like it? click it!
©2010 toomanytribbles
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children of the stars
this picture, children of the stars, was captured by james neeley:
click to source
what's so special about it? it's an extraordinarily beautiful shot, to be sure.... but what makes it particularly interesting is its orientation.
while most shots of the night sky have the ground below and the sky above, neeley rotated the image so that the plane of the milky way is horizontal. suddenly, this shot achieves another meaning, making our home an integral part of the cosmos, and not the central basis of it.
click to source
what's so special about it? it's an extraordinarily beautiful shot, to be sure.... but what makes it particularly interesting is its orientation.
while most shots of the night sky have the ground below and the sky above, neeley rotated the image so that the plane of the milky way is horizontal. suddenly, this shot achieves another meaning, making our home an integral part of the cosmos, and not the central basis of it.
a simple, easy twist can change your entire point of view.
image © james neeley, used with permission.
another reason i liked it is that i've been thinking that i should orient a future shot in this way -- and i'm so glad to see i'm not alone in these ideas.
image © james neeley, used with permission.
©2010 toomanytribbles
the god of the old testament
'the god of the old testament is arguably the most unpleasant character in all fiction: jealous and proud of it; a petty, unjust, unforgiving control-freak; a vindictive, bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser; a misogynistic, homophobic, racist, infanticidal, genocidal, filicidal, pestilential, megalomaniacal, sadomasochistic, capriciously malevolent bully.'
- richard dawkins. image captured from my copy of the god delusion in december 2008.
©2010 toomanytribbles
Happy Birthday, Brudder!!!
Yes, folks. It is the illustrious birthday of our one and only Octopunk. Hope you have a vundabar day, darling - you deserve it!
quints
just for fun -- a cloning tutorial!
like this? click it!
set up your camera on a tripod or a stable surface, and set your exposure. focus manually.
have your subject (or your self) take several poses all over the place and shoot the pictures.
select one of your images as the base. open up all your images in photoshop so you can see them all... and drag'n'drop each picture into the base with the move tool. press shift before letting go to ensure that all images fall into the same position.
try to go from the figure in the back towards the figures in the front.
go to your layers palette and you'll see that each image is now a separate layer in your base image... you can close all the other images now.
select all your layers with the CTRL key and go to edit > auto-align layers. a menu appears: hit OK. this makes sure that the images line up in case your camera moved a bit between shots.
you might want to crop the image a bit because the edges are a little frayed from the aligning.
now... to reveal the clones:
turn off all your layers except the bottom two.
of these two, hit the one on top to highlight it and go to layer > layer mask > hide all. you'll see a black rectangle next to your layer. this is a layer mask and it's hiding the top layer.
hit white on your swatches palette. go to your paintbrush tool, select a brush, preferably a soft one. click on the black layer mask icon on your palette and start to paint with white on the mask itself to reveal the position of your subject on the top layer. you might have to get in very close with a small brush size to get the painting right. if you reveal too much and want to hide something, hit the black color and start painting again. remember: white reveals, black hides!
turn on the next layer directly above this layer in your stack. repeat the masking and revealing process.
rinse, repeat until you're all done.
any questions?
[ i shot these real quick before a class to prepare a practice session, so if something's not right with exposure/focusing, i don't want to hear it. of course, YOU will be much more skillful.]
©2010 toomanytribbles
like this? click it!
set up your camera on a tripod or a stable surface, and set your exposure. focus manually.
have your subject (or your self) take several poses all over the place and shoot the pictures.
select one of your images as the base. open up all your images in photoshop so you can see them all... and drag'n'drop each picture into the base with the move tool. press shift before letting go to ensure that all images fall into the same position.
try to go from the figure in the back towards the figures in the front.
go to your layers palette and you'll see that each image is now a separate layer in your base image... you can close all the other images now.
select all your layers with the CTRL key and go to edit > auto-align layers. a menu appears: hit OK. this makes sure that the images line up in case your camera moved a bit between shots.
you might want to crop the image a bit because the edges are a little frayed from the aligning.
now... to reveal the clones:
turn off all your layers except the bottom two.
of these two, hit the one on top to highlight it and go to layer > layer mask > hide all. you'll see a black rectangle next to your layer. this is a layer mask and it's hiding the top layer.
hit white on your swatches palette. go to your paintbrush tool, select a brush, preferably a soft one. click on the black layer mask icon on your palette and start to paint with white on the mask itself to reveal the position of your subject on the top layer. you might have to get in very close with a small brush size to get the painting right. if you reveal too much and want to hide something, hit the black color and start painting again. remember: white reveals, black hides!
turn on the next layer directly above this layer in your stack. repeat the masking and revealing process.
rinse, repeat until you're all done.
any questions?
[ i shot these real quick before a class to prepare a practice session, so if something's not right with exposure/focusing, i don't want to hear it. of course, YOU will be much more skillful.]
©2010 toomanytribbles
First Look: Ghostface in Scream 4
From slashfilm, Director Wes Craven has tweeted the first set photo of ghostface’s return in Scream 4. As you already know, Scream series stars Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox and David Arquette have all returned to reprise their roles, as did Roger L. Jackson, the voice actor who provides the creepy voice of the killer.
Best Actor 1984: Albert Finney in Under the Volcano
Albert Finney received his fourth Oscar nomination for portraying Geoffrey Firmin an alcoholic British consul in Mexico in Under the Volcano.
Under the Volcano is a rather poor film, not an outright terrible film, but one that really annoys me because it looks like it might go somewhere but it never does. He has many problem most of all the far too heavy use of symbolism especially at the end.
Albert Finney plays an extreme alcoholic here one who is always constantly drinking, and the film basically follows him as his drinking gets worse and worse along with his mental state. Albert Finney first off does not get into the negative things that can come from an Alcoholic behavior. Finney does not do overacting with strangely trying to go for laughs, and does try to internalize the pain of Firmin in this film. He does his best to show that his alcoholism is something that merely is something he cannot stop, and it is a disease for him. He never forces alcoholism of him it is just clearly has been part of him for a very long time. He internalizes the pain showing it very carefully making it work far more effectively. This part of his performance is very well handled since it is able to stay properly consistent throughout the film.
There is a fascinating part of his perfromance is that Albert Finney's Firmin is suppose to be seeing also sort of hallucinations but the film never shows them to the viewer therefore it is up to Finney to show them through his performance. He actually is able to accomplish this partially which is interesting. He does suggest that Firmin sees things that we the viewer or the other characters never see. He does this through small very well done indications which show his character's mental troubles perfectly. He is not perfectly consistent with this because the film does not always have his character properly consistent. He does not make us see what he sees, if he did that his performance would be amazing rather than just very good.
Finney I find is always strong in his performance and if the film was better I think he could have given a truly perfect performance, but it is not. Problems with the film result in some problems involving his performance. The problem is I did not feel the film really fully fleshed out his character making it so Finney was unable to do the same. It never fully developed his character's history well enough, I felt, leaving Finney to try and do everything which he is able to do.
His performance is sort of interesting though because even when the film requires him to do things that are strange or make little sense Finnney does try his best with them. Such as one scene about his own hell where Finney is incredibly strong in his speech even if this part of the story does not really come together with other parts of the film. Another great scene of his is when he is found face down in dirt by a fellow British man and they have a very British like conversation despite him being in the middle of the road because of his drinking. I liked how he should that Firmin kept his British ways even at a time like that, but again this character trait is only really in this scene and it fails to be consistent because of the film. This really is a performance weakened by the film it is in, it is the best part of the film, but Finney is unable to fully overcome the problems the film makes for him, causing him to have scenes of great acting even they do not perfectly add up into one character.
Albert Finney plays an extreme alcoholic here one who is always constantly drinking, and the film basically follows him as his drinking gets worse and worse along with his mental state. Albert Finney first off does not get into the negative things that can come from an Alcoholic behavior. Finney does not do overacting with strangely trying to go for laughs, and does try to internalize the pain of Firmin in this film. He does his best to show that his alcoholism is something that merely is something he cannot stop, and it is a disease for him. He never forces alcoholism of him it is just clearly has been part of him for a very long time. He internalizes the pain showing it very carefully making it work far more effectively. This part of his performance is very well handled since it is able to stay properly consistent throughout the film.
There is a fascinating part of his perfromance is that Albert Finney's Firmin is suppose to be seeing also sort of hallucinations but the film never shows them to the viewer therefore it is up to Finney to show them through his performance. He actually is able to accomplish this partially which is interesting. He does suggest that Firmin sees things that we the viewer or the other characters never see. He does this through small very well done indications which show his character's mental troubles perfectly. He is not perfectly consistent with this because the film does not always have his character properly consistent. He does not make us see what he sees, if he did that his performance would be amazing rather than just very good.
Finney I find is always strong in his performance and if the film was better I think he could have given a truly perfect performance, but it is not. Problems with the film result in some problems involving his performance. The problem is I did not feel the film really fully fleshed out his character making it so Finney was unable to do the same. It never fully developed his character's history well enough, I felt, leaving Finney to try and do everything which he is able to do.
His performance is sort of interesting though because even when the film requires him to do things that are strange or make little sense Finnney does try his best with them. Such as one scene about his own hell where Finney is incredibly strong in his speech even if this part of the story does not really come together with other parts of the film. Another great scene of his is when he is found face down in dirt by a fellow British man and they have a very British like conversation despite him being in the middle of the road because of his drinking. I liked how he should that Firmin kept his British ways even at a time like that, but again this character trait is only really in this scene and it fails to be consistent because of the film. This really is a performance weakened by the film it is in, it is the best part of the film, but Finney is unable to fully overcome the problems the film makes for him, causing him to have scenes of great acting even they do not perfectly add up into one character.
'Inception' Infographic, In Case You Didn't Even Understand the Basic Plot of 'Inception' (potential SPOILERS)
Click to enlarge
From iwatchstuff, Christopher Nolan's Inception left a lot of people with some questions. Is Leonardo DiCaprio still in a dream at the end? Does it matter, or should the only reality that matters be the one you're experiencing? Does the entire film take place in a dream as part of a convoluted metaphor about filmmaking? This infographic will answer none of those questions. But if you were grandma, confused by the basic idea of the First-Person Shooter Snow Level taking place a dream-level below Hotel World, hopefully this will clarify some things. No clue why Yusuf's icon has a glowing crotch. Just another Inception mystery to ponder.
lindsay has her priorities in the right place
From wwtdd, Lindsay Lohan is still the same spoiled lying retard she’s always been, and to make it perfectly clear that nothing has changed and she doesn’t give a fuck, she’s gonna make sure she looks just as good coming out of jail as she did going in. Popeater says…
…several top stylists as well as hair and makeup people have been put on call from midnight on Thursday through the entire weekend.
Lindsay knows very well that the 30-second walk from the jail to her waiting car will be photographed and seen around the world. This is why she is determined to look her best.
Oh but what will she wear…
When Paris Hilton left prison, image experts choreographed her 30-second walk to her waiting SUV step by step, even down to when she cried out “mommy.”
Lindsay’s exit will be no different and it has already been decided she will leave wearing her own brand of leggings.
If you run a jail, and your inmates come out looking sexy, I don’t think it’s unreasonable to conclude that you’re a fucking asshole who isn’t doing their job. Lindsay was there because she broke 800 laws. She shouldn’t come out looking refreshed. She should come out limping and with a tiara carved into her head.
Awesome: Flamethrower Vs. Fire Extinguisher
Dancing Pigeons - Ritalin from Blink on Vimeo.
From geekology, This is an amazingly well-shot music video of a flamethrower vs. fire extinguisher battle for the Dancing Pigeon's 'Ritalin'. God, I can't even count how many of those things I put up my nose in college. ZERO -- MY BODY IS A TEMPLE! Of doom. Back me up, Indiana. Anyway, this shit looks straight out of one of my nightmares, complete with inbred protagonists and slow-motion effects. Needless to say, I loved (myself to) every second of it.
Best Actor 1984: Jeff Bridges in Starman
Jeff Bridges received his third Oscar nomination for portraying Starman in the body Scott Hayden in Starman.
Starman is a profoundly boring film, one in which I could barely stand watching the first time I was it and had an even harder time this time. It is not interesting and it never entertaining.
Here is an oddity of an nomination, because this is such an oddity of a performance. People are not really ever nominated for non-human roles, Bridges may be the only one in the lead actor category. Bridges in this performance plays the alien Starman in a way that seems alien enough, I really am sure it is the way the director wanted it but it creates nothing in terms of cinematic magic. Bridges plays an outstandingly one dimensional character as the alien. There is nothing to him really, he is an alien but an alien who I guess only wishes to observe mankind.
Bridges does one thing and only one thing in this performance and that is speak it this almost monotone voice throughout. It is suppose to be an alien voice and it sound like it is, but it is also an incredibly dull voice. This is basically his whole performance, oh wait, he also makes the same emotionless face over and over again too, I almost forget. He does both consistently throughout the film never changing, even though his character is suppose to gain more humanity throughout, but this is not really shown is more of just said. He does not have chemistry with Karen Allen because he always stays with that dull unemotional behavior.
Now Bridges should merely have not been nominated for this role. It is too simple and uninteresting. He technically does plays the part as you would aspect some would should play the part but that is not a challenge. Bridges never shows a hint of his actual talent in this performance, and this simply is one of his dullest and most uninteresting performances. Maybe John Carpenter the director would have forced anyone to play the part this way, I do not know, but either way the performance just comes off as dull and completely uninspired.
Here is an oddity of an nomination, because this is such an oddity of a performance. People are not really ever nominated for non-human roles, Bridges may be the only one in the lead actor category. Bridges in this performance plays the alien Starman in a way that seems alien enough, I really am sure it is the way the director wanted it but it creates nothing in terms of cinematic magic. Bridges plays an outstandingly one dimensional character as the alien. There is nothing to him really, he is an alien but an alien who I guess only wishes to observe mankind.
Bridges does one thing and only one thing in this performance and that is speak it this almost monotone voice throughout. It is suppose to be an alien voice and it sound like it is, but it is also an incredibly dull voice. This is basically his whole performance, oh wait, he also makes the same emotionless face over and over again too, I almost forget. He does both consistently throughout the film never changing, even though his character is suppose to gain more humanity throughout, but this is not really shown is more of just said. He does not have chemistry with Karen Allen because he always stays with that dull unemotional behavior.
Now Bridges should merely have not been nominated for this role. It is too simple and uninteresting. He technically does plays the part as you would aspect some would should play the part but that is not a challenge. Bridges never shows a hint of his actual talent in this performance, and this simply is one of his dullest and most uninteresting performances. Maybe John Carpenter the director would have forced anyone to play the part this way, I do not know, but either way the performance just comes off as dull and completely uninspired.
The Thing is Completely CGI in "Fantastic Four" Reboot
From worstpreviews, 20th Century Fox is done with placing actors into suit. The apes in the "Planet of the Apes" prequel will be CG and now comes word from Fox's SFX department (via ScreenRant) that The Thing will be 100% CG in the upcoming "Fantastic Four" reboot, called "Fantastic Four Reborn."
Those who remember the last two films, Michael Chiklis played the character by being covered in orange foam and makeup, while the rest of the cast needed special effects to bring their superpowers to life.
ScreenRant has also learned that Fox won't begin work on "Fantastic Four Reborn" until "X-Men: First Class" is wrapped up, and the film won't begin shooting until September.
Thor trailer (watch it while you can)
From slashfilm, Well, there’s one genie that can’t go back in the bottle. A digital copy of the trailer for Thor — the same footage shown during Marvel’s Saturday panel at Comic Con — has hit the internet.
This can’t possibly be official, so it may not last long. And I’m of two minds about posting it, but the sad fact is that whether we post it or not, it’s out in the wild. But the quality is good enough that it represents the footage properly. Watching this footage a couple more times outside the enraptured crowd in Hall H, I still like it. The scope still looks grand, and I’m hopeful that the two ‘halves’ of the film, Earth and Asgard, will come together nicely.
Best Actor 1984
Jeff Bridges in Starman
Albert Finney in Under The Volcano
F. Murray Abraham in Amadeus
Sam Waterston in The Killing Fields
Tom Hulce in Amadeus
Who do you Pick? What do you predict my ranking will be?
Best Supporting Actor 2003: Results
4. Djimon Honsou in In America- Honsou is okay when he is being quiet but when he starts yelling he severely overacts the part.
3. Alec Baldwin in The Cooler- Baldwin is completely competent throughout the film but what he does merely is never that amazing.
1. Tim Robbins in Mystic River- The only choice in my opinion. Despite an accent that I feel is off, Robbins still gives an incredibly compelling and memorable performance.
Deserving Performances:
Kevin Bacon in Mystic River
Sean Astin in The Return of the King
Best Supporting Actor 2003: Benicio Del Toro in 21 Grams
Benicio Del Toro received his second Oscar nomination for portraying Jack Jordan a born again ex convict whose life turns for a worse after a tragic accident.
21 Grams I found to be a strange film, since it has many scenes that should be emotional but are oddly distant. It never becomes interesting or effective and the odd structure is unnecessary rather than effective.
Del Toro's performance I was surprised and found it to be completely disappointing. Like the film Del Toro's performance seems like something interesting and emotionally powerful but instead is oddly distant. Del Toro underplays his role, and if you read my reviews you probably know I really like subtle acting but here Del Toro is not subtle he merely is basically nothing most of the time. Most of the time he just has the same depressed face almost throughout the entire performance. I found he did nothing with his eyes or face int his performance. He just kept the same face almost throughout and really did nothing with it.
Del Toro is not terrible but he is never interesting in this performance. He really failed to resonate at all. I found his choices odd and that he was never fully able to make his character understandable. He never made me believe the way he acted toward his children so harshly, or really why he gives up on life. He never really made me understand the character's initial faith than loss of faith. He just mostly kept him with that one face that made him nothing to me. He has only one scene where he loses that face when he yells at one scene he is okay at this but he still adds no more complexity to the character. I think Del Toro and this character could have made a great performance but for some reason almost every thing in the film came off the same way so maybe it really was all the director's fault, I am not sure. Either way what is on screen never impressed me and merely left completely surprised with an actor who I usually find is far better than this.
Del Toro's performance I was surprised and found it to be completely disappointing. Like the film Del Toro's performance seems like something interesting and emotionally powerful but instead is oddly distant. Del Toro underplays his role, and if you read my reviews you probably know I really like subtle acting but here Del Toro is not subtle he merely is basically nothing most of the time. Most of the time he just has the same depressed face almost throughout the entire performance. I found he did nothing with his eyes or face int his performance. He just kept the same face almost throughout and really did nothing with it.
Del Toro is not terrible but he is never interesting in this performance. He really failed to resonate at all. I found his choices odd and that he was never fully able to make his character understandable. He never made me believe the way he acted toward his children so harshly, or really why he gives up on life. He never really made me understand the character's initial faith than loss of faith. He just mostly kept him with that one face that made him nothing to me. He has only one scene where he loses that face when he yells at one scene he is okay at this but he still adds no more complexity to the character. I think Del Toro and this character could have made a great performance but for some reason almost every thing in the film came off the same way so maybe it really was all the director's fault, I am not sure. Either way what is on screen never impressed me and merely left completely surprised with an actor who I usually find is far better than this.
Haiku Hump Day: Villains
Once again it's time to loosen up those typing fingers and start writing some haikus. It's my job to try and inspire you.Having little time to prepare a topic I searched through some saved pictures in my Horrorthon folder for inspiration. The answer was obvious, villains. Those beloved characters we all love to hate.
From the popular standbys like Freddy, Jason and Michael Myers
To the obscure and unforgettable
Often the subject of nightmares
or the source of laughter
crazy religious freaks
and number one fans
crappy parents
and children with issues
don't forget our comic book favorites
and those who made us say uncle
real life monsters
and monsters in the media
So without further ado I turn these vilainous fellas over to your creative hands. Now get typing!
published in geo saison
i just got news that my image, sunset at the acropolis and its museum,
has been published in the august 2010 issue of Geo Saison in germany for a feature on athens!
yay!
see more of my posts and images from the acropolis museum.
©2010 toomanytribbles
has been published in the august 2010 issue of Geo Saison in germany for a feature on athens!
yay!
see more of my posts and images from the acropolis museum.
©2010 toomanytribbles
about 'does hitchens have a prayer?'
by garret keizer, on (A)theologies.
of all the nonsense that's being written by theists and atheists alike, this essay was more to the point for me, ending with:
'... there is an ancient petition expansive enough to cover every case i’ve mentioned and brief enough for tweeting: kyrie eleison, “lord have mercy.” lord have mercy on us who wander like sheep without a shepherd, harassed and helpless, fleeced at every turn, bleating and blogging about the existence of god and the curse of the vuvuzela and the passion of lindsay lohan and the sweet christ knows what else while children starve and are blown to pieces by bombs dropped in our name, while the skies and seas and the future itself are blighted by our waste, arrogance, and frivolity. lord have mercy on us, because on top of all that, a man in the prime of his life and at the height of his powers and in the full confidence of having hit his stride can be slapped with something like cancer of the esophagus, as any of us might likewise be slapped with brain cancer, bone cancer, colon cancer, rendering us even more stupid, spineless, and full of crap than we already are, which is not fair, or if fair, not funny at all.
lord have mercy. it covers a multitude of sins and an even greater multitude of creatures, including poor christopher hitchens, poor me, and—unless you happen to be a bodhisattva or one of the lamed vov or the lamb of god that taketh away the sins of the world—poor you, and even then, poor you.'
my suggested reading for today.
©2010 toomanytribbles
of all the nonsense that's being written by theists and atheists alike, this essay was more to the point for me, ending with:
'... there is an ancient petition expansive enough to cover every case i’ve mentioned and brief enough for tweeting: kyrie eleison, “lord have mercy.” lord have mercy on us who wander like sheep without a shepherd, harassed and helpless, fleeced at every turn, bleating and blogging about the existence of god and the curse of the vuvuzela and the passion of lindsay lohan and the sweet christ knows what else while children starve and are blown to pieces by bombs dropped in our name, while the skies and seas and the future itself are blighted by our waste, arrogance, and frivolity. lord have mercy on us, because on top of all that, a man in the prime of his life and at the height of his powers and in the full confidence of having hit his stride can be slapped with something like cancer of the esophagus, as any of us might likewise be slapped with brain cancer, bone cancer, colon cancer, rendering us even more stupid, spineless, and full of crap than we already are, which is not fair, or if fair, not funny at all.
lord have mercy. it covers a multitude of sins and an even greater multitude of creatures, including poor christopher hitchens, poor me, and—unless you happen to be a bodhisattva or one of the lamed vov or the lamb of god that taketh away the sins of the world—poor you, and even then, poor you.'
my suggested reading for today.
©2010 toomanytribbles
Best Supporting Actor 2003: Tim Robbins in Mystic River
Tim Robbins received his first acting Oscar nomination for portraying Dave Boyle a Boston man who was traumatized as a child in Mystic River.
Tim Robbins has a few problems with his performance. One problem is that his voice he uses for the film is a bit odd. He does like a child's voice mixed in with the Boston accent that seems like a forced way to show the past of the character. This voice he uses is a mistake I believe but it does not ruin his performance. The other problem with his performance I feel is that some of his scenes I feel are the worst directed scenes by Clint Eastwood. This is not his fault it is Eastwood's actually for doing these scenes in such an over the top fashion.
Despite these hindrances Robbins still gives an effective performance. There is the overt and forced method of showing his character's mental trauma but he also employs far more effective means too. He shows the mans problems through his eyes that show he always has been and will be effected by what he was as a child, and that everyday is a challenge to get by because of what happened to him. I liked how he showed that Dave attempted to try to act as normal as possible but that it was always hard for him because of his past.
I liked the fact that he still played Dave as a Smart man despite his trauma, he shows this incredibly well when the police try to corner him for a crime. I find Robbins does do a great job in making Dave seem three dimensional since his only character trait is not the trauma, he is a fully rounded man, that is just one of his features not his whole being. Robbins does do a good job throughout, except his voice, even in the overly directed vampire scene Robbins still stays very strong as Dave. His best scene I feel though is at the very end where he can barely comprehend his situation. Robbins handles this scene perfectly showing the fear and trauma of Dave exceptionally well and since it is Sean Penn best scene too they together create an incredibly memorable scene. Robbins despite his strange choice of voice still creates an effective performance and a memorable character.
Despite these hindrances Robbins still gives an effective performance. There is the overt and forced method of showing his character's mental trauma but he also employs far more effective means too. He shows the mans problems through his eyes that show he always has been and will be effected by what he was as a child, and that everyday is a challenge to get by because of what happened to him. I liked how he showed that Dave attempted to try to act as normal as possible but that it was always hard for him because of his past.
I liked the fact that he still played Dave as a Smart man despite his trauma, he shows this incredibly well when the police try to corner him for a crime. I find Robbins does do a great job in making Dave seem three dimensional since his only character trait is not the trauma, he is a fully rounded man, that is just one of his features not his whole being. Robbins does do a good job throughout, except his voice, even in the overly directed vampire scene Robbins still stays very strong as Dave. His best scene I feel though is at the very end where he can barely comprehend his situation. Robbins handles this scene perfectly showing the fear and trauma of Dave exceptionally well and since it is Sean Penn best scene too they together create an incredibly memorable scene. Robbins despite his strange choice of voice still creates an effective performance and a memorable character.
a cool change
like it? click it!
at sxinias, the beach at marathon, greece -- i've placed it on the map.
i never really liked little river band's cool change -- so i'm linking to lady instead.
©2010 toomanytribbles
What is 7 Souls?
We've just finished our new web campaign for 7 Souls, which you can see here. We've found a spoiler-free way to extend the actual book's story into a different presentational medium. I'd be very interested to hear any horrorthon comments/critiques as we begin implementing and attempting to publicize the campaign and the book, were any of you so inclinded to provide them.
http://www.whatis7souls.com
HHD 'Zults!
What a fragrant bouquet of haikus this topic generated! Even without JPX’s input (can you believe that asshole?), there was much inspiration and hilarity passing through everyone's systems. The contenders!
My first bellyache of the day came from Octopunk:
My own inside joke
When I fart in Zack's presence
I say "that was you."
Fiendishly clever!
From Stan:
Michaelangelo
God, Adam: "Pull my finger."
The art of the fart
Very classy.
From 50P:
divvy up offense
everyone gets a small whiff
it's called "crop dusting"
From The Brain:
Let 'em loose, I say!
Let's all light 'em up and have
a fart bonfire!
Excellent idea.
And finally from Catfreeek:
I make falafels
Tony loves them but later
they make fart-awfuls
Catfreeek’s flatulant wordplay was in the perfect spirit of the topic and therefore – she wins! Congrats Fartfreeek!
VOTD: Trentemøller - Sycamore Feeling (Official Video)
As posted the other day on http://blip.fm/shok, I have found one of my favorite albums of the year, Into The Great Wide Yonder, which comes from Trentemøller. This is his second release, which is a shift from his mainly synthetic first album, singles and remixes, which I also loved, to an organic blend with electronics, where we find a range of gritty twang guitars, ethereal soundscapes, rocking drums and a host of wet whispery sexy vocals.
The first single, Sycamore Feeling features breathy female vocals in the vein of Hope Sandoval of Mazzy Star & Jennifer Charles of Elysian Fields with the yesteryear sound from 4ad, Creation Records, Beggars Banquet and Mute Records atop a fresh pulse.
Ascertain you BUY this album, which is due for release in USA on the 6th of August.
The first single, Sycamore Feeling features breathy female vocals in the vein of Hope Sandoval of Mazzy Star & Jennifer Charles of Elysian Fields with the yesteryear sound from 4ad, Creation Records, Beggars Banquet and Mute Records atop a fresh pulse.
Ascertain you BUY this album, which is due for release in USA on the 6th of August.
Best Supporting Actor 2003: Ken Watanabe in The Last Samurai
Ken Watanabe received his first Oscar nomination for portraying Katsumoto the head Samurai leading a rebellion against the modernization of Japan in The Last Samurai.
The Last Samurai is a film that I do not mind watching at all but I would not really defend the movie in any real sort of way.
Ken Wantanabe I find is far more interesting in this performance then he really had to be. Katsumoto could have been played extremely one dimensionally or too stiffly, but Watanabe does not play him this way. Watanabe effectively shows that Katsumoto has a certain knowing about himself. He shows well that Katsumoto is in fact intelligent and knows his way of life is being lost, but that he still fins his way is the right way. He is effective because he does not show Katsumoto to be just a single minded warrior but one with his own thoughts and a sense of humor. He handles this well because he adds this to his character without making making his performance merely farce.
He does this by always being believable as the leader of the samurai and I found his screen presence here to be always very strong. I felt scenes with him in it were always better than other scenes, and that his last scene is very well handled by Watanabe making it strong as possible. But still a lot of what he is doing here is not overly amazing but rather standard going through the motions sort of acting required of the part during certain scenes. Even his greatest scenes are not the most amazing feats of acting either, but Watanabe though is always good in the film and tries his best to get more out of the character than perhaps even the script allowed for.
Ken Wantanabe I find is far more interesting in this performance then he really had to be. Katsumoto could have been played extremely one dimensionally or too stiffly, but Watanabe does not play him this way. Watanabe effectively shows that Katsumoto has a certain knowing about himself. He shows well that Katsumoto is in fact intelligent and knows his way of life is being lost, but that he still fins his way is the right way. He is effective because he does not show Katsumoto to be just a single minded warrior but one with his own thoughts and a sense of humor. He handles this well because he adds this to his character without making making his performance merely farce.
He does this by always being believable as the leader of the samurai and I found his screen presence here to be always very strong. I felt scenes with him in it were always better than other scenes, and that his last scene is very well handled by Watanabe making it strong as possible. But still a lot of what he is doing here is not overly amazing but rather standard going through the motions sort of acting required of the part during certain scenes. Even his greatest scenes are not the most amazing feats of acting either, but Watanabe though is always good in the film and tries his best to get more out of the character than perhaps even the script allowed for.
belated
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this is from a few weeks ago. i didn't have time to do any celebrating as my classes would run till 10pm, with only a few short breaks for a breather.
i didn't expect mr.G to drop by with these and save the day.
i took a rushed picture of the cake because, for several years, i'd been insisting that a birthday cake should have a candle for EVERY year -- and not a representative one or two -- and there they were... all 48.
i took another quick shot the flowers after the class, which were already succumbing to their vaseless ordeal.
©2010 toomanytribbles
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