Happy New Year!
So, now that I'm in my last semester before graduation, I'm working to get a bunch of things taken care of: my last set of classes (include a short film project), my novel (STILL! ARGH!), and getting ready to apply to Graduate school.
Oh yeah, I've also gotten attached to the webcomic idea again. ^_^
Only, this time I've actually drawn something! Several things, in fact! I've drawn the first four strips already (one is ready for posting, I'm working on cleaning up the second in Paint.NET right now) and plan to try drawing up at least 10 before I start posting them.
I don't have a title yet... ^^()
It's set on a transport ship, moving cargo amongst colonies and bases on the Moons of Saturn, in a distant future where the Solar System has turned out to have multiple sentient species and we've already made First Contact with an alien civilization lightyears away... in a universe where Faster than Light travel has been unequivocally been proved either impossible or WAY beyond the grasp of human technology.
Not sure when, exactly, I'll be making the first post, but I check back here in a couple weeks and it'll probably be up.
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Happy Turkey Day 2008!
Happy Thanksgiving!
Yeah, a lot has happened since I last posted (Obama elected, I signed up for Graduation, etc)... sorry about not posting. Between school, the TV station, work, and family I don't exactly have a lot of time to spend blogging. ^^()
Oh, don't forget the writing!
I tried again for NaNo this year, with less than stellar results. I didn't get past the second day... probably my worst showing since 2005. Ah well. My short story writing is doing well though: I've submitted two stories to two magazines for consideration, am ready to mail a third, have finished the rough draft of a fourth, and have two additional stories in the midst of being written. I'm excited! Perhaps, 2009 is the year I get published?
I'm still editing Flight 62 (in my extremely slow, practically-not-working sort of way). It's a difficult slog...but, SOMEHOW, I'll get through it.
Also, I got around to playing Portal recently. AMAZING. If you've been putting it off like I have, then stop right now and go get it! It may very well be one of the best games ever made. ^_^
I've also been playing Zombie Panic! and Facade. I highly recommend Facade (it's an "Interactive One Act Drama"... essentially an interactive play), the AI is the most advanced I've ever seen in a game and no two games have played out the same. In fact, I played it for the fifth time today and learned something new about the character Grace that managed to never come up in the previous four times I played!
Most recently (as in, as I type) I've been playing Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney. It's fun, although there isn't actually much gameplay involved. ^^()
Anyways, the family's coming over this afternoon for dinner, so the house will be brimming with people.
Let's see...
That's about 20 people (including my parents, my sister, and I) plus however many of Kim's friends, unexpected relatives, and friends of relatives turn up as well. How am I going to fit all of these people!? o_o( )
Ah well.
That's the holidays! XD
Yeah, a lot has happened since I last posted (Obama elected, I signed up for Graduation, etc)... sorry about not posting. Between school, the TV station, work, and family I don't exactly have a lot of time to spend blogging. ^^()
Oh, don't forget the writing!
I tried again for NaNo this year, with less than stellar results. I didn't get past the second day... probably my worst showing since 2005. Ah well. My short story writing is doing well though: I've submitted two stories to two magazines for consideration, am ready to mail a third, have finished the rough draft of a fourth, and have two additional stories in the midst of being written. I'm excited! Perhaps, 2009 is the year I get published?
I'm still editing Flight 62 (in my extremely slow, practically-not-working sort of way). It's a difficult slog...but, SOMEHOW, I'll get through it.
Also, I got around to playing Portal recently. AMAZING. If you've been putting it off like I have, then stop right now and go get it! It may very well be one of the best games ever made. ^_^
I've also been playing Zombie Panic! and Facade. I highly recommend Facade (it's an "Interactive One Act Drama"... essentially an interactive play), the AI is the most advanced I've ever seen in a game and no two games have played out the same. In fact, I played it for the fifth time today and learned something new about the character Grace that managed to never come up in the previous four times I played!
Most recently (as in, as I type) I've been playing Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney. It's fun, although there isn't actually much gameplay involved. ^^()
Anyways, the family's coming over this afternoon for dinner, so the house will be brimming with people.
Let's see...
That's about 20 people (including my parents, my sister, and I) plus however many of Kim's friends, unexpected relatives, and friends of relatives turn up as well. How am I going to fit all of these people!? o_o( )
Ah well.
That's the holidays! XD
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
I've been Elected!
Well, vacation was fun! It was hot all week, but the water was ice cold until almost the end. I did eventually get to swim, though, so it wasn't a total loss... and I turned out to have a lucky streak at the Boardwalk this year! ^_^ I won a Poland soccer t-shirt and a stuff bear, and while playing video poker got (one after the other) a Straight Flush and Five of a Kind... ACES!
Since I've come back, I've been playing GTA4 again and have tried to get back to work on my book (semi-successfully). I've also outlined a rewrite of Man of the Century, which I've just been stalling getting to work on. On a more annoying note, I just found out that the reason I never got one of the Bush checks was due to myself being named a dependent on my parents' tax return. Argh!
Oh yeah, and I've been elected to the Parliament of Alternatehistory.com! You see, the message board has a virtual government (a sort of forum game, I suppose) that's been operating since 2006. This year, I decided to run and managed to win one of my party's seats -- I'm a member of the Yorkshire Socialist Party. Since I happen to have done a lot of work on the offtopicAl political section of the site's wiki, I've also been appointed Minister of Legislative Wikiness. Finally, yesterday Parliament passed the 2008 Wiki Task Force Act, which names myself "Commander of the Wiki Task Force". Yay for meaningless titles! XD
Also, as I'm sure 50 to 100% of the person(s) who read this blog are aware, I'm a fan of fake movie trailers - videos that edit together pieces of unrelated movies to create the impression that it is a preview for an exciting, albeit nonexistent, film. While I have many favorites from Youtube (several of which I've shared with Ed and others), I think I'll end on a note I believe at least one of you would appreciate:
Since I've come back, I've been playing GTA4 again and have tried to get back to work on my book (semi-successfully). I've also outlined a rewrite of Man of the Century, which I've just been stalling getting to work on. On a more annoying note, I just found out that the reason I never got one of the Bush checks was due to myself being named a dependent on my parents' tax return. Argh!
Oh yeah, and I've been elected to the Parliament of Alternatehistory.com! You see, the message board has a virtual government (a sort of forum game, I suppose) that's been operating since 2006. This year, I decided to run and managed to win one of my party's seats -- I'm a member of the Yorkshire Socialist Party. Since I happen to have done a lot of work on the offtopicAl political section of the site's wiki, I've also been appointed Minister of Legislative Wikiness. Finally, yesterday Parliament passed the 2008 Wiki Task Force Act, which names myself "Commander of the Wiki Task Force". Yay for meaningless titles! XD
Also, as I'm sure 50 to 100% of the person(s) who read this blog are aware, I'm a fan of fake movie trailers - videos that edit together pieces of unrelated movies to create the impression that it is a preview for an exciting, albeit nonexistent, film. While I have many favorites from Youtube (several of which I've shared with Ed and others), I think I'll end on a note I believe at least one of you would appreciate:
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Vacation!
I'm off to the beach for a week of fun in the sun (which probably means nasty sunburns, but oh well)!
I'm gonna bring my newish mini-DVD camcorder along too, so for the first time I'll have some real video records of my summer. If I manage to tape anything remotely interesting, I'll be sure to post it on Youtube. ^_~
In the meantime, I STILL haven't finished reading Count Zero or returned to editing Flight 62. It's bothersome enough that I'm bringing both with me to the beach in the (probably vain) hopes of finishing one or the other while down there. Hey, who knows? Removing the Internet from the equation usually results in a big burst of productivity from me, so we'll see.
And on a final note, I hereby present, for your benefit and mine, The Ballad of John McClane:
I'm gonna bring my newish mini-DVD camcorder along too, so for the first time I'll have some real video records of my summer. If I manage to tape anything remotely interesting, I'll be sure to post it on Youtube. ^_~
In the meantime, I STILL haven't finished reading Count Zero or returned to editing Flight 62. It's bothersome enough that I'm bringing both with me to the beach in the (probably vain) hopes of finishing one or the other while down there. Hey, who knows? Removing the Internet from the equation usually results in a big burst of productivity from me, so we'll see.
And on a final note, I hereby present, for your benefit and mine, The Ballad of John McClane:
Sunday, July 6, 2008
If I made an American Godzilla...
This is an idea that's been on my mind for a few weeks now, so I figured here is about as good as anyplace to mention it. Essentially: if, hypothetically, another attempt was made at an American-made Godzilla series, how would I go about doing it?
Firstly, if I were to do this I would NOT start with another remake of G'54. Let's be honest: the first movie may be suspenseful, but the average movie-goer will be going in expecting horror and action, the latter of which the original story doesn't exactly ooze with.
So, instead, I'd remake Rodan.
Rodan has everything the modern American moviegoer wants: high-speed action, pulse-pounding (and potentially gory) horror, and a romantic subplot. The original movie is still exciting today, imagine the dogfight sequence with modern SPFX! Since it's an American remake, I'd localize it but try to keep the original feel as much as possible... I'd place the action in Alaska and the Pacific Northwest. It has volcanoes, coal mines, and two pretty good target cities: Vancouver and Seattle (I'd probably choose Seattle, I feel its more well-known).
Rodan would act as a proof of concept film, proving that there is in fact a market for Japanese-style giant monster films. Even if Rodan doesn't turn out to be a success, we should at least have ended up with a fun update on the original.
A successful Rodan would mean I could at last propose my main goal: an American Godzilla trilogy. I'd expect hesitation from US studios, still wary from 1998, but if Rodan is successful enough they may trust me to go ahead with at least the first one.
Here's the proposed trilogy:
KING OF THE MONSTERS: Imagine the plot of the original Gojira, but with the action scenes of GRA. I'd set it in Hawaii, with Niihau standing in for Oto Island and Honolulu for Tokyo. The main problem will be the ending...
MOTHRA VS. GODZILLA: Essentially, this would be a remake of Mothra, only with Godzilla thrown into the mix in a role similar to the one he played in Mothra vs. Godzilla. Not sure where I'd set this one... Los Angeles, maybe? Something in me wants to set it in Brazil, but I'm not sure if that'd make much sense.
KING OF TERROR: For the finale, I'd remake Ghidorah - The Three Headed Monster. It's perfectly fitting and would wrap everything up nicely: Mothra and Rodan return, Godzilla fights Rodan, and Godzilla's archenemy, King Ghidorah, descends from space to wreak havoc on the Earth. Only the combined might of Earth's three greatest monsters can stop him! Not sure where this should be set, although Tokyo seems like the obvious choice.
So, that's that.
The other big idea I had regarding this would be making Godzilla smaller... MUCH smaller... so he could more easily interact with the human cast. It would be the regular Godzilla design, but oriented like a normal dinosaur (via CG, obviously) and maybe about 60 feet long (he'd be about a third larger than Spinosaurus).
Really, that's sort of all for now. I also have an idea floating around for a live-action, semi-realistic Pokemon movie floating in my head... I don't know why... but that's for another day. ^^()
Firstly, if I were to do this I would NOT start with another remake of G'54. Let's be honest: the first movie may be suspenseful, but the average movie-goer will be going in expecting horror and action, the latter of which the original story doesn't exactly ooze with.
So, instead, I'd remake Rodan.
Rodan has everything the modern American moviegoer wants: high-speed action, pulse-pounding (and potentially gory) horror, and a romantic subplot. The original movie is still exciting today, imagine the dogfight sequence with modern SPFX! Since it's an American remake, I'd localize it but try to keep the original feel as much as possible... I'd place the action in Alaska and the Pacific Northwest. It has volcanoes, coal mines, and two pretty good target cities: Vancouver and Seattle (I'd probably choose Seattle, I feel its more well-known).
Rodan would act as a proof of concept film, proving that there is in fact a market for Japanese-style giant monster films. Even if Rodan doesn't turn out to be a success, we should at least have ended up with a fun update on the original.
A successful Rodan would mean I could at last propose my main goal: an American Godzilla trilogy. I'd expect hesitation from US studios, still wary from 1998, but if Rodan is successful enough they may trust me to go ahead with at least the first one.
Here's the proposed trilogy:
KING OF THE MONSTERS: Imagine the plot of the original Gojira, but with the action scenes of GRA. I'd set it in Hawaii, with Niihau standing in for Oto Island and Honolulu for Tokyo. The main problem will be the ending...
MOTHRA VS. GODZILLA: Essentially, this would be a remake of Mothra, only with Godzilla thrown into the mix in a role similar to the one he played in Mothra vs. Godzilla. Not sure where I'd set this one... Los Angeles, maybe? Something in me wants to set it in Brazil, but I'm not sure if that'd make much sense.
KING OF TERROR: For the finale, I'd remake Ghidorah - The Three Headed Monster. It's perfectly fitting and would wrap everything up nicely: Mothra and Rodan return, Godzilla fights Rodan, and Godzilla's archenemy, King Ghidorah, descends from space to wreak havoc on the Earth. Only the combined might of Earth's three greatest monsters can stop him! Not sure where this should be set, although Tokyo seems like the obvious choice.
So, that's that.
The other big idea I had regarding this would be making Godzilla smaller... MUCH smaller... so he could more easily interact with the human cast. It would be the regular Godzilla design, but oriented like a normal dinosaur (via CG, obviously) and maybe about 60 feet long (he'd be about a third larger than Spinosaurus).
Really, that's sort of all for now. I also have an idea floating around for a live-action, semi-realistic Pokemon movie floating in my head... I don't know why... but that's for another day. ^^()
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Wall-E was Awesome!
If you haven't seen Wall-E yet, do so!
I saw it last night. The movie is both enormously touching and hilarious, a wonderful piece of science fiction and cinema. While I've always enjoyed Pixar's movies, I think this may be the first that I actually will go out and buy. Definitely see it! Also, if possible, go late enough so that you won't have the annoying distraction of little kids... it's much easier to appreciate Wall-E when watching it with adults.
Otherwise... um... what have I been up to?
Remember Hard Power? That board game I was working on about a year ago? Well, I revisited it this week and have spend the last couple of days reworking the rules and cards. I've attempted to simplify some things, although whether or not I succeeded is debatable. There's been two big changes:
This week promises to be... eh. I have school until Wednesday (finals, yay... -_- ) and work until Thursday (I think). I have to feed Kim's turtle while she's away at Wildwood (I'd be there too if it weren't for finals this week) and the family dog-sitting my cousin's chihuahua. He's a really nice dog, but he just reminded me once again why I never want to have a dog. I'm a cat person, plain and simple.
Oh yeah! I finally got around to buying Halo 1 and 2 for the PC. While I've played both games countless times, both through story (co-op) and multiplayer modes, I've never had the opportunity to sit down and play through the campaigns by myself, so as to really gauge the story (I already know the gameplay and soundtrack are fantastic). Based on my previous experience with both games, I suspect Halo 1 will have the tighter story while Halo 2 will be deeper and a bit more well rounded. I expect to find both stories to be better than Halo 3's plot, which I found to be... well... rushed. It felt like they dumbed it down... but, I guess I'll just have to play through the first two games to see whether or not that's true.
I still haven't finished reading Count Zero. It's a good book, I just haven't had much time or energy to sit and read. I'll see if I can do that this week.
I watched the Japanese versions of Ghidorah the Three Headed Monster and Terror of Mechagodzilla this week. ToMG was better than I remembered, especially since this was the first time I'd ever seen it uncut. Ghidorah... not so much. It wasn't bad, but I can easily see how this was the beginning of Godzilla's transition from "Godzilla the Villain" to "Godzilla the Superhero". I, personally, consider the middle of the Showa series - from Ghidorah to Destroy All Monsters - to be a transitional period called "Godzilla the Anti-Hero", basically that Godzilla is acting like the Superhero but still being treated by the humans like the Villain.
My main problem with Ghidorah is that while the human storyline is being treated fairly - it concerns a police officer sent to protect the crown princess of a foreign kingdom who has lost her memory after an assassination attempt - the monsters, who in the past were treated as walking mountains of horror and might, had been relegated to comedy relief. I specifically refer to Godzilla and Rodan, who spend most of the film fighting (off camera, mind you) and are generally portrayed as stubborn buffoons. Mothra is once again shown as heroic (as usual) and only Ghidorah is allowed any measure of fearsomeness.
Ah well, just ignore my fanboy rantings. ^^()
I saw it last night. The movie is both enormously touching and hilarious, a wonderful piece of science fiction and cinema. While I've always enjoyed Pixar's movies, I think this may be the first that I actually will go out and buy. Definitely see it! Also, if possible, go late enough so that you won't have the annoying distraction of little kids... it's much easier to appreciate Wall-E when watching it with adults.
Otherwise... um... what have I been up to?
Remember Hard Power? That board game I was working on about a year ago? Well, I revisited it this week and have spend the last couple of days reworking the rules and cards. I've attempted to simplify some things, although whether or not I succeeded is debatable. There's been two big changes:
- The resources are no longer tied to specific territories. Instead, there will be 56 "resource chips" - one for each territory, divided in a 3/2/1 scheme amongst Food, Metal, and Oil - which will be placed, face down, on the board during set up. When a trading tie is placed on a territory, the resource is flipped over, revealing whether or not the player made a good or bad choice in investing in trade with this territory.
- Battles are no longer determined in a Risk-like fashion, instead battles are card-based. There are eight different "tactical cards", ranging in value from 1 to 8. Basically, the player whose hand has the highest value wins the battle. I'm hoping this injects a little more strategy into an area that was, until now, just a matter of chance.
This week promises to be... eh. I have school until Wednesday (finals, yay... -_- ) and work until Thursday (I think). I have to feed Kim's turtle while she's away at Wildwood (I'd be there too if it weren't for finals this week) and the family dog-sitting my cousin's chihuahua. He's a really nice dog, but he just reminded me once again why I never want to have a dog. I'm a cat person, plain and simple.
Oh yeah! I finally got around to buying Halo 1 and 2 for the PC. While I've played both games countless times, both through story (co-op) and multiplayer modes, I've never had the opportunity to sit down and play through the campaigns by myself, so as to really gauge the story (I already know the gameplay and soundtrack are fantastic). Based on my previous experience with both games, I suspect Halo 1 will have the tighter story while Halo 2 will be deeper and a bit more well rounded. I expect to find both stories to be better than Halo 3's plot, which I found to be... well... rushed. It felt like they dumbed it down... but, I guess I'll just have to play through the first two games to see whether or not that's true.
I still haven't finished reading Count Zero. It's a good book, I just haven't had much time or energy to sit and read. I'll see if I can do that this week.
I watched the Japanese versions of Ghidorah the Three Headed Monster and Terror of Mechagodzilla this week. ToMG was better than I remembered, especially since this was the first time I'd ever seen it uncut. Ghidorah... not so much. It wasn't bad, but I can easily see how this was the beginning of Godzilla's transition from "Godzilla the Villain" to "Godzilla the Superhero". I, personally, consider the middle of the Showa series - from Ghidorah to Destroy All Monsters - to be a transitional period called "Godzilla the Anti-Hero", basically that Godzilla is acting like the Superhero but still being treated by the humans like the Villain.
My main problem with Ghidorah is that while the human storyline is being treated fairly - it concerns a police officer sent to protect the crown princess of a foreign kingdom who has lost her memory after an assassination attempt - the monsters, who in the past were treated as walking mountains of horror and might, had been relegated to comedy relief. I specifically refer to Godzilla and Rodan, who spend most of the film fighting (off camera, mind you) and are generally portrayed as stubborn buffoons. Mothra is once again shown as heroic (as usual) and only Ghidorah is allowed any measure of fearsomeness.
Ah well, just ignore my fanboy rantings. ^^()
Friday, June 20, 2008
This was a long week...
Man, I'm beat. >_>()
I did WAY too much school/job/socializing this week and not enough editing/sleeping. I saw The Incredible Hulk (which was fun, although not quite as good as Ironman) and a crappy comedy show (I was invited by a friend who moonlights as a stand-up comic to see the show and have dinner. I somehow ended up being Assistant Director to another friend's video project... ><# Ah well, at least the food was good). How crappy was the show? Of 18 comedians (there were more comedians than audience!), only 2 were any good, and 2 were so bad they didn't even get sympathy claps!
I've been thinking a bit about Godzilla today and how a new American Godzilla could play out. The movie I came up with was sort of a cross between the original Godzilla and Godzilla vs. Destroyer. ^^() The idea actually gives a lot of personality and characterization to the Destroyers (there's a few of them), but unfortunately little for Godzilla himself. Hm...
Oh yeah, and Godzilla's back:
I did WAY too much school/job/socializing this week and not enough editing/sleeping. I saw The Incredible Hulk (which was fun, although not quite as good as Ironman) and a crappy comedy show (I was invited by a friend who moonlights as a stand-up comic to see the show and have dinner. I somehow ended up being Assistant Director to another friend's video project... ><# Ah well, at least the food was good). How crappy was the show? Of 18 comedians (there were more comedians than audience!), only 2 were any good, and 2 were so bad they didn't even get sympathy claps!
I've been thinking a bit about Godzilla today and how a new American Godzilla could play out. The movie I came up with was sort of a cross between the original Godzilla and Godzilla vs. Destroyer. ^^() The idea actually gives a lot of personality and characterization to the Destroyers (there's a few of them), but unfortunately little for Godzilla himself. Hm...
Oh yeah, and Godzilla's back:
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