*&%^ you, Margie Phelps!

or Lookin' for Another Goddamn Way.

Jesus, Mary and Joseph, people - what the frak is going on here? The Phelps, those pricks...that may be evil. These shits protest against the funerals of soldiers. Oh, I know - the Phelps may say that they're protesting the "sin" that lead to these young people's deaths and not the dead themselves. But they're not. They're protesting the funeral. They are protesting against the dead themselves. They're saying, "You are not the honored dead. To acknowledge your death is to give you credence that you have no right to. To acknowledge the sacrifice that you, and your family and friends - and dammit, the world - have made because you're gone, is wrong." Fuck you, Westboro Baptist Church.

I am so angry.

Maybe a bunch of folks - like, a LOT - who say that they're Christian are really Yahwist. God's the hairy thunderer, the biggest mass murderer in the history of the world. Hell, they just feel like dead people who speak against them and what they purport are just the people God killed for being naughty.

If you think a war is unjust, you don't go to the funerals of the dead soldiers. You fuckin' sue for Peace! And if that doesn't work, you Occupy Wall Street! As a 'for instance.'

No, not all my posts are going to be this explosive. Or maybe they will. It seems I need this kind of indignance to get my digits in gear.

Anyway, be good to each other, okay?

All y'all bitchez is crazy.

I recently decided that I may very well believe in evil. Not that a person could be, de facto, evil, regardless of deeds, but that evil acts can be committed, and humans are sometimes the folks who do such acts.

I really, really don't like it. But I think it might be true.

I've never believed in evil before now. Hell, when I was in my early 20's, I had an ethic of believing pretty much whatever anyone said (about themselves, at any rate). I didn't want to suspect anyone of lying, without proof.

Trouble was, of course, proof was everywhere. I knew a crapload about what awful things people were doing to each other. But I felt like I couldn't believe...I had to give each person a completely clean slate. Which might be a good ideal, but the truth is, for me, sometimes I need to take care of myself, and not give the store away. And that's what "clean slate for you" translated to - for me.

Recently, I saw the tv show "Damages" very close in time to the film "Capitalism: A Love Story." The first is about senators, billionaires, and lawyers, and the fiefdoms they lord over, and the money they spend doing awful things to awful people (each other) while the rank and file gets runt over. The second is about how Goldman Sachs owns America.

The sheer magnitude of things these people are doing - and getting away with - was overwhelming. "So - this is evil?" I think so, maybe, yes. This kind of awfulness, on this scale.

Abused as children? Probably. Makes it okay to do such huge, (and hugely) awful things? Uh, no. NO.

p.s. - the tea party doesn't want to save the economy - they want to save our souls. By their definition of "save," by any means they deem necessary, and regardless of what those (our) souls want.

And you know what? I'm one-a-da crazy bitchez too. I sure as hell don't always live up to my own codes.

Not getting down on myself, I believe. Just seeing things in a different light.

Not sure how this blog is going to go from here - I think I might use it just to dump, a bit. Not get nasty at everything, but brain-dump - you know? If I try to craft these things too heavy, I'll never write 'em.

Anyway, mas tarde, and thanks for comin' by. ;)

la,

Ian

Dr. Manhattan Lives! (spoiler alert!)

Alan Moore's Watchmen. One of the most amazing graphic novels so far. One of the three works that, in my opinion, changed superhero comix in the 80's (the other two being Neil Gaiman's Sandman and Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns). 

I wasn't into Watchmen when it first came out. My reading tastes were a little more pedestrian: bad guys were bad guys, good guys were good guys, etc. It took my rebellious brother to show me what was possible. When he finally got me into Watchmen, it took the top of my head off. Explosive revelations, iconic characters, an incredible mystery story and real human situations and emotion through the lens of the fantastic were all present. The collected series I bought for myself in the late 80's (12 issues in all; the complete story) is still one of my most prized possessions. 

Went to see the movie last night. Not horrible, definitely not great. I'm not entirely certain what I think about it yet. Let me run down the numbers for you:

Effects: Mostly ass-kicking, especially the action. But I thought the aging make-up just looked cheesy, and the full CGI - including Dr. Manhattan - was just a bit off.

Costumes: Sick. Off the hook. Worked great.

Overall Look & Feel: Wonderful. Did an amazing job of bringing the visual character of the story to life.

Acting: Mostly for s*&t.

Direction: Mostly for s*&t.

Story: Mostly for s*&t. There was just too much of it there in the comic; too much nuance and character building. To be fair, I don't think anyone could have put all that story into 2.75 hours, which Snyder tried to do. Evidently, at one point, Terry Gilliam was given the project. He cogitated, then said something to the effect of, "I can't make a movie of this for you. Give me a trilogy or a t.v. mini-series, and I can do this. But anything less than 8 hours simply won't do it."

I think it's possible the acting may have been better with better direction, but I'm not sure. The woman playing Laurie (the daughter Silk Specter) looked exactly like the drawings in the comic book. It was a bit eerie. I don't think she was hired for her acting strengths. 

Moore's probably pissed, if he's even looking. I like to imagine he's not. His name wasn't on it, as it wasn't on V for Vendetta. I almost hope that Promethea is never made into a single movie. It just wouldn't carry.

Now, the one thing I think they got completely right (except for weaknesses in the CGI) was Dr. Manhattan. I got shivers every time he was on the screen. His story arc, although hideously compressed (as were all the others), was the most compelling to me; his existential crisis was made real on the screen. 

Another thing I noticed was my very visceral reaction to all the viscera. There's a fair amount of violence in the comic, but the translation of it to film was kind of overwhelming to me. I've read the comic at least 7 times, but to see some of the action transcribed to the screen was shocking. I feel a bit pansyish about it, but then, I've always been known as such a tough guy. ;)

In that vein, one of the most disappointing aspects was the treatment of Rorschach. His utter eerieness was simply not achieved, certainly not by the actor who played him. There was just little sympathy for him. The nuances of his violence and his reasons for it were just plain lost in the shuffle. I feel sad for his character, not for all the reasons I've felt sad for him before (which he would abhor), but because those reasons were not brought to the screen. 

All in all, I think a C, C+ for effort. It just never came even close to the gut reaction the comic gave me in the 80's. And all the deaths at the end...just didn't seem at all real. Ozymandias was a joke, and the build up to the end, and the whole mystery aspect was...well, mostly for s*&t.

Better luck next time. And maybe spend a little less money, give it a little more time, and more heart. 

sugar, frakkin', w**d and a profound sense that I'm okay

that's what my sweetie got me for valentine's day. that, and a real day off. well, I had to give that to myself, but she gave me the permission.

happy v-day, everybody!

snorin' mornin'

Well, I'm up too early 'cuz I couldn't stop my snorin', and my sweetie needs the sleep more than I do. I have many projects that need attention, and I'm kinda jazzed to dive right in - but I'm worried I'll flounder, 'cuz I'm too tired. And these things need actual attention, you know?

Went to a superbowl party the other day. Hung out with some friends who I haven't seen in a long time; lovely people I'd like to see a lot more often. Actually watched some of, and enjoyed the superbowl (hell of a game this year).

But what I most enjoyed was hanging out with, and talking with folks I hadn't seen in a long time. There was one woman I'd only met once before, at a bad time. Well, she's through that bad time, and everything is better for her. She looked better, she felt better, she was better. It was lovely to see, and to feel.

All these folks are musicians, many of them former professionals. So, I brought my purple clarinet. Now, I was pretty sure that we wouldn't be playing - this was a superbowl party, after all. But I decided that I wanted to bring the clarinet anyway, and at one point, I went into the kitchen and just played and played. Everyone else was in the other room watching the game, and I was just tootin' away.

It was a warm, lovely time.

football as the opiate of the masses

i saw an ad for monday night football the other night. basically, it was attempting to entice folks (primarily men, i suppose) back to work on monday. i paraphrase: "there are so many things to hate about monday...at least you have this to look forward to."

meaning, "don't kill yourself before you go to work on monday. please, please, please, keep the economy limping along. don't abandon your post, even though the financial sector abandoned you long ago! don't let it come crashing down!"

kinda funny. kinda atrocious. i suppose it was always that, but they have to be so blatant about it now, since the country's so desperate. my best friend was with her dad for xmas, and he, who lived through the depression in the 30's, said, "oh, yes. this is a depression, and don't you forget it."

wheeeee!

long time, no "e"

Hello, all! Well, how the heck are ya? Sorry it's been so long since I've last posted. It's partly due to "sacred excrement, I've got a lot to do!" and partly just that I haven't posted. La!

I've been doin' a crapload, though. First, let me introduce you to "The Hornman," my 22 minute documentary on the life and times of Bill Nemoyten (my father-in-law), the Hornman.



Any of you editing geeks out there know that this took me some time. (quick aside - OMG! I just saw the first full X-Men Origins: Wolverine trailer. Frickity-dickin' awesome. Hugh Jackman gets to carry the whole movie. Yes!!! Okay. back to the previously scheduled, and all that.) This was the first time I've had this much footage to wade through - around 14 hours. All my previous projects were around 2 hours of footage and, for the most part, the story was already written for me. Wedding's, parties, vacations - stuff like that. Mostly chronological. But this one, I really had to get a story together. What's the theme? What's the central part of his life? And, almost more importantly, what's the central part of the film? What's the story? I think I figured it out. But I'll let you be the judge. Enjoy!

I also got laid off a few weeks before my last post. I probably posted about it, but I'm not sure. Anyway, still looking for a job. However, I recently got recruited for a position. It's by no means a sure thing, but it seems like it's right up my alley, and hey: when the recruiter heard about the job, she said to herself, "I know who's perfect for this. Ian!" So, I'm definitely on their radar. I've been through two rounds of interviews already, and I'll hear about the third next week. Regardless of whether or not I get the job, I'm getting a terrific arsenal together of interview pieces - written and in person. It's good. (For now, I'm going to play the details of the job a little close to the vest. I'll let you know more after I know more. ;)

What else? I went to Toronto for a weekend. THAT was fun. Got to hang out with my Dad and his sister, which I very rarely get to do. They're lovely people, and family, and we're all pretty good communicators and have most of our family crap out of the way by now, so it was just easy and fun. I even got to geek out for my aunt, who's the only other mac-geek in the family. I showed her context-sensitive help, which she'd never known about before. She's a person without a lot of time, and she hates wasting it, so this was a good piece of information for her. I also got just the right amount of cold, snow, slush and ice. And a couple great shots of Toronto, especially down by the water. And a lovely afternoon with my Dad in a bar called Fitzgeralds.

A really nice time, and it reminded me how much I love to travel. I really, really do. I'm a total homebody, so it's very easy for me to stay at home and just enjoy its environs. But once I'm out and about, and meeting new people and seeing new things, I'm totally diggin' it. Then I like to go home again, too. I appreciate it more then, for sure. And my sweetie and my kitties. Yay!

We premiered "The Hornman" at Bill's 80th birthday party, and the crowd loved it. Some of them chanted my name at the end! ;) Yay. I gotta say, that was nice. But nicest was the hug I got from Bill after. He really, really liked it. And that feels great.

Allright. I'm at Ritual Roasters in the Valencia. I'm starting to get shpilchus in my tuchus, so I think I'm going to jet. Stop by my favorite bookstores (Dog Eared for used, and Borderlands for every other little thing), and then home. At 5pm, got a phone meeting with a potential web client - this is like our 3rd or 4th meeting, and I think it's going to go through. We'll see. And then, maybe dinner and Xbox 360 with a friend! yay!

I'll leave you with another gem. This is a little show I wrote for a performance back in early '05. Some of you have seen it, some of you haven't. I think you'll like it. ;) It's a little thing I like to call: "Air Guitar - To the Future!"

Ciao!