Well, it turns out we didn't get that piece of work I was edging around talking about on Friday.
This was actually the same piece of work I mentioned a little while ago. I've never seen such a palaver in all my life, I have to be honest. Really it's made so little sense I'd better just draw a line under it all, otherwise I'll start ranting and then I could wind up in trouble if this blog ever came to light :/.
The weekend was fairly useful. I didn't completely do everything I was aiming for, but then my plans are often quite over ambitious. I'm a bit rubbish at knowing how long some of the things are going to take and also allowing enough leeway.
One thing I did do was some scanning - I got through megami and newtype. Newtype is always the biggest mag each month and so often has the most scans, although this month it's a bit rubbish so that's not as impressive as it sounds.
While I was scanning I watched the end of Blassreiter. It's a pretty good ending. Well, no, that's not quite right - the ending proper was quite good, but then the prologue/coda was trite rubbish. It also didn't make a whole lot of sense, but ignoring that it wasn't a bad end to the show. If only those first few episodes had been better and the budget hadn't just gone on all the CG instead of the normal enaimation I think I'd like the show more.
The other thing I watched was Akikan. It was... odd. At heart it's basically a harem-type romantic comedy, but it was odd because it's also slightly surreal, though not in a good way. First off the idea was that the girl that turns up wasn't the usual alien or robot, but instead it was a drinks can. Yes, as in the can that holds coke or dr. pepper, only in this case it was melon soda. So the guy's meant to be falling in love with a drink's can that somehow turns into a girl... mmkay.
Also, it didn't help that every other element of the show is stepping right into cliche. In fact, no, that's not quite the impression I had. The impression that I got was more like the writer had simply taking all of his favourite things (harem, the "sudden girlfriend" type of show, lesbians, the OTT gay letch that hits on the main character, fighting contests/tournaments, main characters that are toal bell-ends (okay I'm prejudicing that a bit)) stuck them altogther with gaffer tape, seen a niche in the market (drinks cans ... :/) and toe-punted something into that niche.
As you can see I wasn't very keen at all. And I got through all that without even mentioning the piss poor animation!
Monday, 16 February 2009
Friday, 13 February 2009
day of truth
Potentially there's some big news at work today, assuming things go as planned.
It involves either a 'yes' or a 'no' and part of me is quite keen on it being a yes, whereas another part of me quite wants it to be a no.
I know that's all a bit cryptic, but it's a business thing so I dunno if putting it into the public domain is a good idea.
This weekend will be an expensive and long-winded one I fear. The snow's really played havoc with... well everything, but one of the things has been the postal system. As such I've been getting loads of parcels and stuff quite late. Two of them appear to be more stuff from Japan and I've been hit with customs charges on them.
Interestingly, I'm collecting these from Farnham post office. Normally I pick them up from the depot in Aldershot. Not sure what that means (other than that the charges seem to be cheaper this time).
But also the couriers tried to deliver the latest newtype, animedia and animage to me but left one of those 'missed you' notes. Luckily they always try redelivery the next day, so hopefully my landlord will be in to collect, but if not, it probably means a drive over to Reading (which is bloody miles away).
I'll need to go shopping on Saturday morning too, which will be a big one as the whole snow cut-off thing means I've not been able to shop properly for several weeks. On the plus side this meant I've cleared out some older stuff from the cupboards/freezer that needed eating, but then it also means I've used up all sorts of bits and bobs that now need replacing in one hit.
I think I'll therefore probably try to do as little else that involves spending money over the weekend as possible. I certainly need to give the place a good clean, so I'll probably do that.
I did actually find a work-around for the whole Civ3 space-race victory bug by searching online, btw. It was to do with the movie it tries to play - I guess there's some incompatibility or other with XP or something. But that means I won that game, although I do seem to still be playing (if you win early it lets you play on) but my interest has waned.
I'm hoping therefore this weekend will basically be Civ-less and I can crack into loads of stuff (especially finishing bloomin trigun and blassreiter!). But then best laid plans and all that :/.
Oh, I forgot - another thing the snow seems to have knackered is the roads. The roads around Alton are in a shocking state. I'm assuming it's the snow and not the heavy rain we had, though it could be a combination of both.
But anyway, great big holes seem to have been gouged in the roads, with loads of loose gravel from them. It's odd, but it kinda reminds me of geography lessons and the whole "glaciation" type of weathering, where glaciers grind rocks along. But I'm sure this is more about the snow affecting where cars could drive and how they drove.
It involves either a 'yes' or a 'no' and part of me is quite keen on it being a yes, whereas another part of me quite wants it to be a no.
I know that's all a bit cryptic, but it's a business thing so I dunno if putting it into the public domain is a good idea.
This weekend will be an expensive and long-winded one I fear. The snow's really played havoc with... well everything, but one of the things has been the postal system. As such I've been getting loads of parcels and stuff quite late. Two of them appear to be more stuff from Japan and I've been hit with customs charges on them.
Interestingly, I'm collecting these from Farnham post office. Normally I pick them up from the depot in Aldershot. Not sure what that means (other than that the charges seem to be cheaper this time).
But also the couriers tried to deliver the latest newtype, animedia and animage to me but left one of those 'missed you' notes. Luckily they always try redelivery the next day, so hopefully my landlord will be in to collect, but if not, it probably means a drive over to Reading (which is bloody miles away).
I'll need to go shopping on Saturday morning too, which will be a big one as the whole snow cut-off thing means I've not been able to shop properly for several weeks. On the plus side this meant I've cleared out some older stuff from the cupboards/freezer that needed eating, but then it also means I've used up all sorts of bits and bobs that now need replacing in one hit.
I think I'll therefore probably try to do as little else that involves spending money over the weekend as possible. I certainly need to give the place a good clean, so I'll probably do that.
I did actually find a work-around for the whole Civ3 space-race victory bug by searching online, btw. It was to do with the movie it tries to play - I guess there's some incompatibility or other with XP or something. But that means I won that game, although I do seem to still be playing (if you win early it lets you play on) but my interest has waned.
I'm hoping therefore this weekend will basically be Civ-less and I can crack into loads of stuff (especially finishing bloomin trigun and blassreiter!). But then best laid plans and all that :/.
Oh, I forgot - another thing the snow seems to have knackered is the roads. The roads around Alton are in a shocking state. I'm assuming it's the snow and not the heavy rain we had, though it could be a combination of both.
But anyway, great big holes seem to have been gouged in the roads, with loads of loose gravel from them. It's odd, but it kinda reminds me of geography lessons and the whole "glaciation" type of weathering, where glaciers grind rocks along. But I'm sure this is more about the snow affecting where cars could drive and how they drove.
Thursday, 12 February 2009
growing intolerance
Recently I've found myself becoming more and more annoyed at religion.
I've never understood religion. I've never believed in a God or the supernatural on any level. To me they make wonderful stories, but nothing more. I lend no more credence to the idea of werewolves, ghosts or vampires actually existing than I do to the idea of God existing.
To me all these things reflect is the wonderful power of the human imagination. To me that's the miraculous and amazing thing, not the idea that there's some supreme being.
There are quite a few varieties of religion of course and on some levels I can understand why some people have a belief in "something". For some people I can understand that desire/need/hope. I don't personally think it's valid. I can believe that next week I'm going to win the lottery, that belief doesn't therefore mean it's going to happen, which to me seems the logical flaw in most religion.
Somehow words like "faith" and "belief" have a sort of get-out clause when it comes to the rational world. It sometimes seems that the rational and the scientific, the empirical and the proof are supposed to take a back seat when it comes to matters of religion. To me, this is patently ridiculous and also on some levels dangerous.
All things must be subject to rationality and the burden of proof. That's what it means to be alive. I don't run across motorways because I've been exposed to sufficient proof that by doing so I'm exposing myself to an unnecessary (and high) risk of death. Things in life need proof and rationality.
This is something of a sea-change for me. I used to say that I had no objections to other people believing in whatever they wanted. Nowadays I find myself less tolerant.
I think I'm still okay with people who believe in "something" or that leave the door open, as it were - as I say, I can understand this, even if it is silly - what I don't like is organised religions. Especially the main single-God faiths, Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
I'd never go so far as to trot out the old "religions cause wars". I think that lacks a certain understanding of the nature people. People struggle for power. Religion is and was always just a convenient way of manipulating people to do what you want in order to get/secure power for those at the top.
There's a good parallel with patriotism. Patriotism is essentially illogical, but it can be used to get people to join up to the military to fight wars - look especially at World War 1. Now is that the fault of patriotism itself, or the fault of those people in power who abused patriotism to get people to sign up?
However, what I do lay firmly at Religion's door is it's unequivocal nature. There's no compromise in these religions. Whilst those of us who are atheist are expected to allow others to believe what they want and give them the room and facilities to pray to whatever fictional friend they like, the very heart of those same religions is that if you do not believe then you are going to hell.
It is also the job of believers to convert people to their religion. That's what it's all about. Salvation through belief and faith.
So now I think the same way - salvation through atheism, rationality and science.
Note I'm not advocating "belief" in science or "belief" in atheism. It's a common mistake people make, but these things do not require your belief, since they are fact; whereas religion does.
I've never understood religion. I've never believed in a God or the supernatural on any level. To me they make wonderful stories, but nothing more. I lend no more credence to the idea of werewolves, ghosts or vampires actually existing than I do to the idea of God existing.
To me all these things reflect is the wonderful power of the human imagination. To me that's the miraculous and amazing thing, not the idea that there's some supreme being.
There are quite a few varieties of religion of course and on some levels I can understand why some people have a belief in "something". For some people I can understand that desire/need/hope. I don't personally think it's valid. I can believe that next week I'm going to win the lottery, that belief doesn't therefore mean it's going to happen, which to me seems the logical flaw in most religion.
Somehow words like "faith" and "belief" have a sort of get-out clause when it comes to the rational world. It sometimes seems that the rational and the scientific, the empirical and the proof are supposed to take a back seat when it comes to matters of religion. To me, this is patently ridiculous and also on some levels dangerous.
All things must be subject to rationality and the burden of proof. That's what it means to be alive. I don't run across motorways because I've been exposed to sufficient proof that by doing so I'm exposing myself to an unnecessary (and high) risk of death. Things in life need proof and rationality.
This is something of a sea-change for me. I used to say that I had no objections to other people believing in whatever they wanted. Nowadays I find myself less tolerant.
I think I'm still okay with people who believe in "something" or that leave the door open, as it were - as I say, I can understand this, even if it is silly - what I don't like is organised religions. Especially the main single-God faiths, Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
I'd never go so far as to trot out the old "religions cause wars". I think that lacks a certain understanding of the nature people. People struggle for power. Religion is and was always just a convenient way of manipulating people to do what you want in order to get/secure power for those at the top.
There's a good parallel with patriotism. Patriotism is essentially illogical, but it can be used to get people to join up to the military to fight wars - look especially at World War 1. Now is that the fault of patriotism itself, or the fault of those people in power who abused patriotism to get people to sign up?
However, what I do lay firmly at Religion's door is it's unequivocal nature. There's no compromise in these religions. Whilst those of us who are atheist are expected to allow others to believe what they want and give them the room and facilities to pray to whatever fictional friend they like, the very heart of those same religions is that if you do not believe then you are going to hell.
It is also the job of believers to convert people to their religion. That's what it's all about. Salvation through belief and faith.
So now I think the same way - salvation through atheism, rationality and science.
Note I'm not advocating "belief" in science or "belief" in atheism. It's a common mistake people make, but these things do not require your belief, since they are fact; whereas religion does.
Wednesday, 11 February 2009
Black Christmas
I didn't have a rental DVD to watch this week, due mainly to the weather, so I watched this film I'd recorded over Christmas.
It's actually really old - 1974 if memory serves - but it's quite good. I think they remade it recently, which seems to be quite a trend. I think they're remaking both Friday the 13th and Nightmare on Elm Street too.
I guess it's because the remakes of Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Halloween must have done okay box-office wise. Dunno, it seems a bit ill-conceived to me.
Anyway, Black Christmas is a bit of an odd beast. The killer in it appears to be a truly deranged psychotic and he's pretty scary. There's lots of point-of-view camera work where he stalks around, for example. Also the scariest bits are these mad phone calls he makes where he rants and raves in weird voices and makes animal sounds.
I think also these are meant to provide you with some of the back story to his character. Some of the stuff he says hints that he was an abused child and stuff.
The problem is this doesn't really make sense. I mean, it's not like he behaves normally at all, and yet the flashes we get of him he seems to have a decent (70's) haircut and wears fairly new clothes. He also seems clean and presentable (very neat nails, for example) - how would he be like that if he's a total nut job?
I think what they were trying to do was sell a red herring to the audience about who the killer is supposed to be. The problem is that although this red herring is believable for the characters it isn't for us. Given some of the stuff we've seen it makes no sense as a red herring and so doesn't really provide any kind of scares.
There's also a lot of stuff that doesn't quite make sense. It's like one of the dead bodies is basically next to a window and although that window is for an attic it's weird that nobody sees it at all.
There are also quite a few moments where the noise of a murder is meant to be disguised by another sound, like carollers singing (it's set at Christmas if you hadn't guessed) but these don't really add up. Carollers aren't that loud.
Plus some of the ways people behave don't quite make sense.
I'm probably being too harsh here - it was a low budget psycho-killer film before such things were commonplace and as far as the actual killings go they're pretty good. It's just it seemed a bit long and with some long gaps between the murders that were filled with some stuff that didn't quite make sense.
It's actually really old - 1974 if memory serves - but it's quite good. I think they remade it recently, which seems to be quite a trend. I think they're remaking both Friday the 13th and Nightmare on Elm Street too.
I guess it's because the remakes of Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Halloween must have done okay box-office wise. Dunno, it seems a bit ill-conceived to me.
Anyway, Black Christmas is a bit of an odd beast. The killer in it appears to be a truly deranged psychotic and he's pretty scary. There's lots of point-of-view camera work where he stalks around, for example. Also the scariest bits are these mad phone calls he makes where he rants and raves in weird voices and makes animal sounds.
I think also these are meant to provide you with some of the back story to his character. Some of the stuff he says hints that he was an abused child and stuff.
The problem is this doesn't really make sense. I mean, it's not like he behaves normally at all, and yet the flashes we get of him he seems to have a decent (70's) haircut and wears fairly new clothes. He also seems clean and presentable (very neat nails, for example) - how would he be like that if he's a total nut job?
I think what they were trying to do was sell a red herring to the audience about who the killer is supposed to be. The problem is that although this red herring is believable for the characters it isn't for us. Given some of the stuff we've seen it makes no sense as a red herring and so doesn't really provide any kind of scares.
There's also a lot of stuff that doesn't quite make sense. It's like one of the dead bodies is basically next to a window and although that window is for an attic it's weird that nobody sees it at all.
There are also quite a few moments where the noise of a murder is meant to be disguised by another sound, like carollers singing (it's set at Christmas if you hadn't guessed) but these don't really add up. Carollers aren't that loud.
Plus some of the ways people behave don't quite make sense.
I'm probably being too harsh here - it was a low budget psycho-killer film before such things were commonplace and as far as the actual killings go they're pretty good. It's just it seemed a bit long and with some long gaps between the murders that were filled with some stuff that didn't quite make sense.
Tuesday, 10 February 2009
wrong order
Don't you hate when someone gets your order wrong?
I guess it happens most often in restaurants and places like that, but what I'm referring to specifically is on-line ordering. This is one of the big advantages of shopping in the real world - you know exactly what it is you're buying and you hand over your cash in exchange for that.
Also, if something goes wrong when you get home or whatever you've talked a real human who probably remembers you and, if you're sensible you've kept the receipt and you can just take it back.
One of the problems with being an anime fan is that you can't buy that much of it in the shops. Especially if you're an English fan like me. I like anime and I tend to buy a lot of it (too much, really) but that means I have to buy a lot of American (DVD region 1) stuff.
I have imported directly, but the problem there is you tend to get hit for customs occasionally and that's not cheap (see my posts about figurines I've bought that customs nabbed and made me pay VAT on - the VAT's not to bad, the fact that the Post Office charge 3 times as much again to "process" it for you is the real killer). So what I do instead is use certain sites that import the DVDs themselves and then sell them on.
I won't actually name names as obviously this post is about them making a mistake because really I still like them. See, the main problem is that I kinda understand the error they've made it's quite an easy one to have made.
Basically, I'm a huge fan of Code Geass and I've been desperately looking forward to the release of Geass on DVD by Bandai who hold the licence in American. The problem is that Bandai have make a huge mess of releasing it on DVD.
It was delayed for some reason and has taken a good while to come out (Gurren Lagann was out in Japan at a similar time and that's already been released). When it did come out there was some huge technical cock up that meant the first lot of disks were buggered.
They also released it in a confusing array of sets - there was supposed to be a single DVD box-set, but that was apparently cancelled (although it seemed to turn up later, but I'd already got the individual one by then). They were also releasing them as individual DVDs - so we're talking 6 individual DVD boxes. But then on top of that they're releasing them as three 2-DVD sets. So DVDs 1 & 2 in one box, 3 & 4 in one box and 5 & 6 in one box.
Okay, fine I thought - I bought the individual DVDs as that just seemed simpler to me. However, now the time has rolled around for disks 5 & 6 to be released, but there's no sign of them. However, the 3rd of the 2-DVD boxes has come out.
(Confused yet? You'll understand why the company made the error then!)
So I ordered that (as I say, I'm too desperate to watch the show to wait).
And recently this company sent it to me... only they didn't. What they've actually done is send me the third individual DVD, not the 3rd box set!
I wouldn't mind too much if they were the same price - I'd just forget about it and do another order. However, they aren't - the box set is more expensive than the individual one.
Trouble is I'd already ripped the cellophane off before I'd realised :(.
See this is why I hate it when people get your order wrong - because things get horribly complicated.
I guess it happens most often in restaurants and places like that, but what I'm referring to specifically is on-line ordering. This is one of the big advantages of shopping in the real world - you know exactly what it is you're buying and you hand over your cash in exchange for that.
Also, if something goes wrong when you get home or whatever you've talked a real human who probably remembers you and, if you're sensible you've kept the receipt and you can just take it back.
One of the problems with being an anime fan is that you can't buy that much of it in the shops. Especially if you're an English fan like me. I like anime and I tend to buy a lot of it (too much, really) but that means I have to buy a lot of American (DVD region 1) stuff.
I have imported directly, but the problem there is you tend to get hit for customs occasionally and that's not cheap (see my posts about figurines I've bought that customs nabbed and made me pay VAT on - the VAT's not to bad, the fact that the Post Office charge 3 times as much again to "process" it for you is the real killer). So what I do instead is use certain sites that import the DVDs themselves and then sell them on.
I won't actually name names as obviously this post is about them making a mistake because really I still like them. See, the main problem is that I kinda understand the error they've made it's quite an easy one to have made.
Basically, I'm a huge fan of Code Geass and I've been desperately looking forward to the release of Geass on DVD by Bandai who hold the licence in American. The problem is that Bandai have make a huge mess of releasing it on DVD.
It was delayed for some reason and has taken a good while to come out (Gurren Lagann was out in Japan at a similar time and that's already been released). When it did come out there was some huge technical cock up that meant the first lot of disks were buggered.
They also released it in a confusing array of sets - there was supposed to be a single DVD box-set, but that was apparently cancelled (although it seemed to turn up later, but I'd already got the individual one by then). They were also releasing them as individual DVDs - so we're talking 6 individual DVD boxes. But then on top of that they're releasing them as three 2-DVD sets. So DVDs 1 & 2 in one box, 3 & 4 in one box and 5 & 6 in one box.
Okay, fine I thought - I bought the individual DVDs as that just seemed simpler to me. However, now the time has rolled around for disks 5 & 6 to be released, but there's no sign of them. However, the 3rd of the 2-DVD boxes has come out.
(Confused yet? You'll understand why the company made the error then!)
So I ordered that (as I say, I'm too desperate to watch the show to wait).
And recently this company sent it to me... only they didn't. What they've actually done is send me the third individual DVD, not the 3rd box set!
I wouldn't mind too much if they were the same price - I'd just forget about it and do another order. However, they aren't - the box set is more expensive than the individual one.
Trouble is I'd already ripped the cellophane off before I'd realised :(.
See this is why I hate it when people get your order wrong - because things get horribly complicated.
Monday, 9 February 2009
civ3 adventures
Well, as I predicted/feared I spent almost all of the weekend playing Civ3.
To be entirely fair this wasn't all my fault. Saturday morning I went out to check on how the weather situation was and the basic headline was "extremely cold". This meant that the slush and snow that was left on the road that connects us to the estate had frozen solid and was therefore as slippery as fuck.
That meant I was pretty much trapped indoors. The sun did come out on both Saturday and Sunday and even though it never really warmed up, the sun tends to melt the snow despite that.
Now the honest thing of me to do would have been to do something practical or useful. There were lots of options
I could have watched some anime. I'm on the verge of finishing both Trigun and Blassreiter, for example. This would also have been a good thing because I need to realise some capital - heating my place doesn't come cheap and sellig a few anime bits on e-bay would go a lone way to help.
I could also have watched some fansubs while scanning the new megami. This would have put me ahead of the game, as it were - never a bad thing.
Another option would have been to watch some normal box sets or DVDs - I've loads of them kicking about too. Or I could have done some walling - I'm literally on the very cusp of finishing several walls. And for that matter I could have worked on some future website updates - hardly exciting but it needs to be done as I'm catching up with my backlog a bit. I could even have done some writing - the chaos of the last week hasn't helped me concentrate much on that.
But no, instead I just played Civ3. Again. Like I didn't spend several weeks moaning about how it was killing all my spare time a few months ago. Idiot.
The only thing I did manage to stay on top of was TV. Although I start with good intentions every week I find that I get quite a large stack of TV I've recorded when I get to the weekend. I managed to keep on top of that at least.
I also watched a movie I recorded over Christmas. Mainly this was thanks to the fact that my next rental DVD is delayed. The snow has really poxed up the mail - I've loads of stuff that I know has been sent to me but that I've not got yet.
But I'm an idiot wasting all my time like that. The only good thing is that I've got much more of an impetus to the game I'm currently playing, as I've run up against a bug. Basically, if I launch my spaceship then it tries to play a cut-scene and this causes the game to crash. I therefore can't win in that way, but it also means I need to get on and hammer the other races so that they can't launch their spaceships and beat me either.
Usually I play until the time limit games, but the problem with them is I've clearly won by two-thirds of the way through, so I get bored. This time at least I've got a definite goal - not that it's an easy one to achieve in a short time period, so I could still be playing for some time!
To be entirely fair this wasn't all my fault. Saturday morning I went out to check on how the weather situation was and the basic headline was "extremely cold". This meant that the slush and snow that was left on the road that connects us to the estate had frozen solid and was therefore as slippery as fuck.
That meant I was pretty much trapped indoors. The sun did come out on both Saturday and Sunday and even though it never really warmed up, the sun tends to melt the snow despite that.
Now the honest thing of me to do would have been to do something practical or useful. There were lots of options
I could have watched some anime. I'm on the verge of finishing both Trigun and Blassreiter, for example. This would also have been a good thing because I need to realise some capital - heating my place doesn't come cheap and sellig a few anime bits on e-bay would go a lone way to help.
I could also have watched some fansubs while scanning the new megami. This would have put me ahead of the game, as it were - never a bad thing.
Another option would have been to watch some normal box sets or DVDs - I've loads of them kicking about too. Or I could have done some walling - I'm literally on the very cusp of finishing several walls. And for that matter I could have worked on some future website updates - hardly exciting but it needs to be done as I'm catching up with my backlog a bit. I could even have done some writing - the chaos of the last week hasn't helped me concentrate much on that.
But no, instead I just played Civ3. Again. Like I didn't spend several weeks moaning about how it was killing all my spare time a few months ago. Idiot.
The only thing I did manage to stay on top of was TV. Although I start with good intentions every week I find that I get quite a large stack of TV I've recorded when I get to the weekend. I managed to keep on top of that at least.
I also watched a movie I recorded over Christmas. Mainly this was thanks to the fact that my next rental DVD is delayed. The snow has really poxed up the mail - I've loads of stuff that I know has been sent to me but that I've not got yet.
But I'm an idiot wasting all my time like that. The only good thing is that I've got much more of an impetus to the game I'm currently playing, as I've run up against a bug. Basically, if I launch my spaceship then it tries to play a cut-scene and this causes the game to crash. I therefore can't win in that way, but it also means I need to get on and hammer the other races so that they can't launch their spaceships and beat me either.
Usually I play until the time limit games, but the problem with them is I've clearly won by two-thirds of the way through, so I get bored. This time at least I've got a definite goal - not that it's an easy one to achieve in a short time period, so I could still be playing for some time!
Friday, 6 February 2009
not who I thought you were
You ever think you know someone and then they say something that just totally knocks you for six? Something that just seems so out of character that it makes you realise that no, you didn't know them after all.
I had a moment like that the other day. I guess the real lesson is that you can never really know other people.
I've unfortunately been continuing to play quite a bit of Civ3, rather than do anything particularly useful. I think I need to finish this game I'm currently on and then I'll be able to get back up to speed with stuff.
The latest megami turned up the other day, so I'll try to scan it this weekend, though as I say more Civ3 beckons. I've also not got a backlog of scanning so it's not disastrous if I leave it. It was a little later than usual because, bizarrely, it had been addressed to Surbiton! I checked the original label (there was one stuck on top with my proper address) and it really had - it wasn't the couriers making excuses. How very odd.
One thing I have been doing (kick started by the train journey up to London on Saturday - I could never do it, but if I was ever to commute I'd get through loads of books) is reading one of Pratchett's most recent discworld books "Making Money". It's quite good - certainly a very easy reader with a very entertaining main character.
It's actually one of his semi-sequels, in that it continues the story of a character from another book, Moist Von Lipwig, which is why it's a little bizarre - it seemed to take a long time to get going. As I say, since it's re-using a character this just seemed a little odd. Not that it wasn't enjoyable, just unusual - it didn't leap into the deep end where that would have been a perfectly valid thing to do.
I'm also nearly done with Blassrieter. I think if it wasn't for the first 3 or 4 episodes, which are fairly mundane monster-of-the-week ones, I'd rate the series more highly. What I mean is it's worth sticking it out past those to get to the good stuff.
As I was expected, the snow's pretty much clearing away around here. It was quite unusual for it to be so think here.
No real plans for the weekend other than sleeping and resting - last weekend and struggling with all this snow has kinda taken it out of me a bit. I must be getting proper old!
I had a moment like that the other day. I guess the real lesson is that you can never really know other people.
I've unfortunately been continuing to play quite a bit of Civ3, rather than do anything particularly useful. I think I need to finish this game I'm currently on and then I'll be able to get back up to speed with stuff.
The latest megami turned up the other day, so I'll try to scan it this weekend, though as I say more Civ3 beckons. I've also not got a backlog of scanning so it's not disastrous if I leave it. It was a little later than usual because, bizarrely, it had been addressed to Surbiton! I checked the original label (there was one stuck on top with my proper address) and it really had - it wasn't the couriers making excuses. How very odd.
One thing I have been doing (kick started by the train journey up to London on Saturday - I could never do it, but if I was ever to commute I'd get through loads of books) is reading one of Pratchett's most recent discworld books "Making Money". It's quite good - certainly a very easy reader with a very entertaining main character.
It's actually one of his semi-sequels, in that it continues the story of a character from another book, Moist Von Lipwig, which is why it's a little bizarre - it seemed to take a long time to get going. As I say, since it's re-using a character this just seemed a little odd. Not that it wasn't enjoyable, just unusual - it didn't leap into the deep end where that would have been a perfectly valid thing to do.
I'm also nearly done with Blassrieter. I think if it wasn't for the first 3 or 4 episodes, which are fairly mundane monster-of-the-week ones, I'd rate the series more highly. What I mean is it's worth sticking it out past those to get to the good stuff.
As I was expected, the snow's pretty much clearing away around here. It was quite unusual for it to be so think here.
No real plans for the weekend other than sleeping and resting - last weekend and struggling with all this snow has kinda taken it out of me a bit. I must be getting proper old!
Thursday, 5 February 2009
those old friends
So Saturday was good.
The chums I met up with were going to a gig on Saturday evening, so we basically met up for a few pre-gig drinkees. I wasn't quite expecting to pack in as much booze as we did - we did rounds and I ended up sinking a total of six beers.
I was therefore pretty drunk when we left - a few more and I'd have been thoroughly soused. As it was I was stumbling around quite a bit. I put my headphones in when I got on the tube and it was a bit of a surreal experience, wandering around the tube, drunk with Greenday blasting in my ears. I'm also fairly sure I was singing too - dunno what the other passengers thought.
I actually fell asleep on the train home, which is always a risk when boozing, but luckily Alton is the last stop so luckily it doesn't matter very much. Then it was a quick walk up the hill, met up with a more local chum (it was later than I thought) and he ended up giving me a lift home.
Of course Sunday was therefore pretty much wrecked because I'd had more to drink than I thought I would. I just sort of laid in bed for most of the day and ate chocolate. I didn't really even watching anything constructive like anime or DVDs - just random telly.
Well, this morning's journey in was horrendous. The snow didn't really melt fully here yesterday, but it did freeze up. Then last night it snowed about another inch and then when I was driving in it was raining. You can guess what a mess it was - compacted, frozen snow with slushy snow on top and rain.
My traction control was working over-time with all the skidding about and the journey took ages. This sort of thing is one of the reasons I come to work very early - far earlier than I need to - as the traffic is less but it also allows a big leeway in terms of journey time.
The chums I met up with were going to a gig on Saturday evening, so we basically met up for a few pre-gig drinkees. I wasn't quite expecting to pack in as much booze as we did - we did rounds and I ended up sinking a total of six beers.
I was therefore pretty drunk when we left - a few more and I'd have been thoroughly soused. As it was I was stumbling around quite a bit. I put my headphones in when I got on the tube and it was a bit of a surreal experience, wandering around the tube, drunk with Greenday blasting in my ears. I'm also fairly sure I was singing too - dunno what the other passengers thought.
I actually fell asleep on the train home, which is always a risk when boozing, but luckily Alton is the last stop so luckily it doesn't matter very much. Then it was a quick walk up the hill, met up with a more local chum (it was later than I thought) and he ended up giving me a lift home.
Of course Sunday was therefore pretty much wrecked because I'd had more to drink than I thought I would. I just sort of laid in bed for most of the day and ate chocolate. I didn't really even watching anything constructive like anime or DVDs - just random telly.
Well, this morning's journey in was horrendous. The snow didn't really melt fully here yesterday, but it did freeze up. Then last night it snowed about another inch and then when I was driving in it was raining. You can guess what a mess it was - compacted, frozen snow with slushy snow on top and rain.
My traction control was working over-time with all the skidding about and the journey took ages. This sort of thing is one of the reasons I come to work very early - far earlier than I need to - as the traffic is less but it also allows a big leeway in terms of journey time.
Wednesday, 4 February 2009
back to work - but for how long?
Well, I'm back to work today.
The snow on Monday morning was biblical. When I went to sleep Sunday not a single flake had fallen, when I tried to get out to my Car on Monday I was greeted by this:
The snow was at least 6 inches thick and on the road that connects us to the estate it was apparently 8 inches thick!
There was no way I could get out - the front of my car isn't even 8 inches high!
On Tuesday the snow had subsided a bit, but only because it had frozen solid. It was literally a nightmare of unmovable snow.
I would still be trapped today, except for the fact that my landlord had to get out yesterday and spent all Tuesday digging an escape route.
The roads of the estate were still icy, but I figured enough was enough - time to get out. Plus it was all reaching crisis point as my supplies are getting a bit low. I'm guessing more people will be back today and the shops will be absolute carnage, but I've not got much of a choice.
I'd love to say I spent the days off wisely, but truth be told Monday I basically worked from home. Tuesday I totally wasted - I just spent all day playing Civ3 (oh no - not again!). I should have done some hardcore anime watching or scanning or something, but I couldn't be arsed if I'm honest.
The weekend went well. It was good - I'll blog on it later, though.
The snow on Monday morning was biblical. When I went to sleep Sunday not a single flake had fallen, when I tried to get out to my Car on Monday I was greeted by this:
The snow was at least 6 inches thick and on the road that connects us to the estate it was apparently 8 inches thick!
There was no way I could get out - the front of my car isn't even 8 inches high!
On Tuesday the snow had subsided a bit, but only because it had frozen solid. It was literally a nightmare of unmovable snow.
I would still be trapped today, except for the fact that my landlord had to get out yesterday and spent all Tuesday digging an escape route.
The roads of the estate were still icy, but I figured enough was enough - time to get out. Plus it was all reaching crisis point as my supplies are getting a bit low. I'm guessing more people will be back today and the shops will be absolute carnage, but I've not got much of a choice.
I'd love to say I spent the days off wisely, but truth be told Monday I basically worked from home. Tuesday I totally wasted - I just spent all day playing Civ3 (oh no - not again!). I should have done some hardcore anime watching or scanning or something, but I couldn't be arsed if I'm honest.
The weekend went well. It was good - I'll blog on it later, though.
Friday, 30 January 2009
old friends
I'm probably heading up to London to have a few beers with some old friends this Saturday.
We're talking really old here - these are people I went to secondary school with, so they've known me for about two-thirds of my life! I've kinda dropped out of contact with everyone from that sort of era - life gets in the way of course, but what's made it the more difficult is that my Dad moved down to Devon.
So, even though everybody else moved too, their parents were still in the same place so they had somewhere to come back to, but I don't. If I wanted to go back to that area I'd need to kip on someone's floor, and I always feel really bad about asking to do that.
However, there was that sniff of some London based work I mentioned before, so I re-connected with some of the guys who I know work in London. That job fell through, but I figured hey, why not pop up for a few beers?
It's not anything spectacular - a few drinks and a natter. Apparently there's some football on or something, but the world of men chasing inflated pig stomachs is somewhat beyond my sphere of interest, so I don't really know what that's all about.
As to what I've been up to it's all bit a bit uninteresting really. I did some walling and I watched a bit of anime and some telly. The anime wasn't anything new, though - just me continuing to watch Blassreiter and Trigun.
I continue to be unimpressed with Trigun. They've really played up the Vash-the-fool aspect in the anime and it's bloody annoying. Just as the show gets to the cusp of being interesting Vash puts on his "stoopid" face and laughs maniacally. Unfortunately, what they haven't removed is all the cod-drama that spoiled my enjoyment of the manga.
Blassreiter on the other hand has gotten a lot more interesting. It's a bit melodromatic in places and the plot has a weird sense of being made up as it goes along, but it's certainly much more interesting than the first couple of eps suggested it was goign to be. The non-cg animation also seems to have moved up from "appalling" to "fairly bad" too, although that may just be me getting used to it.
We're talking really old here - these are people I went to secondary school with, so they've known me for about two-thirds of my life! I've kinda dropped out of contact with everyone from that sort of era - life gets in the way of course, but what's made it the more difficult is that my Dad moved down to Devon.
So, even though everybody else moved too, their parents were still in the same place so they had somewhere to come back to, but I don't. If I wanted to go back to that area I'd need to kip on someone's floor, and I always feel really bad about asking to do that.
However, there was that sniff of some London based work I mentioned before, so I re-connected with some of the guys who I know work in London. That job fell through, but I figured hey, why not pop up for a few beers?
It's not anything spectacular - a few drinks and a natter. Apparently there's some football on or something, but the world of men chasing inflated pig stomachs is somewhat beyond my sphere of interest, so I don't really know what that's all about.
As to what I've been up to it's all bit a bit uninteresting really. I did some walling and I watched a bit of anime and some telly. The anime wasn't anything new, though - just me continuing to watch Blassreiter and Trigun.
I continue to be unimpressed with Trigun. They've really played up the Vash-the-fool aspect in the anime and it's bloody annoying. Just as the show gets to the cusp of being interesting Vash puts on his "stoopid" face and laughs maniacally. Unfortunately, what they haven't removed is all the cod-drama that spoiled my enjoyment of the manga.
Blassreiter on the other hand has gotten a lot more interesting. It's a bit melodromatic in places and the plot has a weird sense of being made up as it goes along, but it's certainly much more interesting than the first couple of eps suggested it was goign to be. The non-cg animation also seems to have moved up from "appalling" to "fairly bad" too, although that may just be me getting used to it.
Thursday, 29 January 2009
abandoned ideas 2
This ended up being more "occasional" than I initially thought it was, but I've had a slow week and so here's the second lot of abandoned story ideas. 2 today:
Devotion of Purpose
This got very close to being completed. It was quite a long short story.
The basic plot was that it's about a terrorist who is being tortured to reveal the identity of his fellow terrorists. There were three strands to it.
The present day was the main plot and involved the terrorist being tortured in a variety of ways - some psychological, some physical. It was quite brutal and this was the part I pretty much wrote all of.
The second strand was the terrorist act that had got him caught. Essentially it was an assassination attempt on the leader of the country. It never quite got finished as I couldn't really decide what was what.
Questions I ended up with included how did they get "on the inside" (it kinda involved an inside job)? Did all of his fellow terrorists die so the torture was pointless)? Did civilians die and did the terrorist regret that? Or had he gone over the edge or something?
The third strand was why it never got finished. The basic idea was that the terrorist was recruited by a woman he fell in love with. I had this strong idea about a small china cat decoration - how they met and what he thought of before he died, maybe.
Problem was I couldn't get the link of how he actually became a terrorist. I'd kinda made it so that his woman was killed with the other terrorists in their attack, and that's why he wasn't talking - he wanted to die. But how did he actually switch to being an actual terrorist who kills innocent civilians? Especially given he's meant to start normal.
I couldn't really think of anything, especially since the way I'd intended the structure to go I didn't have a lot of space. It had to be something fairly quick, but I just couldn't think of anything significant enough.
Hanger 12
This idea was on a course to non-completion from the very beginning.
Basically, I had this idea of a big passenger jet exploding on the tarmac. It was a future plane with multiple decks so the deaths were huge.
And that was it - I tried to build a story around it and just kinda failed. I seem to recall I managed to get myself tied up in knots with all sorts of conspiracy ideas, though.
I can't remember all of them, but it was like there was somebody trying to stop the explosion and it wasn't clearly going to be terrorists blowing it up or the terrorists were really government people, or... I dunno, I remember it got really messy :/.
Devotion of Purpose
This got very close to being completed. It was quite a long short story.
The basic plot was that it's about a terrorist who is being tortured to reveal the identity of his fellow terrorists. There were three strands to it.
The present day was the main plot and involved the terrorist being tortured in a variety of ways - some psychological, some physical. It was quite brutal and this was the part I pretty much wrote all of.
The second strand was the terrorist act that had got him caught. Essentially it was an assassination attempt on the leader of the country. It never quite got finished as I couldn't really decide what was what.
Questions I ended up with included how did they get "on the inside" (it kinda involved an inside job)? Did all of his fellow terrorists die so the torture was pointless)? Did civilians die and did the terrorist regret that? Or had he gone over the edge or something?
The third strand was why it never got finished. The basic idea was that the terrorist was recruited by a woman he fell in love with. I had this strong idea about a small china cat decoration - how they met and what he thought of before he died, maybe.
Problem was I couldn't get the link of how he actually became a terrorist. I'd kinda made it so that his woman was killed with the other terrorists in their attack, and that's why he wasn't talking - he wanted to die. But how did he actually switch to being an actual terrorist who kills innocent civilians? Especially given he's meant to start normal.
I couldn't really think of anything, especially since the way I'd intended the structure to go I didn't have a lot of space. It had to be something fairly quick, but I just couldn't think of anything significant enough.
Hanger 12
This idea was on a course to non-completion from the very beginning.
Basically, I had this idea of a big passenger jet exploding on the tarmac. It was a future plane with multiple decks so the deaths were huge.
And that was it - I tried to build a story around it and just kinda failed. I seem to recall I managed to get myself tied up in knots with all sorts of conspiracy ideas, though.
I can't remember all of them, but it was like there was somebody trying to stop the explosion and it wasn't clearly going to be terrorists blowing it up or the terrorists were really government people, or... I dunno, I remember it got really messy :/.
Wednesday, 28 January 2009
it's that fine rain...
...that soaks you through.
Weather's miserable here again today - drizzling away. Plus it's not getting any warmer. I'm getting a bit fed up of all the cold weather, tbh. Not least of all because it's costing me an absolute fortune in electricity - just at a time when I'm being serious about trying to clear down some debt.
Really I should move. It's a bit of a false economy where I am at the moment as, although the rental is cheap, my heating is electric (which is always more expensive) and I'm also on a key-meter, which is much more expensive than regular electricity. Also, I've not got a washing machine, so I have to get my stuff laundered. Plus I live some distance from work, so I get through a tank of gas every two weeks (even though my new car is super efficient).
I'm pretty sure it would be much cheaper for me to rent somewhere decent in Alton. It'd cost more for the rent and council tax, but my outgoings would be much reduced. Trouble is, since I'm trying to clear this debt I've not got a lot of spare cash to pay a deposit with.
All this in a year when I'm going to the Monaco GP for an (expensive) holiday, my sister turns 30 (so I have to get her an expensive gift) and my Dad turns 65 (so again, expensive git time)!
Plus I'm pretty sure my tyres will need doing when I have my car serviced. Sigh...
Weather's miserable here again today - drizzling away. Plus it's not getting any warmer. I'm getting a bit fed up of all the cold weather, tbh. Not least of all because it's costing me an absolute fortune in electricity - just at a time when I'm being serious about trying to clear down some debt.
Really I should move. It's a bit of a false economy where I am at the moment as, although the rental is cheap, my heating is electric (which is always more expensive) and I'm also on a key-meter, which is much more expensive than regular electricity. Also, I've not got a washing machine, so I have to get my stuff laundered. Plus I live some distance from work, so I get through a tank of gas every two weeks (even though my new car is super efficient).
I'm pretty sure it would be much cheaper for me to rent somewhere decent in Alton. It'd cost more for the rent and council tax, but my outgoings would be much reduced. Trouble is, since I'm trying to clear this debt I've not got a lot of spare cash to pay a deposit with.
All this in a year when I'm going to the Monaco GP for an (expensive) holiday, my sister turns 30 (so I have to get her an expensive gift) and my Dad turns 65 (so again, expensive git time)!
Plus I'm pretty sure my tyres will need doing when I have my car serviced. Sigh...
Tuesday, 27 January 2009
pirates of the caribbean dead man's chest
I watched this on DVD over the weekend.
I can't honestly say I was impressed. Where the second one failed because of the overly-complicated jiggery-pockery plot shenanigans but at least had plenty of action and comedy, this one seemed to pretty much do away with the action and comedy, leaving... well, leaving a turd.
I mean classic example of what was wrong: Captain Jack doesn't even appear in the film for the first 20 minutes. The hero is absent for a good chunk of the film.
Now that chunk of 20 minutes should have made it easy for me to say a "quarter" or a "fifth" of the film but there you have another problem - it was way, way too long. It was about 2hrs45mins long - nearly 3 hours! That's just silly length for a film like this.
And what's worse is they seemed to stick in a whole load of Chinese characters that added absolutely nothing to the film, but did still pad it out.
I mean I can sort of see some of the problems they had. On the commentary for the second film the writers complained about how they struggled to make these two seem like part of a proper, planned trilogy. That means they had to introduce all sorts of stuff and spend ages doing exposition to explain it all.
Trouble is that decision was utterly flawed - they should just have made 3 separate films which just happened to have the same character in. At the very end of this one there's a sort of thing about the search for the fountain of youth.
I don't think it was a direct set-up for a sequel - more sort of a "here we go again" moment. And that's what all 3 of these films should have been like - just some random adventure. There was no need to tie everything together with an overarching plot, just have it be "well here we go again".
The DVD was rubbish too - literally the only extras were some bloopers, no commentaries or anything.
I can't honestly say I was impressed. Where the second one failed because of the overly-complicated jiggery-pockery plot shenanigans but at least had plenty of action and comedy, this one seemed to pretty much do away with the action and comedy, leaving... well, leaving a turd.
I mean classic example of what was wrong: Captain Jack doesn't even appear in the film for the first 20 minutes. The hero is absent for a good chunk of the film.
Now that chunk of 20 minutes should have made it easy for me to say a "quarter" or a "fifth" of the film but there you have another problem - it was way, way too long. It was about 2hrs45mins long - nearly 3 hours! That's just silly length for a film like this.
And what's worse is they seemed to stick in a whole load of Chinese characters that added absolutely nothing to the film, but did still pad it out.
I mean I can sort of see some of the problems they had. On the commentary for the second film the writers complained about how they struggled to make these two seem like part of a proper, planned trilogy. That means they had to introduce all sorts of stuff and spend ages doing exposition to explain it all.
Trouble is that decision was utterly flawed - they should just have made 3 separate films which just happened to have the same character in. At the very end of this one there's a sort of thing about the search for the fountain of youth.
I don't think it was a direct set-up for a sequel - more sort of a "here we go again" moment. And that's what all 3 of these films should have been like - just some random adventure. There was no need to tie everything together with an overarching plot, just have it be "well here we go again".
The DVD was rubbish too - literally the only extras were some bloopers, no commentaries or anything.
Monday, 26 January 2009
micks of the trind
This last weekend I started reading Tricks of the Mind, which is by Derren Brown.
How I came to buy this book is a little convoluted. Over Chrimbalo there was a Derren Brown special which was a recording of his recent live show. I think I mentioned it on the blog before - I was puzzled a big nervous tick he seemed to have where he rapidly nods his head.
Anyway, I was intrigued by this tick and tried to look it up online. I found some bits and stuff about him, though not much about the tick. It was mentioned on a forum that he explained it in his book.
The mention of a book intrigued me and I searched for it on Amazon and made the purchase. Perhaps the old mind-mongler was influencing me into making the purchase, who knows?
Anyway, the book is quite interesting, but it's weirdly undirected. It's part auto-biography, part introduction to becoming a conjuror, part explanation of what he gets up to on stage, part explanation of why there's no God and, most unusually, part self-help book (ish - the memory stuff especially is intriguing).
One thing it does have is some very humorous anecdotes. I suspect that were he ever to turn his hand to writing proper he'd be rather good at it. The style is very interesting. As a fan of Robert Rankin it chimes quite well with me. There's a lot of overly-ostentation wordage, which kinda plays into the cocky persona he's created for the magic but also hints at Derrens' devilish wit.
There's also an undercurrent as with all his stuff of self-deprecation. For example, it's clear the cocky persona is entirely a construct for the act and he plays with it a fair bit. He also lets it ease down when he gets more serious with relaying the teaching stuff and then brings it right back up when he's doing more entertaining stuff.
Anyway, I've certainly enjoyed reading it and am more than a third of the way through. I'm saying that because I'm not a quick reader by the way - it means I "couldn't put it down" as they say.
How I came to buy this book is a little convoluted. Over Chrimbalo there was a Derren Brown special which was a recording of his recent live show. I think I mentioned it on the blog before - I was puzzled a big nervous tick he seemed to have where he rapidly nods his head.
Anyway, I was intrigued by this tick and tried to look it up online. I found some bits and stuff about him, though not much about the tick. It was mentioned on a forum that he explained it in his book.
The mention of a book intrigued me and I searched for it on Amazon and made the purchase. Perhaps the old mind-mongler was influencing me into making the purchase, who knows?
Anyway, the book is quite interesting, but it's weirdly undirected. It's part auto-biography, part introduction to becoming a conjuror, part explanation of what he gets up to on stage, part explanation of why there's no God and, most unusually, part self-help book (ish - the memory stuff especially is intriguing).
One thing it does have is some very humorous anecdotes. I suspect that were he ever to turn his hand to writing proper he'd be rather good at it. The style is very interesting. As a fan of Robert Rankin it chimes quite well with me. There's a lot of overly-ostentation wordage, which kinda plays into the cocky persona he's created for the magic but also hints at Derrens' devilish wit.
There's also an undercurrent as with all his stuff of self-deprecation. For example, it's clear the cocky persona is entirely a construct for the act and he plays with it a fair bit. He also lets it ease down when he gets more serious with relaying the teaching stuff and then brings it right back up when he's doing more entertaining stuff.
Anyway, I've certainly enjoyed reading it and am more than a third of the way through. I'm saying that because I'm not a quick reader by the way - it means I "couldn't put it down" as they say.
Friday, 23 January 2009
bimble
Well the whole writing thing has held up a bit. Admittedly at the moment I'm kind converting stuff I've already written into scenes. This seems a little too easy in some regards, but in others it almost confirms my suspicion that this is what I should have been doing from the beginning.
I've always tend to think quite visually and it's easy for me to plot stuff out in my head as if I was watching it on-screen. The struggling has always come in converting that into interesting prose.
But the thing about scripts I've read is you don't really seem to need interesting prose - in fact just the opposite, it needs to be basic and clear what the action should be. You need interesting dialogue and I think I'm okay at that. Certainly whenever people have commented on my stuff over at urbis if they've mentioned my dialogue it's generally been complimentary.
Not sure if that's anything to go by, though.
Also, for the first time in a while I had something of an idea. Well it's more of a concept than a fully-fledged idea, but I think it's good that the juices seem to be flowing a bit again.
I finished off some scanning this week and I've also been watching some animu in general.
Kono Aozora ni Yakusoku wo - Youkoso Tsugumi Ryouhe was okay. This is actually an older show - well it's not that old, but it was before I started religiously dl'ing and sampling everything. I'd have probably liked it more if the animation wasn't so bad - it was really poor. The show itself seemed quite harem-like, but it seemed to be more about characters than tits-and-arse.
I've also been continuing with Blassreiter. I have to admit it's getting better, but mainly because of a particular storyline concerning a kid who's being bullied. The main plot seems very generic, but that part of it has been quite well done, I think. Not sure it's enough to boost my overall rating - especially the animation is shocking - but it suggests there's some hope.
And I started watching real-world animu DVD-age too (blimey!). I think partly it's because I've cleared so much stuff on my big to-do lists. Anyway, the show I've been watching is Trigun. Gotta say I'm relatively unimpressed so far. I've read some of the manga, and I dropped that as it was very badly written. There were a lot of great ideas, it's just the writing was quite poor - lots that didn't make sense or that contradicted itself.
The anime is better on that front, but the main character, Vash, seems to have become an annoyingly loud, idiot. I know there's deeper stuff to come, but lets' just say if I was watching this on fansub I'd have dropped it by now.
I've always tend to think quite visually and it's easy for me to plot stuff out in my head as if I was watching it on-screen. The struggling has always come in converting that into interesting prose.
But the thing about scripts I've read is you don't really seem to need interesting prose - in fact just the opposite, it needs to be basic and clear what the action should be. You need interesting dialogue and I think I'm okay at that. Certainly whenever people have commented on my stuff over at urbis if they've mentioned my dialogue it's generally been complimentary.
Not sure if that's anything to go by, though.
Also, for the first time in a while I had something of an idea. Well it's more of a concept than a fully-fledged idea, but I think it's good that the juices seem to be flowing a bit again.
I finished off some scanning this week and I've also been watching some animu in general.
Kono Aozora ni Yakusoku wo - Youkoso Tsugumi Ryouhe was okay. This is actually an older show - well it's not that old, but it was before I started religiously dl'ing and sampling everything. I'd have probably liked it more if the animation wasn't so bad - it was really poor. The show itself seemed quite harem-like, but it seemed to be more about characters than tits-and-arse.
I've also been continuing with Blassreiter. I have to admit it's getting better, but mainly because of a particular storyline concerning a kid who's being bullied. The main plot seems very generic, but that part of it has been quite well done, I think. Not sure it's enough to boost my overall rating - especially the animation is shocking - but it suggests there's some hope.
And I started watching real-world animu DVD-age too (blimey!). I think partly it's because I've cleared so much stuff on my big to-do lists. Anyway, the show I've been watching is Trigun. Gotta say I'm relatively unimpressed so far. I've read some of the manga, and I dropped that as it was very badly written. There were a lot of great ideas, it's just the writing was quite poor - lots that didn't make sense or that contradicted itself.
The anime is better on that front, but the main character, Vash, seems to have become an annoyingly loud, idiot. I know there's deeper stuff to come, but lets' just say if I was watching this on fansub I'd have dropped it by now.
Thursday, 22 January 2009
shooter
This last weekend's DVD was Shooter, starring Mark Wahlberg.
It was okay. I'm not sure I'd go much further than that.
One thing that was really cool about it was that Wahlberg was playing a sniper and they'd clearly done a lot of research about sniping and that whole thing. I mean there was obviously a lot of pure movie stuff in it, but they'd also definitely had a good crack at making it pretty accurate.
But there seemed to be a lot of things that didn't quite work too.
One thing that was odd was everybody seemed to be growling or mumbling, which made it really difficult to hear what they were saying. I think the effect was supposed to be one of making them seem menacing and moody, but instead it just came off as a kind of disinterest.
In the commentary the director kept talking about making a movie like they had in the 70s. I've heard a few people say that of recent films and I'm kinda on the fence as to whether it's a good thing.
Certainly here it didn't really seem to work - it was like everyone was too conscious of that fact. Like they were all thinking "yeah, I'm in the 70s - gotta act like the 70s". So it seemed more like a pastiche of the 70s, rather than a subtle thing.
Another problem was that Wahlberg's character seemed very dull. I don't think this was as a result of bad acting, as such, it was just that that's how Wahlberg had chosen to play him. But because he was the central character that meant I got a little bored of him.
Another major problem was the "bad guys." The bad guys kinda devolved into a bit of a "lol capitalism is evilzors and we likes it!" thing that just didn't seem to sit well. Not that having capitalism (and capitalist pig-dogs) as the bad guys is necessarily a bad thing, it just came across as slightly too obvious, but also as a little simplistic and childish.
They didn't earn it, in other words. If there had been more of Wahlberg's character actively discovering that it was evil capitalist pigs doing it and it had come as a revelation of some sort that may have worked better. But as it was we were just told - especially at one point where you had an almost bond-like bad guy speech.
Which was contradictory - if this is meant to be a gritty 70s chase film, what's with the OTT baddy speech?
Still, as I say, the snipery/actiony bits were entertaining enough.
It was okay. I'm not sure I'd go much further than that.
One thing that was really cool about it was that Wahlberg was playing a sniper and they'd clearly done a lot of research about sniping and that whole thing. I mean there was obviously a lot of pure movie stuff in it, but they'd also definitely had a good crack at making it pretty accurate.
But there seemed to be a lot of things that didn't quite work too.
One thing that was odd was everybody seemed to be growling or mumbling, which made it really difficult to hear what they were saying. I think the effect was supposed to be one of making them seem menacing and moody, but instead it just came off as a kind of disinterest.
In the commentary the director kept talking about making a movie like they had in the 70s. I've heard a few people say that of recent films and I'm kinda on the fence as to whether it's a good thing.
Certainly here it didn't really seem to work - it was like everyone was too conscious of that fact. Like they were all thinking "yeah, I'm in the 70s - gotta act like the 70s". So it seemed more like a pastiche of the 70s, rather than a subtle thing.
Another problem was that Wahlberg's character seemed very dull. I don't think this was as a result of bad acting, as such, it was just that that's how Wahlberg had chosen to play him. But because he was the central character that meant I got a little bored of him.
Another major problem was the "bad guys." The bad guys kinda devolved into a bit of a "lol capitalism is evilzors and we likes it!" thing that just didn't seem to sit well. Not that having capitalism (and capitalist pig-dogs) as the bad guys is necessarily a bad thing, it just came across as slightly too obvious, but also as a little simplistic and childish.
They didn't earn it, in other words. If there had been more of Wahlberg's character actively discovering that it was evil capitalist pigs doing it and it had come as a revelation of some sort that may have worked better. But as it was we were just told - especially at one point where you had an almost bond-like bad guy speech.
Which was contradictory - if this is meant to be a gritty 70s chase film, what's with the OTT baddy speech?
Still, as I say, the snipery/actiony bits were entertaining enough.
Wednesday, 21 January 2009
a writer's tale
Last night I finished reading "Doctor Who: A Writer's Tale."
It's a big book - it's about 500 pages long and the text is tiny. To put that in context, during the course of the book we get to read several (3-ish) Doctor Who scripts. Now a Doctor Who script is going to be the best part of 50 pages long if you were to read it as a script.
Admittedly scripts have a lot of white space, but still, when you consider the text of scripts includes all sorts of rewrites and when you look at it only accounts for 20% of the words in the book, you'll get a feel for how big the book is.
Anyway, what the book is is a collection of e-mails (and a few text messages for good message) sent between the head writer and executive producer of new Doctor Who, Russell T Davies and Benjamin Cook, a young journalist and friend of Russell's.
It's a little difficult to explain the format of the book, but it's obvious when you actually read it. The e-mails last the course of year and during them Davies writes a handful of his own scripts for Dr Who, which is mainly the point of the book, so we get to see those scripts develop.
But also, because he's head writer, we see him rewriting other people's scripts. And because he's one of the Executive Producers he has to do all sorts of show-running stuff. On top of that it's like Cook is conducting an extended interview as well as being a friend.
What we mainly get, therefore, is something of an insight into the mind of a writer. Now Davies is always quick to stress that it's only his mind and how he works and this is what works for him and his own personal take on things, so the fundamental point is it's an exploration of his writing process.
And it's really warts and all.
There are literally pages dedicated to self-doubt and anguish. Davies sometimes spends ages procrastinating and avoiding writing, making himself miserable. We get to know about ideas that failed and bits that didn't work as well as stuff that did.
It's very interesting stuff and I'd highly recommend it... although with a little bit of coveting. If you don't know about new Doctor Who (or, indeed, old Doctor Who) it does try to explain stuff to you, but really you'll be struggling. If you don't like Doctor Who or Davies this won't do anything to convince you otherwise.
The other biggy is I dunno how a non-writer would take to it. I'm guessing quite well as there's plenty in it that's just generally entertaining, but it did feel more directed at those who've considered or actually tried to write, rather than just the general public.
It's a big book - it's about 500 pages long and the text is tiny. To put that in context, during the course of the book we get to read several (3-ish) Doctor Who scripts. Now a Doctor Who script is going to be the best part of 50 pages long if you were to read it as a script.
Admittedly scripts have a lot of white space, but still, when you consider the text of scripts includes all sorts of rewrites and when you look at it only accounts for 20% of the words in the book, you'll get a feel for how big the book is.
Anyway, what the book is is a collection of e-mails (and a few text messages for good message) sent between the head writer and executive producer of new Doctor Who, Russell T Davies and Benjamin Cook, a young journalist and friend of Russell's.
It's a little difficult to explain the format of the book, but it's obvious when you actually read it. The e-mails last the course of year and during them Davies writes a handful of his own scripts for Dr Who, which is mainly the point of the book, so we get to see those scripts develop.
But also, because he's head writer, we see him rewriting other people's scripts. And because he's one of the Executive Producers he has to do all sorts of show-running stuff. On top of that it's like Cook is conducting an extended interview as well as being a friend.
What we mainly get, therefore, is something of an insight into the mind of a writer. Now Davies is always quick to stress that it's only his mind and how he works and this is what works for him and his own personal take on things, so the fundamental point is it's an exploration of his writing process.
And it's really warts and all.
There are literally pages dedicated to self-doubt and anguish. Davies sometimes spends ages procrastinating and avoiding writing, making himself miserable. We get to know about ideas that failed and bits that didn't work as well as stuff that did.
It's very interesting stuff and I'd highly recommend it... although with a little bit of coveting. If you don't know about new Doctor Who (or, indeed, old Doctor Who) it does try to explain stuff to you, but really you'll be struggling. If you don't like Doctor Who or Davies this won't do anything to convince you otherwise.
The other biggy is I dunno how a non-writer would take to it. I'm guessing quite well as there's plenty in it that's just generally entertaining, but it did feel more directed at those who've considered or actually tried to write, rather than just the general public.
Tuesday, 20 January 2009
mehness
I'm a bit meh today - I kinda can't really get going on anything. I even kept coming here, starting a new entry and then quitting out :/.
I think this is because I pushed myself a bit hard to get a report done and I've sort of burnt my brain out a bit.
The reason I wanted to get it done is there's the potential I may be working on a contract over the next month or so up in London. Problem is it's all a bit p in the air. I've never seen such twoddling about in all my life :/.
Not much else to say, really. Well, there is, but I can't be arsed to type any of it out - that's kinda my point.
I think this is because I pushed myself a bit hard to get a report done and I've sort of burnt my brain out a bit.
The reason I wanted to get it done is there's the potential I may be working on a contract over the next month or so up in London. Problem is it's all a bit p in the air. I've never seen such twoddling about in all my life :/.
Not much else to say, really. Well, there is, but I can't be arsed to type any of it out - that's kinda my point.
Monday, 19 January 2009
clean-cleany
Well I did all of that cleaning I mentioned on Friday, including the car.
I was kinda lucky to some degree, as there was rain on Saturday morning which looked like it was going to confirm the less good forecasts. But it brightened up for the afternoon and the rain held off until the evening, when it was properly stormy.
Sunday actually turned out to be a pleasant day, so I could have done cleaned the car then, but all the forecasts were terrible for Sunday so I got it done Saturday. Sunday I was knackered, obviously, but all I needed to do was a bit of tidying up.
I also watched quite a few telly shows I'd recorded. One was Derren Brown's latest. I like Derren - he does tend to do "psychic" stuff, which is a bit low rent, but he does it freely admitting (even outright telling you) it's all bunk and it's just a magic trick.
One thing I did notice though is he seems to have a bit of a nervous tick, where he nods his head. I'd seen it before, but in this last show he was doing it a heck of a lot.
On Sunday I did more scanning and obviously watched some anime as I was doing it. It was a bit of a random selection though as I've now pretty much finished all the fansubs for previous season. Since I normally like to wait until I have 3 or 4 shows I can watch it'll be a while before the new January shows are options, so it was all odds and sods.
Here are my thoughts:
I was kinda lucky to some degree, as there was rain on Saturday morning which looked like it was going to confirm the less good forecasts. But it brightened up for the afternoon and the rain held off until the evening, when it was properly stormy.
Sunday actually turned out to be a pleasant day, so I could have done cleaned the car then, but all the forecasts were terrible for Sunday so I got it done Saturday. Sunday I was knackered, obviously, but all I needed to do was a bit of tidying up.
I also watched quite a few telly shows I'd recorded. One was Derren Brown's latest. I like Derren - he does tend to do "psychic" stuff, which is a bit low rent, but he does it freely admitting (even outright telling you) it's all bunk and it's just a magic trick.
One thing I did notice though is he seems to have a bit of a nervous tick, where he nods his head. I'd seen it before, but in this last show he was doing it a heck of a lot.
On Sunday I did more scanning and obviously watched some anime as I was doing it. It was a bit of a random selection though as I've now pretty much finished all the fansubs for previous season. Since I normally like to wait until I have 3 or 4 shows I can watch it'll be a while before the new January shows are options, so it was all odds and sods.
Here are my thoughts:
- Blassreiter was okay. This is one of the shows I've bought on Bost TV, so I'll end up watching all of it eventually. It was okay, but I dunno that anything about it really grabbed me. The main problem was the animation was really poor - there's a lot of CG stuff that looks like it's absorbed the budget, so the rest of it is really clunky.
- Zettai Shougeki ~Platonic Heart~ was okay. IT comes from the Ikki Tousen school, where girls fight and when they punch each other their clothes explode. So it's fan-service heavy in other words. Problem is that appears to be all it is - there's nothing else to really recommend it.
- Strike Witches (OVA) was all right. I downloaded this as a sampler, but didn't watch it before buying on Bost, but I thought I'd clear it out before starting on Strike Witches proper. I'm kinda hoping this OAV is like a sampler/trailer to the series as it didn't make a whole lot of sense and seemed to jump big stretches of the plot. Hopefully the series is a lot better. Animation was good, though.
clean cleanliness
Well I did all of that cleaning I mentioned on Friday, including the car.
I was kinda lucky to some degree, as there was rain on Saturday morning which looked like it was going to confirm the less good forecasts. But it brightened up for the afternoon and the rain held off until the evening, when it was properly stormy.
Sunday actually turned out to be a pleasant day, so I could have done cleaned the car then, but all the forecasts were terrible for Sunday so I got it done Saturday. Sunday I was knackered, obviously
Blassreiter http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=9069 ???
I was kinda lucky to some degree, as there was rain on Saturday morning which looked like it was going to confirm the less good forecasts. But it brightened up for the afternoon and the rain held off until the evening, when it was properly stormy.
Sunday actually turned out to be a pleasant day, so I could have done cleaned the car then, but all the forecasts were terrible for Sunday so I got it done Saturday. Sunday I was knackered, obviously
Blassreiter http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=9069 ???
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