Just a quick post to bring you guys up to date. Been super-uber busy recently and thought I’d share some of the stuff I’ve been up to.
Firstly a piece you’ll recognise. I finished the figure for this some time ago, but I’ve given her her own little environment, the one I always imagined her in:
If you guess all four ingredients I used to make the hills you shall have a prize (not a real prize, one of them self fulfillment jobbies).
Also, I finished the boy I was working on. He’s pretty much the same size as the girl but, as intended, a little creepier – note the smile. Here he relaxes against his own personal eternity wall, for your viewing pleasure.
I’ve been doing a little sewing recently too, all in the name of homemade Christmas presents.
For Rosie2 a doorstop/bookend:
For Mina a marshmallow, to go with her hot chocolate:
For Rosie1 a cloud, believe it or not, to hold her pens.
(They slide into the top of each dome).
So, amongst other things, that’s what I’ve been busy with. Sorry it was a short post this time, “the days are just packed”. In the next post: A yeti, an otter, good books and, you know, stuff…
I’ve been busy for a while but now it’s time to fill you all in. This might take some time, partially because I am distracted because my cat is eating my plasticine, and partially (mostly) because I have a lot to say.
Working backwards in slow succession I’ll start where I finished. I’ve had a design laying around for some time for a soft toy I wanted to make, and I finally got round to finishing it yesterday. It’s my first attempt at sewing in a considerable amount of time so frankly I’m just glad that he’s staying together. Here he is in all his glory:
Also (and more importantly) I’ve been doing what I promised myself and drawing, drawing, drawing. I’ll mention in passing these naked ladies (who, I swear, look nice when you see the actual pages D:)
and then move swiftly on to the many faces of Abi. I needed to practice drawing caricature expressions and I predominantly did this useing my own face. I worked into my favourite (sorry about image quality):
I also think they look nicer in person. As does the subject ¬¬
I’ve been working digitally too. Unfortunately, I looked at the image too long and now I’ve got myself stuck. But here, for your viewing pleasure, the bits that I think are ok:
In conjunction with doing things, I have also been watching things. The other day me and Mina went to see The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. Her idea, not mine, and a very good idea it was too.
I liked the story line, it was imaginitive and classic in an ‘evil versus good and everyone has magical powers’ sort of way, but with that modern twist. Very Terry Gilliam really.
I’m pleased that Johnny Depp, Colin Farrel and Jude Law having to take over from Heath Ledger fitted into the plot so well, and that the castings worked, not intruding on the story or the character at all. In fact the only bad thing I have to say about it really was the content of the illustrious Imaginarium itself. There were some obvious inconsistencies with it that I felt, actually, made the narrative run smoother, but what did bother me was the shallowness of it. Rather than imagination it seemed only to represent superficial desires. For instance, a middle aged woman enters and sees giant high heels adrift on an azure lake. Both Mina and I couldn’t help thinking that if we’d gone in what we saw would have been appreciably better. But then, I suppose that’s the point.
Otherwise I enjoyed.
As well as cinemaing it up I also bought a DVD. Having finally got my PS2 plugged in in lay of my DVD player, now no longer functional, I sat down for 106 minutes of total viewing pleasure.
Hands up if you’ve seen Push? It didn’t do very well at cinemas (it completely passed me by) but I was recommended it by both Tom and Mina and it was really worth the watch.
In fact, in honesty, I’m here to stand on my tiny internet pedestal and shout “Buy it ! Buy it!” as loud as I can. The reason being that I want a sequel and, based on what it made at the box office, I couldn’t call that occurrence a likelihood without extremely good DVD sales.
It’s received a lot of flak from people who call it a Heroes rip off. It isn’t, so there. Firstly it was written several years ago, before Heroes filled the heads of the zeitgeist. Also the only major similarity is that there are lots of people with powers running around doing powerful shiz. It’s no more a rip-off of Heroes than Heroes was of X-men. In fact less.
That out of the way, why don’t I actually tell you WHY it’s so good (and why you should buy it).
Well it is about people with powers. It’s set in modern day China and full of modern day Americans and modern day Chinese people. The basic premise is that we live in a world were some people have powers and these people are hunted. It’s based loosely on real life situations in that it extrapolates (liberally) from testing that has really gone on in countries all round the world on people with psychic powers. In the film these people may be able to do any one of the following: Pushing (effectively mind control), Moving (telekinesis), Bleeding (emitting super high-pitched kill-you-dead sound waves), Watching (seeing the future), Sniffing (using psychometry to find people), Shifting (making one thing look like something else), Wiping (removing memories), Shadowing (hiding things or poeple), Stitching (healing people, or unhealing people ¬¬).
The hunters in the film are Division (creepy mean government officials) and captives are held and tested on in hopes of creating psychic powered wonder-soldiers. Your basic Sci-fi action film.
What makes it so good is how the characters, who are well formed and quite comic bookesque, are compelling, not angsty and unlikable, like troubled super people can often become. The powers are managed well, looking good and making sense, and the whole thing fits together very satisfyingly – plot, character interaction, setting.
Another thing to admire, and what really makes the film, is the aesthetic. The colours fit perfectly, what could seem gaudy is made intense and attractive and there wasn’t one single location that looked out of place or that didn’t impress me. Many scenes where shot on busy streets in one take and look amazing.
Other scenes are darker, I don’t think I’ve ever seen more shades of teal.
Interiors where also lovely, palatial clubs contrasting with the colourful grime or Nick’s cheap apartment.
It was cast well too, with Chris Evans (new to me) and Dakota Fanning starring in the lead roles as Nick and Cassie. I like the back and forth between these two and they both really held there own. Here is Dakota Fanning looking pink:
I still haven’t (and can’t) explained all of it’s appeal, and I can only hope you’ll trust me and give it a try. Just imagine super-powers, great, relatable characters, an excellent story and more aesthetic beauty than you can shake a stick at.
And heck, Christmas is (almost but not quite) coming up. Why not buy a few copies and share the love?
I’m not a massive fan. They’re like interior and feminine rhymes: they breed nonsense. Which is fine, I like nonsense (big up for Lewis Carroll), but as it’s the easiest rhyming scheme it would be nice if it could pack a bit more punch, make writing poetry easier. I don’t know, maybe that’s nothing to do with my distaste, maybe there was just too much Rupert Bear in my childhood…
Anyway, you’re probably wondering what my point is.
Here’s a poem (in rhyming, nonsense, couplets) that I’m hoping to illustrate:
Last night I had a dream so good
It should come true but if it could.
I dreamed it all; air, land and sea,
Became exact’ what it should be.
The grass was green, the sky was blue,
But other things became more true:
The raging roads – the motorways –
Each one a great dragon became.
They swerved and kicked until they sailed
And each car became a perfect scale,
And every person, commuters all,
Upwards did begin to fall.
They skipped and jumped without a care
And soon about ‘came wisps of air.
While in the city none was sane,
As mighty birds (once aeroplanes)
Glided in the warm bright air
And many people stood to stare.
But some distracted came to be,
And odd it also seemed to me,
That every burger, from perplexéd hand,
Soon on the ground began to land,
And from each greasy seed would sprout
A wildebeest with dripping snout.
And off they’d run through concrete streets,
And followed then by many feet
(Now each one bare upon the ground)
Their owners hunting good as hound.
And truth be known, as it should be,
But one beast in every thirty-three
Was used for meat. The others free
To run until they reached the sea.
And soon the buildings took their chance,
To become what they’d been once.
Foundations shook, metal, rust, ore,
And suddenly they were no more.
Great mountains stood, and touched the sky
And in between them valleys wide.
And this is where the pop’lace stayed,
Letting mem’ries of cities fade.
Culture imprinted in the stone
Became their new illustrious home.
And those who felt the world too small
Became the rushing rivers cool,
And others thought it would be fun
To become bright rays of sun,
Many stayed, but for some a notion
Took them, as fish, into the ocean.
And animals that had been born
Took on an old and meaning form,
And we ran with them, not against,
Shared disrespect forgotten hence.
And belovéd pets began to swell
And gigantified they ran as well.
Each child clambered for a ride,
And never left the creature’s side.
And trees and swamps and algae green
Spread through the world at rates unseen,
And weather soon became our friend,
And always would be till the end.
And with new friends comes new ideas
And suddenly perspective clears,
So, with a smile we left behind
The things that hurt, too much, our mind,
And with a sort of speedy glee
Forgot the odds ‘tween you and me.
I woke this morning but to find
I had to leave that world behind.
But if you’ll help we’ll start a fix,
And using all our worldly tricks,
We’ll work on sea and land and air
And try to make what I saw there.
