Explorers

I watched the movie Explorers last night for the first time. Somehow I missed out on a LOT of good movies when I was growing up. I almost missed out on video games if it had not been for the two neighbor boys who lived across the street from me back in Georgia and let me play Friday the 13th on their NES. In fact, they introduced me to scary movies, and the F word too come to think of it .. Well, anyway. I must say I love these cheesy science fiction movies with kid stars, much like E.T. or Gremlins was. The 80's was the best time for that kind of stuff. I love the graphics, the animatronics, the costumes. Now it is all computer generated and lacks any real skill but for programming numbers. It was a wonderful story about a boy who has a dream about a circuit board that his scientist friend (mind you these kids are in grade school ) brings to life. This in turn creates some kind of energy that allows them to move to any given point in space or time within its protective field. They wind up building a ship out of an old carnival ride and viola! Of course this information had to come from somewhere. It just happened to be beamed directly into his dreams by extraterrestrials trying to communicate, and who have been studying earth for a very long time via television and radio waves. If you haven't seen it, you should, along with other such classics as Flight of the Navigator and Spaced Invaders, which are now in my download que.

cosmic music

Lately there have been several artists that have caught my attention on this whole Pulp Scifi / Cosmos addiction I have been going through the last few days. I even went and checked out some Lovecraft at the library for good measure, but here are some tracks that I really find almost hypnotic in a way. It makes me want to dress up in something silver and shimmery as I drift among the stars.

Tim Burton Inspired Fashion

Alice in Wonderland

I don't know about you guys, but I am excited.



Alice In Wonderland - In Cinemas March 2010

MySpace Trailer Park | MySpace Video

Heartless Messenger Bag

I finished it today!! Can you tell I am obsessed with Kingdom Hearts yet?

I made this too

It was a Valentine's Day gift. ;)

Psychonauts

Psychonauts is based on the adventures of a boy named Raz
who is gifted with psychic abilities. He ran away from his
parents, and the circus he works for, in order to enlist in
a "summer camp" that will hopefully be able to help him hone
his gifts. But he only has a short time to earn his merit
badges before his dad comes to pick him up! Some sinister,
evil plot is lurking not too far behind. The brains of the
other students are being stolen and the campers turned into
mindless zombies! The artwork is spectacular. I love the
loading screens. The music isn't bad either, and Tim
Schafer deserves more credit than he gets for a game like
this. The voice of Raz is also performed by the actor who
did Invader Zim. I could tell from the moment I heard him
speak. Originally the game was only designed for Xbox but was
quickly released for the Playstation 2. Another title Tim
is well known for is agame similar to this one but focused
on extraterrestrial life and hidden government agenda's. That
would be Beyond good and evil. I have played through most of that
game and enjoyed it as well. And of course, Psychonauts has
that same sort of cartoon horror feel to it that I have come
to love and adore. I thank my friend for letting me play it
in my spare time.

plushie

lookie at what I made! ;)

Neil LaBute; American Playwright

I am sitting here reading for my Intro to Theatre class when I happened upon a Playwright by the name of Neil LaBute. He caught my attention simply because of the intricate and devastating stories he comes up with. His themes are so dark that his wife left him, and his children have been estranged from him. He has been labeled a misogynist and a misanthropist by his colleagues and various critics, but that does not stop him from continuing his work. His stories are not about himself, or events or people that he has taken from his own life, but they are creations from his deranged and fucked up imagination. "In the Shape of Things" follows an attractive woman who makes a nerdy museum security guard fall in love with her, only to reveal it was just for an art project. In a series of three one-act monologues, “Bash: Latter-Day Plays,” in which Mormon characters are portrayed as murderers, the church “disfellowshiped” him, essentially putting him into a state of limbo from which he can never quite return. Not to mention the one about a man who makes a deaf woman fall in love with him only so he can reject her later for the pure fun of it. Though he may seem like a cruel man, nothing is known about the personal aspects of LaBute's life by anyone other than himself, not even the actors he has known for years question his private affairs, so he remains something of an enigma to the public eye and I think he likes it that way. LaBute’s anger appears to be directed at humanity, as if, collectively, mankind had done him a great hurt and he is paying it back, bit by bit. But, who could blame him? I think I have found the Jhonen Vasquez of the Theatre, and I plan to keep a close eye on him.

I made a doodle

Sometimes, I really feel like it is.
Sigh.

Z?

I just read all of Johnny the Homicidal Maniac by Jhonen Vasquez and I am not quite sure how I feel! I mean, it's a really, really dark comedy obviously, and it definitely hones in on the artists little monster inside, but who would have thought this kind of stuff actually goes on inside someones head? While he is not entirely incapable of love, it seems Johnny, or "Nny", will try to kill everything that even gets close to him. Angels and demons visit him in the forms of a headless bunny rabbit and talking Styrofoam cutouts who can't walk; their mission remains unclear until later in the comic. So much blood, death, and negativity, but you can't help to know where JTHM is coming from, humans ARE dirty, filthy creatures. A lot of us ARE assholes and probably deserve to be killed. That's not the point though, the point is located in the foreword to the director's cut version containing all seven issues. The artist simply states that it's about the maniac inside we need to keep under control, by killing those people who deserve to die inside our heads, so that we don't eventually overload and do something illegal on unethical in the real world. We've all been ridiculed or made fun of at some point in our life, at least I would assume so. A lot of people have been mistreated more so than others just for the way they dress, or for the way they look. I think Jhonen was probably among this crowd. This was his way of expressing himself at the time, with "die-ary" entries of a different kind, and I for one enjoyed it.

Invader Zim to Invade Nickelodeon once more!

Invader Zim will be returning to Nickelodeon for one month only! I am so excited about this. ;) And who knew the soundtrack would be so good? I just downloaded it, and I love the electronic and Gothic compositions of Kevin Manthei like no other! Too bad the cartoon was too grotesque for the network in the beginning, much like Ren and Stimpy, so they discontinued it. I hope someone else takes up Vasquez's genius so that we can see brand new episodes instead of reruns. For now I am going to turn my attention to his comic, Johnny the Homicidal Maniac.