(no subject)
Been busy the last few weeks, traveling and stuff. But here's a few highlights:
-Went to the Bay Area, ostensibly for a conference, where I presented a paper to a small, largely disinterested audience. Half of the presenters didn't even bother to show up to present their work, let alone stick around for other people's papers. So that was lame, but I got to spend some time with my family and that was nice.
-Because of the trip to the Bay Area, I missed the "Parade of Lost Souls" in Vancouver, a Halloween-related event in the Commercial Drive area. But I made it back before actual Halloween and even managed to pull together a pretty awesome costume. Josh and I discovered HollyNorth Production Supplies, a store which sells film and theatre grade makeup and special effects supplies, as well as renting special effects equipment like rain and snow makers, fog machines, etc. Dangerous things for us to know about! We got some silicone modeling compound and set about making our first prosthetics. We still have some learning to do, but for a first attempt, it didn't come out too badly: Doktor Sleepless & Cyberpunk Grrl We went downtown to the Granville St. area, which was positively teeming with folks in costume, drank at an "Irish pub" with some friends, and spent the night in a hotel nearby. All in all, a delightful Halloween!
-Just watched the movie Mamma Mia! Not a good movie by most definitions of the term, but infectiously fun. It doesn't take itself seriously, and is so over the top that you can't help enjoying it. Good times. We also recently watched the movie Highlander: The Source, the 5th Highlander movie (direct to DVD/TV in the US). It was bad. Unremittingly bad. Gouge your eyeballs out bad. Not even bad in an entertaining way. I'm disappointed in the actors involved for agreeing to be in such a travesty. The filmmaking was just unrelentingly amateur, the acting completely phoned in, the plot beyond nonsensical, the connection to the series and movies that came before it tenuous at best. The Highlander movies and the TV series were formative in my early years, and still a guilty pleasure for me, and this felt like a betrayal of that affection. On a similar note, Josh watched The Seeker, the movie (loosely) based on The Dark is Rising series. I refused to watch it, because the Dark is Rising borders on a sacred text for me, and I could not bear to see it desecrated. (Will's an American! It's set in modern day! Arrrrgh!)
-Went to the Bay Area, ostensibly for a conference, where I presented a paper to a small, largely disinterested audience. Half of the presenters didn't even bother to show up to present their work, let alone stick around for other people's papers. So that was lame, but I got to spend some time with my family and that was nice.
-Because of the trip to the Bay Area, I missed the "Parade of Lost Souls" in Vancouver, a Halloween-related event in the Commercial Drive area. But I made it back before actual Halloween and even managed to pull together a pretty awesome costume. Josh and I discovered HollyNorth Production Supplies, a store which sells film and theatre grade makeup and special effects supplies, as well as renting special effects equipment like rain and snow makers, fog machines, etc. Dangerous things for us to know about! We got some silicone modeling compound and set about making our first prosthetics. We still have some learning to do, but for a first attempt, it didn't come out too badly: Doktor Sleepless & Cyberpunk Grrl We went downtown to the Granville St. area, which was positively teeming with folks in costume, drank at an "Irish pub" with some friends, and spent the night in a hotel nearby. All in all, a delightful Halloween!
-Just watched the movie Mamma Mia! Not a good movie by most definitions of the term, but infectiously fun. It doesn't take itself seriously, and is so over the top that you can't help enjoying it. Good times. We also recently watched the movie Highlander: The Source, the 5th Highlander movie (direct to DVD/TV in the US). It was bad. Unremittingly bad. Gouge your eyeballs out bad. Not even bad in an entertaining way. I'm disappointed in the actors involved for agreeing to be in such a travesty. The filmmaking was just unrelentingly amateur, the acting completely phoned in, the plot beyond nonsensical, the connection to the series and movies that came before it tenuous at best. The Highlander movies and the TV series were formative in my early years, and still a guilty pleasure for me, and this felt like a betrayal of that affection. On a similar note, Josh watched The Seeker, the movie (loosely) based on The Dark is Rising series. I refused to watch it, because the Dark is Rising borders on a sacred text for me, and I could not bear to see it desecrated. (Will's an American! It's set in modern day! Arrrrgh!)