The Quest for Insigificance

One of the perks of my job is that I get to work from home every once in a while.  This, of course, makes my cat very happy.  Although she is not happy with the distinct lack of attention, it seems to appeal to her more than me disappearing for hours on end.

Another perk for the night is that my landlord dropped by and put up my Perfect Pull-Up bar.  I don’t have any tools (yeah, I know, lame).  And I prefer my landlord drill into my landlord’s building.  

So, the point is that I now have a pull-up bar (indeed, a Perfect Pull-Up bar) in the doorway to my living room.  I’m not a big exerciser.  Still, I can’t resist the bar over at my friend’s apartment.  Every time I walk by it, I have to use it.  My hope is that the same will happen here. 

Behold, my future uber-physique!

*flexes*

Grrrrrrrrrrrr!

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We have a background!  I snagged a picture of a cavern wall and attempted to reproduce it (or something like it) on the computer.  If I had shot for a reproduction, it would be a total fail.  But since I was only going for a cool wall, then I think it turned out okay.  Creating the background only took about 1 1/2 hours.  This picture is moving much faster than expected.

Unfortunately, while dropping in the steps, I messed up my perspective.  Hopefully, when I add in his feet, I will then be able to adjust the ground he’s on to fix my angles. 

Also, I’m a bit concerned about quality.  I actually like the quality of the wall.  However, it seems to clash with the quality of the drow.  The drow is refined, whereas the wall seems a bit more abstract.  I wonder if the wall needs more detail, or whether its fuzziness will work in my favor, due to the fire-light that is to come (the sword will be a flaming sword).

I want this picture to look really good when I’m finished, not just “meh.”  I foresee a lot of touchups once it is basically “done.”  

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I’ve finally put more than 10 hours into my pic.  Obviously, it needs a lot of work.  It won’t need as much time as if I were to have done it with traditional media, though.  My hope is to finish this in around 25 hours.

Keep in mind that it’s rough.  I’m dropping in shape and color, but I won’t tweak it until the background is finished.  So, what you see is not necessarily what you will get.

Unfortunately, I’ve been in right-brain mode for the last couple of weeks.  That means I’m not very useful doing much of anything that isn’t creative.  Already, I have the next two pics lined up.  The first: a ninja!

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Last Saturday, Dolphin and I went to see Clash of the Titans.  I tried not to go into it with too many expectations, but that was hard given my memory of the first one.  Back in the day, I was a child enthralled with Greek and Roman mythology who got to see Pegasus for the first time.  And the Kracken!  Wow!  Deep down, I knew it would be hard to measure up.

The new Clash of the Titans had tons of eye candy.  In many ways, it succeeded in taking the movie to a new level.  The black Pegasus was a nice touch.  The map of the gods in Olympus looked great (though it lost the symbolism of the chessboard).  And two thumbs up for Hades, Medusa, and the Kracken.  As far as I am concerned, Hades was the real star of the movie.  

I would consider this a glam movie.  It’s all about the cool special effects.  The highlight is Perseus flying around the Kracken until he can display the head of Medusa and turn it to stone.  Glam to the max.

The problem is that they sacrificed story.  They jumped from Calibos, to the scorpions, to Medusa very quickly.  It was encounter after encounter after encounter.  For some movies this can work.  For example, people watch ninja movies for the action, so why not give it to them.  However, Clash of the Titans is ultimately a myth, and myths are stories, and without a solid story the myth becomes meaningless.  The question for Clash of the Titans should have been “what does this myth mean for us today?”  Major fail here.  Maybe they were trying to say that humanity doesn’t need gods and needs to learn to live independently, without them.  If so, it seems to betray the spirit of the original myth.  

Dolphin summed up my impression when she said, “I seem to remember the original being better.”  

My score: 4/10

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Sho Kosugi > Chuck Norris

There, I said it.  People may not like it, but that’s only because Sho Kosugi wants you to believe otherwise.  

I experienced my first ninjas through Ninja 3: The Domination.  It was not only martial artsy, but folded in a mystical element that made ninjas special to me from that point on.  I also learned that “Only a ninja can destroy a ninja.”  

I loved the way that Ninja Assassin took ninja mysticism to a new level.  Now, ninjas can heal themselves with mind over body techniques.  Now, they no longer need smokescreens to disappear, but disappear into smoke.  Their physical prowess is unmatched.  They do not fear.  They do not feel.  They exist only to serve the 9 clans.  In all things they are to bring honor to their creator, the one who has given them their lives as a gift…yes, from Sho Kosugi.  

Visually, the film is stunning.  Ninjas come out of the shadow.  Acrobatics abounds.  They have numerous scars, even from training, which expresses history and intensity during the quiet scenes.  

And how was the story?  I thought very good for a ninja movie.  Unfortunately, we seem to be trapped into a “revenge” narrative, which is the norm.  I would have liked to see more in protagonist motivation.  And, I wasn’t thrilled with the whole bringing in the marines thing at the end, a scene in which ninjas who formerly walked all over the military couldn’t hear them drive up in their big trucks before they started gunning them down.  I mean, really?  Still, we’re watching a ninja movie, and quality story isn’t the primary concern of those watching, so I’m not surprised.  In fact, it was better than expected.

My overall rating: 7/10.  That means I loved this movie.  I’m glad I saw it, and I would have liked to have seen it in the theatre (which is a big thing for me since tickets are about $10 now).  With an improved story, it could have easily reached an 8.  

Btw, my scale:

1-3: crash and burn, don’t waste your money, I’ll never get that time back

4-6: no regrets, not worth theatre costs though, I was amused

7-9: loved it, worth the theatre costs, worth watching again on DVD

10: ZOMG, Pan’s Labyrinth!

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Okay, I just let the “Tumblr in Real Time” on the Popular page load for the first time.  Annoying.  Really annoying.  Makes my eyes hurt.

I hate sick.  I got off work yesterday morning (I work overnights) and went to bed.  I got up feeling a it under the weather.  I decide not to go see some friends, lest I was catching something.  I slept  15 hours last night, and I wake up feeling like shit.  What a way to start my short vacation.

Have I mentioned that I hate sick.