Greetings spurned readership!
As you may have noticed, my rate of posting has slowed to the point of nonexistence. More likely you have moved on to one of the other 70 bajillion blogs on the internet and are not reading this right now. But I digress.
I started this blog as a way of keeping my writing fluids pumping. I did not anticipate that it would be read and enjoyed - a welcome boon indeed.
At present I hunger for projects with more focus, and am turning my attention to a couple.
I still intend to update this blog, but am officially freeing myself from the self-imposed daily schedule. I obviously did this unofficially some time ago, but hey, I'm here now.
The invention of Twitter was quite a blow, as it provided the ability to share randomness and immediately generate discussion that I found here. It also unfortunately demonstrated that much of the 1,000-word posts I had created could be just as effectively conveyed in 140 characters.
I really do want to thank everyone who has ever read any of the words here, and I hope you've enjoyed some of them. I especially want to thank anyone who commented, as I am man enough to admit that such validation keeps me going.
So I will continue to live here - I still visit every day so feel free to say anything you like in the comments of this post. If I post something of note I shall make a note of it through Twitter and Facebook.
Also, how good was Arkham Asylum? Really good.
Stefan tells stories, writes about stories and tells stories about stories.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Monday, August 3, 2009
My only regret ... is that I have ... boneitis.
Thank God. (From io9)
Futurama has signed a deal with Fox that will see the original voice cast return.
My initial, ecstatic joy at hearing that my favourite cartoon ever had been renewed after a too-long absence was immediately crushed under the news that pay disputes may have meant the cast would not be coming back.
That would have surely created a Pet Cemetery situation, where my loved one would return .... wrong.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Zack and Miri: A Review
Zack and Miri Make a Porno sounds like it should be awesome, but it is a disappointment.
On paper, this movie wins the internet:
The idea of Kevin Smith embracing the style of recent 'Apatow style' comedies should be a 'best of both worlds' type of deal, and the plot - two broke, platonic friends decide to make a porno to get out of debt - sounds tailor made for a filthy, hilarious romp.
But it doesn't really work. The film swings between filth and cheesy sentimentality. It feels like two competing movies a lot of the time.
The premise that pornography has gone mainstream is mentioned in the film, and is unwittingly proven by the tameness of proceedings. The concept hangs there with nothing really to support it. The love story grows to encompass the whole plot, so that the initial idea of the film being made is abandoned without any resolution.
Elizabeth Banks acts well and Seth Rogan is capable, but none of the other characters grow beyond a one sentence description.
Of course, a film like this can often get a pass on all else if it is funny. Sadly, Zack and Miri isn't all that funny either. While there are some great gags, it's not consistently hilarious like, say, Anchorman or Clerks, which both took an obvious concept and rode it for all it was worth.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
The Champions
Last night Leen and I watched Queen: Live at Wembly.
I'd never seen it before, but had heard good things.
Not only was it possibly the best live performance I have ever witnessed, albeit through a television screen and the mists of time, but I ached to be in the audience.
When Radio Ga Ga had thousands of people clapping in unison while Freddy holds them in the palm of his hand, I kind of felt like I had missed all the best stuff that will ever happen.
If you ever get the chance to watch the concert do so. It will fill you with awe and crushing despair.
That is rock'n'roll.
Photograph provided by Orange_Beard
I'd never seen it before, but had heard good things.
Not only was it possibly the best live performance I have ever witnessed, albeit through a television screen and the mists of time, but I ached to be in the audience.
When Radio Ga Ga had thousands of people clapping in unison while Freddy holds them in the palm of his hand, I kind of felt like I had missed all the best stuff that will ever happen.
If you ever get the chance to watch the concert do so. It will fill you with awe and crushing despair.
That is rock'n'roll.
Photograph provided by Orange_Beard
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Worst ending ever?
Did Battlestar Galactica Have The Worst Ending In Science Fiction History?
Head over to io9 to find out!
My take?
Yep.
Monday, July 13, 2009
Digital Wrong Management
Digital Rights Management software needs to be invisible unless the law is broken, or it will not work.
I struck upon the above phrase while chatting with my brother the other day, and I think I've finally summed up my problem with the whole copyright debate.
I like to watch TV and movies. I do not want to steal them, and I don't want to sell them. With this in mind, I'm cool with the companies that provide these things including software to prevent me from swiping it, but not if it prevents me from using it.
It sounds so simple now, but it's sadly unattainable at present. If I want to watch a movie in my DVD player, then copy it to my computer and stream it to my PS3, I should be able to do so. I'm not breaking the law. but DRM prevents me from using files outside of a narrow definition set by the distributor. The rights being managed are certainly not mine, and that sucks.
I struck upon the above phrase while chatting with my brother the other day, and I think I've finally summed up my problem with the whole copyright debate.
I like to watch TV and movies. I do not want to steal them, and I don't want to sell them. With this in mind, I'm cool with the companies that provide these things including software to prevent me from swiping it, but not if it prevents me from using it.
It sounds so simple now, but it's sadly unattainable at present. If I want to watch a movie in my DVD player, then copy it to my computer and stream it to my PS3, I should be able to do so. I'm not breaking the law. but DRM prevents me from using files outside of a narrow definition set by the distributor. The rights being managed are certainly not mine, and that sucks.
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Wake in Fright: A Review
Wake in Fright was filmed in my hometown of Broken Hill in 1971. It has been restored and screened in the city this week. The following review was written for the local newspaper, where I happen to work.
As brutal and unforgiving as its outback setting, Wake in Fright is a valuable look at Australia's regional heart.
Filmed mostly in Broken Hill in 1971, Wake in Fright follows John Grant (Gary Bond) as he grapples with a world he is ill-equipped to deal with.
Grant leads an unwelcome existence as a teacher in the Australia outback.
He is heading to Sydney to reconnect with the girl of his dreams, but he has to pass through Bundayabba first.
"The Yabba" as the locals call it, is Broken Hill in everything but name. The film is based on Kenneth Cook's novel which details his experiences in the Silver City.
Well-educated and well-spoken, Grant is an obvious outsider in the Yabba, and he derides the locals and their game of two-up as simple and crude.
Seeking to raise enough money to flee far away, however, he bets big and loses everything. He wakes the next morning penniless and more enmeshed with the Yabba than ever.
Subject to the locals' hospitality, Grant is enveloped in their hard-working, hard-drinking world, and any mention of escape is met with the demand to relax and have another beer.
Wake in Fright is a confronting film that pulls no visual punches. The graphic result of a kangaroo shoot is laid out on screen and intercut with the hunters' joy, and a drunken night out with the boys is heavily implied to end with rape.
The portrayal of outback Australians can be hard to swallow, but ultimately feels genuine. Everyone in town is honest to a fault and endlessly hospitable, but the celebrated trait of mateship has been forged into a frightening point of brutality.
Drinking is a way of life. Anyone will buy you one, but be prepared to drink it down swiftly. Friendly wrestles turn sour. A night out might have you grappling with a wild animal.
When local cop Jock (Chips Rafferty) befriends Grant, he buys him a beer and stares imposingly until it is sculled. Excellent performances and solid direction make moments like these - and there are plenty - feel suffocating and uncomfortable despite the wide-open landscape.
It all conspires to make the Yabba seem welcoming yet terrifying. Grant could easily live there forever, but he may never leave - or return to sobriety - again.
It's not hard to see why a 1970s audience, unaccustomed with seeing themselves up on screen, would've rejected such an unflattering portrayal. Modern audiences may dismiss it as the past, but the message rings true. The brutality of a population that is drinking its way through a hot, dirty existence is food for thought.
The character of Doc (Donald Pleasence) is repulsive. Unable to practice medicine in Sydney due to his alcoholism, he has come to the Yabba where his condition is "barely noticeable". He isn't a local, but he's has been welcomed by all and that is in itself a damning indictment. His character exhibits the most obvious homosexual undertones, but the tension of that with the blokiness inhabits much of the story.
Local lads and good mates Dick and Joe (Jack Thompson and Peter Whittle) loom large as towers of bush masculinity. They drink, fight, drink and shoot together, and seem like genuinely nice guys as long as they aren't too drunk - but they often are. The entire cast comes through as well-rounded and each character feels full.
The scenes of a roo shoot include animals being shot to death on camera. It's disturbing and something that could not be done today. A note at the end of the film informs that the shots were fired by licenced hunters, but it still stings.
Wake in Fright has special significance for Broken Hill viewers, as their city takes pride of place. Watching the city's unique architecture move by in the background is a treat, even for those too young to have seen it back then.
It's a testament to the city's heritage value that, while the city looks different in many ways, its spirit - for better and for worse - remains the same.
Filmed mostly in Broken Hill in 1971, Wake in Fright follows John Grant (Gary Bond) as he grapples with a world he is ill-equipped to deal with.
Grant leads an unwelcome existence as a teacher in the Australia outback.
He is heading to Sydney to reconnect with the girl of his dreams, but he has to pass through Bundayabba first.
"The Yabba" as the locals call it, is Broken Hill in everything but name. The film is based on Kenneth Cook's novel which details his experiences in the Silver City.
Well-educated and well-spoken, Grant is an obvious outsider in the Yabba, and he derides the locals and their game of two-up as simple and crude.
Seeking to raise enough money to flee far away, however, he bets big and loses everything. He wakes the next morning penniless and more enmeshed with the Yabba than ever.
Subject to the locals' hospitality, Grant is enveloped in their hard-working, hard-drinking world, and any mention of escape is met with the demand to relax and have another beer.
Wake in Fright is a confronting film that pulls no visual punches. The graphic result of a kangaroo shoot is laid out on screen and intercut with the hunters' joy, and a drunken night out with the boys is heavily implied to end with rape.
The portrayal of outback Australians can be hard to swallow, but ultimately feels genuine. Everyone in town is honest to a fault and endlessly hospitable, but the celebrated trait of mateship has been forged into a frightening point of brutality.
Drinking is a way of life. Anyone will buy you one, but be prepared to drink it down swiftly. Friendly wrestles turn sour. A night out might have you grappling with a wild animal.
When local cop Jock (Chips Rafferty) befriends Grant, he buys him a beer and stares imposingly until it is sculled. Excellent performances and solid direction make moments like these - and there are plenty - feel suffocating and uncomfortable despite the wide-open landscape.
It all conspires to make the Yabba seem welcoming yet terrifying. Grant could easily live there forever, but he may never leave - or return to sobriety - again.
It's not hard to see why a 1970s audience, unaccustomed with seeing themselves up on screen, would've rejected such an unflattering portrayal. Modern audiences may dismiss it as the past, but the message rings true. The brutality of a population that is drinking its way through a hot, dirty existence is food for thought.
The character of Doc (Donald Pleasence) is repulsive. Unable to practice medicine in Sydney due to his alcoholism, he has come to the Yabba where his condition is "barely noticeable". He isn't a local, but he's has been welcomed by all and that is in itself a damning indictment. His character exhibits the most obvious homosexual undertones, but the tension of that with the blokiness inhabits much of the story.
Local lads and good mates Dick and Joe (Jack Thompson and Peter Whittle) loom large as towers of bush masculinity. They drink, fight, drink and shoot together, and seem like genuinely nice guys as long as they aren't too drunk - but they often are. The entire cast comes through as well-rounded and each character feels full.
The scenes of a roo shoot include animals being shot to death on camera. It's disturbing and something that could not be done today. A note at the end of the film informs that the shots were fired by licenced hunters, but it still stings.
Wake in Fright has special significance for Broken Hill viewers, as their city takes pride of place. Watching the city's unique architecture move by in the background is a treat, even for those too young to have seen it back then.
It's a testament to the city's heritage value that, while the city looks different in many ways, its spirit - for better and for worse - remains the same.
Monday, July 6, 2009
Friday, July 3, 2009
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