length of manga made the Japanese artist much less afraid of "wasting panels" by showing slower paced, more leisurely images. He showed examples with the "camera" in Japanese manga wandering over various parts of an environment, or focusing on simple, every day moments that American comics might deem to trivial to cover.
And of course, on the American side, there was the undeniable aspect that it was dominated by super heroes to degree unheard of in either Europe or Japan, but, more subtly, he pointed out that American comics had been heavily influenced by the theatrical or vaudville tradition. Because American comics were originally comedic, and the first comics came out during the era of Vaudville, comics were framed much in the way that a stage play was composed. This was also carried on to a large degree as film was introduced to American culture and when it happened, McCloud noticed that American comics are far more inclined to compose "beauty shots" where the characters are facing the camera. He commented that one of the things Will Eisner tried to advise young artists on was to give up this habit, saying that "you have to let go of this obsession with the close up" and then he contrasted this with the European and Japanese comics that frequently show the backs of characters, long shots, or what have you, but are nowhere near as concerned with getting that "beauty close up" as their American counterparts.
Another interesting thing that came up in his talk was his classification of comics creators into four "tribes." There is the Classicist, and these are the people who are very much invested in perfecting craft and technique. These are the ones like Alex Ross or Jim Lee who make the kinds of pictures that are worthy of framing, who show people just how beautiful comics can be. Then there are the Animists, and these are people who strive for story, for engaging the audience and actual medium of delivery is secondary to the effect it has on the reader. There are the Formalists, of which McCloud counts himself a member, who play with ideas. These are the guys that are interested in the medium itself and want to pull, push and stretch the boundaries of it, just to see what it can do, how far it can go. And finally, there are the Iconoclasts, who believe that comics should be about Truth and strive for Authenticity, and try convey some kind of important theme or point.
It was all quite educational, and quietly mind-blowing. I think if this kind of course had been offered when I was in university, I probably would have majored in comics, because I found myself deeply, deeply fascinated by all the information that he was just throwing up there and really wished I could just get in a conversation with the man to talk about this stuff.
Now the only thing that's missing is that he needs to write a fourth book. I would find this book particularly useful if the titles was Publishing & Distributing Comics, since that's the particular stage that the Wife and I find ourselves needing the most help with.
Then again, what struggling comic book artist doesn't?
Labels: Comics, Creating Comics, Culture, Writing
Saturday, May 05, 2007
Again With The Comics
First, there is this:
As with most artwork here, you can click on it to enlarge it, but that's a sample of character designs for the story the Wife and I are working on for Sonny Liew's comic anthology. I really like how long the lines are, and how it just screams elegant. I'm really happy with this.
Also, there may be still more scripting to be done. As I mentioned yesterday the visit to the Royal Ontario Museum got a lot of ideas flying around in my head, so I sent an e-mail to one of the other artists participating in the anthology and asked him if he'd be interested in collaborating on the idea I have. He seems receptive, so I'm just going to wait and see whether or not he actually wants to go ahead with this, and if he does, then I'll have two stories in this anthology. Admittedly, it will be weird if he goes for it and I don't see my stories being crafted under the hands of the Wife. I doubt this is something I could do with any regularity as it just feels off kilter thinking she won't be drawing it.
Aside from that, it was a quiet Saturday run down to Bloor where movies were returned, more were rented, art supplies were purchased and, on the way home, we finally had our first run with a Crazy Lady. It's not that she seemed particularly wild eyed, or smelled of the streets from Europe during the plague years, but the fact that she stopped to talk to us while we were looking at bug spray, then told us not to buy it, then talked about the dangers of synthesized materials, then jumped over to the NAFTA agreement and how Bush has a plan to take over Canada and that all of this is a big secret, and the fact that she calmly did all this while we put the bug spray away, said "We gotta' be going now," walked to another part of the store where she followed us, then walked out of the store, where she kept right on following us, then half-way down the street before finally giving up was the indicator that perhaps she wasn't merely trying to make polite conversation in the aisles.
I TOTALLY have to use her in a story some time, but I don't know when.
First, there is this:
As with most artwork here, you can click on it to enlarge it, but that's a sample of character designs for the story the Wife and I are working on for Sonny Liew's comic anthology. I really like how long the lines are, and how it just screams elegant. I'm really happy with this.Also, there may be still more scripting to be done. As I mentioned yesterday the visit to the Royal Ontario Museum got a lot of ideas flying around in my head, so I sent an e-mail to one of the other artists participating in the anthology and asked him if he'd be interested in collaborating on the idea I have. He seems receptive, so I'm just going to wait and see whether or not he actually wants to go ahead with this, and if he does, then I'll have two stories in this anthology. Admittedly, it will be weird if he goes for it and I don't see my stories being crafted under the hands of the Wife. I doubt this is something I could do with any regularity as it just feels off kilter thinking she won't be drawing it.
Aside from that, it was a quiet Saturday run down to Bloor where movies were returned, more were rented, art supplies were purchased and, on the way home, we finally had our first run with a Crazy Lady. It's not that she seemed particularly wild eyed, or smelled of the streets from Europe during the plague years, but the fact that she stopped to talk to us while we were looking at bug spray, then told us not to buy it, then talked about the dangers of synthesized materials, then jumped over to the NAFTA agreement and how Bush has a plan to take over Canada and that all of this is a big secret, and the fact that she calmly did all this while we put the bug spray away, said "We gotta' be going now," walked to another part of the store where she followed us, then walked out of the store, where she kept right on following us, then half-way down the street before finally giving up was the indicator that perhaps she wasn't merely trying to make polite conversation in the aisles.
I TOTALLY have to use her in a story some time, but I don't know when.
Labels: Artwork, Creating Comics, Mean Streets Of Toronto
Friday, May 04, 2007
Day At The Museum
Today was "let's use one thing as an excuse for another" day. When we met up with the Tactician a while back (lo, back in those days when the ground was white, the air was cold and the trees were dead) his girlfriend ended up getting her purse stolen and it wound up--sans money of course--in the hands of the Toronto Transport Commission, or TTC as they call it here. She sent the official form to us and we decided to walk down to the Bay Subway Station, which is where the Lost n' Found office is located, to pick it up for her. We ventured past our usual boundaries and into the green and plasticky ambiance that is Yorkville where the suit quotient jumped up considerably (it's basically the playground for the rich) and the breeze carries with it the constant whispering refrain of "shishy" in your ear. For whatever reason, Club Monaco has a big building here with classical architecture that proclaims that this building once functioned as the Department For Household Science back when the University of Toronto offered a degree in such things, which as a recently as 1975, by the way. After that, we had a classic Big City moment where we bought a hotdog from a stand, and sat down on the steps of a church, watching the people go by as the pigeons trotted around, hoping for crumbs.
Then, since we were in the neighborhood and it was Friday--meaning admission dropped from $18 to $5--we also used this as the rationale to finally getting around to visiting the Royal Ontario Museum.
As you can see from this concept art, the ROM (pronounced similarly to Read Only Memory, or the Spaceknight of the same name) is a lovely old building with some truly impressive classical architecture that has a new addition being built onto/into it to reflect a more 21st century sensibility. I have to admit, I'm not a fan, and the first time I saw it (it's nearly done and will be completed, in theory, by June) I wanted to know which Kryptonian had crashed his ship into the building and why we didn't see him using the CN Tower to impale giant monsters attacking the city.
However, bizarre aesthetic choices aside, we actually spent the better part of the late afternoon and early evening wandering around the three floors of the museum that are currently accessible. I suppose I should have seen it coming, but when we checked out the first floor exhibits of artifacts from Korea, China and Japan, the collection far exceeded--in both quantity and quality--the exhibits on display at the Singapore Asian Civilizations Museum. It struck me as stupidly ironic that to see a really good display of Asian culture, I had to get back to Canada to do it.
The second floor is currently exhibiting natural sciences, which range from the usual fossils of dinosaurs (after watching all those Walking with Dinosaurs DVDs, I'd forgotten how damn big these things are when you're standing in front of one) to stuffed animals of every kind. The Wife has now finally seen a moose, albeit a dead one, as well as a buffalo, or at least the head of one. She's also contemplating starting up a horn collection after seeing the wide variety of skulls on display with the most bizarre, twisty, spirally kinds of horn you ever did see. There were also big drawers you could pull out which contained, amongst other things, beetles, bats and fish.
The third floor was where they were currently featuring an exhibit on an ancient Peruvian Sican civilization, as well as their fixed Egyptian, Greek and European (from the medieval period onwards to art deco) artifacts. We literally spent hours just wandering around taking in the different displays and I was quite surprised to realize that it was 9:30 in the evening by the time we left, the hours just flew by.
It gave me a lot of neat ideas for stories too, but I'll have to ruminate over that a little bit more, as well as find an excuse to use them somewhere...
Today was "let's use one thing as an excuse for another" day. When we met up with the Tactician a while back (lo, back in those days when the ground was white, the air was cold and the trees were dead) his girlfriend ended up getting her purse stolen and it wound up--sans money of course--in the hands of the Toronto Transport Commission, or TTC as they call it here. She sent the official form to us and we decided to walk down to the Bay Subway Station, which is where the Lost n' Found office is located, to pick it up for her. We ventured past our usual boundaries and into the green and plasticky ambiance that is Yorkville where the suit quotient jumped up considerably (it's basically the playground for the rich) and the breeze carries with it the constant whispering refrain of "shishy" in your ear. For whatever reason, Club Monaco has a big building here with classical architecture that proclaims that this building once functioned as the Department For Household Science back when the University of Toronto offered a degree in such things, which as a recently as 1975, by the way. After that, we had a classic Big City moment where we bought a hotdog from a stand, and sat down on the steps of a church, watching the people go by as the pigeons trotted around, hoping for crumbs.
Then, since we were in the neighborhood and it was Friday--meaning admission dropped from $18 to $5--we also used this as the rationale to finally getting around to visiting the Royal Ontario Museum.
As you can see from this concept art, the ROM (pronounced similarly to Read Only Memory, or the Spaceknight of the same name) is a lovely old building with some truly impressive classical architecture that has a new addition being built onto/into it to reflect a more 21st century sensibility. I have to admit, I'm not a fan, and the first time I saw it (it's nearly done and will be completed, in theory, by June) I wanted to know which Kryptonian had crashed his ship into the building and why we didn't see him using the CN Tower to impale giant monsters attacking the city.However, bizarre aesthetic choices aside, we actually spent the better part of the late afternoon and early evening wandering around the three floors of the museum that are currently accessible. I suppose I should have seen it coming, but when we checked out the first floor exhibits of artifacts from Korea, China and Japan, the collection far exceeded--in both quantity and quality--the exhibits on display at the Singapore Asian Civilizations Museum. It struck me as stupidly ironic that to see a really good display of Asian culture, I had to get back to Canada to do it.
The second floor is currently exhibiting natural sciences, which range from the usual fossils of dinosaurs (after watching all those Walking with Dinosaurs DVDs, I'd forgotten how damn big these things are when you're standing in front of one) to stuffed animals of every kind. The Wife has now finally seen a moose, albeit a dead one, as well as a buffalo, or at least the head of one. She's also contemplating starting up a horn collection after seeing the wide variety of skulls on display with the most bizarre, twisty, spirally kinds of horn you ever did see. There were also big drawers you could pull out which contained, amongst other things, beetles, bats and fish.
The third floor was where they were currently featuring an exhibit on an ancient Peruvian Sican civilization, as well as their fixed Egyptian, Greek and European (from the medieval period onwards to art deco) artifacts. We literally spent hours just wandering around taking in the different displays and I was quite surprised to realize that it was 9:30 in the evening by the time we left, the hours just flew by.
It gave me a lot of neat ideas for stories too, but I'll have to ruminate over that a little bit more, as well as find an excuse to use them somewhere...
Labels: Culture, Mean Streets Of Toronto
Thursday, May 03, 2007
Script #2
The only things of note that occurred today were that the second script for the other anthology has been started. It's definitely a nastier piece, but then you can't be all sunshine and optimism all the time, and since it's a commentary on artists, I think they get venerated enough that it's time to inject some criticism into the creative process. Or at the very least, some ugly metaphors. Ah, it'll all make sense once the thing is out. I hope. It's called Inspiration and it's really another one of those looks at the creative process and what how it can work.
Sonny has looked at the script for his Cities anthology and likes it. Looks like the next step is to get some feedback from all the rest. As to be expected, it's really Mike Carey's opinion that scares the crap out of me, since the others are primarily artists, whereas he's reeeeeeeeally going to be looking at all the writing in this anthology from... surprise, a writer's perspective.
And, as a lame as it seems, I am now replaying Shadow of the Colossus, but instead of taking on the giants of the game, as would be normal procedure, I am riding my horse in the vast, empty plains of the Cursed Land, collecting fruit and eating lizard tails. Nope, not making that up...
The only things of note that occurred today were that the second script for the other anthology has been started. It's definitely a nastier piece, but then you can't be all sunshine and optimism all the time, and since it's a commentary on artists, I think they get venerated enough that it's time to inject some criticism into the creative process. Or at the very least, some ugly metaphors. Ah, it'll all make sense once the thing is out. I hope. It's called Inspiration and it's really another one of those looks at the creative process and what how it can work.
Sonny has looked at the script for his Cities anthology and likes it. Looks like the next step is to get some feedback from all the rest. As to be expected, it's really Mike Carey's opinion that scares the crap out of me, since the others are primarily artists, whereas he's reeeeeeeeally going to be looking at all the writing in this anthology from... surprise, a writer's perspective.
And, as a lame as it seems, I am now replaying Shadow of the Colossus, but instead of taking on the giants of the game, as would be normal procedure, I am riding my horse in the vast, empty plains of the Cursed Land, collecting fruit and eating lizard tails. Nope, not making that up...
Labels: Comics, Creating Comics, Games, Writing
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
It's All About Image
In this case, that means Image Comics. Now we've got news that the cities themed anthology has sparked some interest from the masters of variant/collectors/limited covers. I have to admit, when Image first started up, I too was sucked in. The thought of all those incredible Marvel artists allowed to let their imaginations run riot was appealing to me. At least until I actually read the stuff and realized that this meant, "We don't need writers and compelling plots and characters aren't important when you've got killer artwork." It was Image that nearly killed my love for comics, and it was Neil-O that brought me back with his stories of The Sandman.
However, Image has undergone a rehabilitation of sorts in the following years. They've actually taken some interesting risks and have published the sort of thing I wouldn't have previously associated with them, such as a black & white, almost anime/noir story called Avigon, and they've gone on to embrace writers back into their previously Artists Only club. The fact that they're actually interested in this anthology (though having two Eisner nominees certainly helps the credibility) means that if it goes through, at least there will be a fairly broad exposure of the work and should ensure that the anthology appears in comic shops everywhere. Whee...
In this case, that means Image Comics. Now we've got news that the cities themed anthology has sparked some interest from the masters of variant/collectors/limited covers. I have to admit, when Image first started up, I too was sucked in. The thought of all those incredible Marvel artists allowed to let their imaginations run riot was appealing to me. At least until I actually read the stuff and realized that this meant, "We don't need writers and compelling plots and characters aren't important when you've got killer artwork." It was Image that nearly killed my love for comics, and it was Neil-O that brought me back with his stories of The Sandman.
However, Image has undergone a rehabilitation of sorts in the following years. They've actually taken some interesting risks and have published the sort of thing I wouldn't have previously associated with them, such as a black & white, almost anime/noir story called Avigon, and they've gone on to embrace writers back into their previously Artists Only club. The fact that they're actually interested in this anthology (though having two Eisner nominees certainly helps the credibility) means that if it goes through, at least there will be a fairly broad exposure of the work and should ensure that the anthology appears in comic shops everywhere. Whee...
Labels: Comics, Creating Comics, Writing
Tuesday, May 01, 2007
Still More Comics
Back to the ol' word processor (in this case, Final Draft, don't ask why I'm using a screen writing program for comic scripts, it's just easier for me) to take another stab at the comic that's been done for the Cities-themed anthology. I'm gonna' try and hack a few pages outta' it to bring the page count down.
In addition, I'm once again riding off the coat-tails of the Wife. She's been invited to contribute to another anthology of comics and art, this one being co-published by an indie outfit known as Top Shelf Productions. Their most recent notable release is the super-gorgeous, extremely expensive, hardcover re-release of Alan Moore's Lost Girls. The collection itself is a boldly mad, post-modernist, pornographic revisiting of beloved children's literature characters, Dorothy (of The Wizard of Oz), Alice of Wonderland fame and Wendy the girl who stole Peter Pan's heart. They get together one day and reminisce as well as share some graphically sexual stories about their lives. Alan Moore has gone on record as calling it porn, but this is the kind of porn that has enough substance that critics refuse to call it so.
Anyway, the Wife is going to be making a contribution to the anthology and she's already warned the folks involved that she'll be illustrating and I'll be doing the writing chore, which they seem okay with. It's not exactly being able to walk into a bookstore and see my novel on the shelf, but these two anthologies are still going to be appearing in stores, so it's a step closer. And I really wouldn't mind doing more writing for comics. It's proving to be an incredible amount of fun. Fortunately I already had an idea kicking around for another short comic story and this will fit the bill quite nicely, so away we go...
Back to the ol' word processor (in this case, Final Draft, don't ask why I'm using a screen writing program for comic scripts, it's just easier for me) to take another stab at the comic that's been done for the Cities-themed anthology. I'm gonna' try and hack a few pages outta' it to bring the page count down.
In addition, I'm once again riding off the coat-tails of the Wife. She's been invited to contribute to another anthology of comics and art, this one being co-published by an indie outfit known as Top Shelf Productions. Their most recent notable release is the super-gorgeous, extremely expensive, hardcover re-release of Alan Moore's Lost Girls. The collection itself is a boldly mad, post-modernist, pornographic revisiting of beloved children's literature characters, Dorothy (of The Wizard of Oz), Alice of Wonderland fame and Wendy the girl who stole Peter Pan's heart. They get together one day and reminisce as well as share some graphically sexual stories about their lives. Alan Moore has gone on record as calling it porn, but this is the kind of porn that has enough substance that critics refuse to call it so.
Anyway, the Wife is going to be making a contribution to the anthology and she's already warned the folks involved that she'll be illustrating and I'll be doing the writing chore, which they seem okay with. It's not exactly being able to walk into a bookstore and see my novel on the shelf, but these two anthologies are still going to be appearing in stores, so it's a step closer. And I really wouldn't mind doing more writing for comics. It's proving to be an incredible amount of fun. Fortunately I already had an idea kicking around for another short comic story and this will fit the bill quite nicely, so away we go...
Labels: Comics, Creating Comics, Writing
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