| Scared Scripted |
[May. 13th, 2008|09:18 am] |
I handed in the first draft of my script yesterday.
I think it's mostly good, but am painfully aware some bits aren't.
Unfortunately, the person I was supposed to give it to was away for the day, so the draft now SITS ON THEIR DESK MOCKING ME.
In other news: t-minus under five weeks. Another appointment Thursday.
Fun times. |
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| Iron Man and Iron Dad |
[May. 5th, 2008|11:44 am] |
First and foremost, Iron Dad was a success.
About ten people turned up for Laser Strike, and I seemed to adapt to the new style of gameplay well (you have TWO types of firing styles: long range high fire rate for sniping or close range slow fire for mega-damage), although top firing honours go to Stewart and Brendon.
After that beers were consumed at The Dux with leisure.
And at 6 we went to see Iron Man.
Short review: bloody good. Didn't quite knock Spider-Man off its perch for me, but just edges ahead of Batman Begins for its realistic portrayal of billionaires as ass-hats.
A longer review would go into wanky comparisons of the Marvel and DC universes and the respective merits of adaptation of said worlds for film (imaginary thesis title "Capes vs. Civil War: how escapist are the worlds of comics?"). Feel free to talk to me if you wish to indulge my geekery. Suffice to say: Robert Downey Jr rocked in his role (scratch that: all the leads rocked) the suit was cool, the plot a good origin story (where the hero is literally "self-made" as opposed to bitten by a radioactive Iron Bug) and dialogue was excellent. My only drawbacks were the villain (let me say "design flaws" and leave it there) and a touch of predictability in said plot.
Oh yes. And STAY UNTIL THE END OF THE CREDITS. A full on fan-gasm, indeed.
**** out of *****. |
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| Marathon |
[May. 4th, 2008|11:27 am] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| |  accomplished | ] |
I wrote about 40 pages last night in what was effectively a 20-hour writing binge and now I have a first draft.
It needs a lot of work (the first act is really sprawling and messy and will be tightened considerably in my first sweep of editing) but I know where it needs to go and there are some bits I really like.
Handing it in on Wednesday. Multiple back-up have been made.
Today I run around shooting laser guns and drinking beer to celebrate my joint project I'm working on with Ness. I expect celebrations will be had all round.
Yes indeed. |
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| And on Sunday He Reset |
[Mar. 14th, 2008|05:30 pm] |
On Sunday Ness and I move into what will be our first Family Home.
The phrase "end of an era" has been bandied about by some people (and some, rightly, have rejected the notion for them) but for me it is quite an appropriate phrase. An era is a historical period of time, marked at the beginning (or end) by an epochal event. I am leaving the world of flatting (well, almost - property prices are still a bit too daunting for now so we are still renting) and intend to be cohabiting with Ness for the rest of my life. If that's not an epochal event, someone needs to update Wikipedia.
It is tempting to be retrospective. I have had some great flatmates and some awful ones, and the comic potential of some kind of list, or top ten, or memorable quotes has a definite allure. Perhaps I'll save it for stand-up. Certainly I don't have time around the packing, moving and working to put it here in what has become my monthly (brief) LJ entry. Suffice to say every person I have lived with has taught me a lot about who I am (and who they are) and we've both parted better off for it (sometimes better off for the parting). Also I suspect the bad ones have prepared me better for fatherhood than I could imagine.
So rather than look back, shall I look forward? Well, I don't think it would be that easy to summarise, there's a lot I won't be expecting and the bits that I do know don't make for compelling reading. I see a comfortable couch, a loving partner, a writing desk in the corner, dinner every night, hundreds of dollars of baby things no-one knows they need until they are expecting and a thousand routines that will rise, fall and change as not only Ness and I adjust to solo cohabitation and then have our picture of domesticity completely redefined by our son. Uncertain, scary, and no doubt will make for good reading, but any predictions will be woefully inadequate.
So, that age ends and a new age begins. What to call it? Jeff's Age of Maturity? Paternity? Adultery? I don't know. But then, most people don't know what age they're in until they leave it. I'm about to leave the Age of Jeff the Young Adult (although even then there's probably a better name I can't see yet) and I feel glad to have been there and the better for finally moving on. I am loved. I am happy. I am doing things that rely so heavily on luck as much as ability that I'm still hoping neither will fail. I don't really have time to look back or look forward, but look around and say "this is when it all changed. Again". I am moving. And that's A Very Good Thing. |
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| My Prime |
[Feb. 17th, 2008|09:14 am] |
29 today.
Wikipedia tells me that 29 is:
In mathematics
It is the tenth prime number, and also the third primorial prime, the next prime number as well as primorial prime being thirty-one, with which it comprises a twin prime. Twenty-nine is also the sixth Sophie Germain prime. It is also the sum of three consecutive squares, 22 + 32 + 42. It is a Lucas prime, a Pell prime and a tetranacci number. It is an Eisenstein prime with no imaginary part and real part of the form 3n − 1. Since 18! + 1 is a multiple of 29 but 29 is not one more than a multiple 18, 29 is a Pillai prime. 29 is also the 10th supersingular prime.
None of the first 29 natural numbers have more than two different prime factors. This is the longest such consecutive sequence.
29 is a Markov number, appearing in the solutions to x2 + y2 + z2 = 3xyz: {2, 5, 29}, {2, 29, 169}, {5, 29, 433}, {29, 169, 14701}, etc.
29 is a Perrin number, preceded in the sequence by 12, 17, 22.
In science
* The atomic number of copper
Astronomy
* Messier object M29, a magnitude 9.0 open cluster in the constellation Cygnus
* The New General Catalogue object NGC 29, a spiral galaxy in the constellation Andromeda
* The Saros number of the solar eclipse series which began on -1881 March 1 and ended on -583 April 19. The duration of Saros series 29 was 1298.1 years, and it contained 73 solar eclipses.
* The Saros number of the lunar eclipse series which began on -1814 July 21 and ended on -317 January 5. The duration of Saros series 29 was 1496.5 years, and it contained 84 lunar eclipses.
* The lunar month is very close to twenty-nine days.
* Saturn requires over 29 years to orbit the Sun.
In other fields
Twenty-nine is:
* The number of days February has in leap years.
* The number of letters in the Turkish, Finnish, Faroese and Norwegian alphabets.
* The designation of Interstate 29, a U. S. freeway that runs from Missouri to North Dakota.
* In the name of the town Twentynine Palms, California, also the name of the adjoining Marine Corps base, affectionately referred to by Marines as "Twentynine Stumps".
* The number of suras in the Qur'an that begin with muqatta'at
* The highest possible score in a hand of Cribbage.
* An album by Ryan Adams.
* The track the Chattanooga Choo Choo leaves in the Glenn Miller song.
* 29th Regiment of Foot, a former regiment in the British Army.
Personally, I can say that 29 is:
* The age I'll be when my partner and I move into our first "family" home (we've found a place - moving in there March 16).
* How old I'll be when I finish my first professionally commissioned script (I hope).
* The age I become a father.
* A pretty good age to be.
All the best. |
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| Engendered |
[Jan. 16th, 2008|09:16 am] |
For those wishing to know the reproductive organs of my offspring... ( read on )
Based on the advice of another new father I know to "get as much exercise and sleep as you can" and failing in the former (too much to think about) I went for a run around Hagley Park this morning.
I hurt. But I'm still smiling anyway... |
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| On 2007 |
[Jan. 10th, 2008|09:08 am] |
I suppose most retrospectives of a year basically boil down to one of two options: it was a very good year or the year sucked more than not. Of course, this is all based on generalisation and the basic law of averages: if someone had a year where there girlfriend left them, their childhood pet died, parents divorced and had an arm chopped off and then won Lotto, the final ruling from the judges might be a split decision. A year is essentially an arbitrary chunk of time out of someone's life.
However, peer pressure being what it is (and the irresistible human need for arbitrary division of one's life into manageable chunks) I suppose I should at least make a cursory effort to summarise 2007.
Basically: it was a very good year.
Not for any one particular thing, mind you. Really, 2007 was a year that paid off for things started long before New Years Eve 2006 and set up some really great things (hopefully) for 2008 and beyond. Objects in motion picked up steam, some balls started rolling and some old neuroses and insecurities got put to rest.
Case in point: Ness and I. We met before the end of 2006 (and officially became "boyfriend and girlfriend" bang on on New Years - an easy anniversary to remember) so 2007 was really just that "good thing" getting better. Over the course of the year we've gone from boyfriend/girlfriend to living together and now (the biggest and best thing of 07) expecting our first child and moving into our own "nest". This would worry me with the speed in which it's all happened except it doesn't. Which is a Good Thing. I would say that the last year of my life would be pretty hard to top, except Bubs is due in June of this year.
Work continued much as work does. A workload that was increased and changed towards the end of 2006 meant that 2007 consisted mostly of settling in to the new responsibilities and working out how to juggle the increased workload. At times this was a struggle, but out of it came some achievements I'm really proud of: the 2006/2007 Season Brochure, a pretty successful ticketing/promotional initiative and discovering my voice carries a bit more weight in certain ears than it did the year before.
Creatively I'm pretty pleased. Scriptless and Jester things went from strength to strength - I was lucky enough to be involved in every improv show in The Forge and so have a much better idea on the marketing and reception of certain formats. Jester things had their ups and downs but no major stumbling blocks. I've landed in charge of the Dux Comedy Nights and involved in the Fat Eddie's comedy shows, so my stand-up is improving as a matter of necessity.
I wrote a kids play (Thumbelina, to be staged in just over a week by Canterbury Children's Theatre) and a script I wrote back in 2005 was made into a movie. I was also commissioned to write my first professional full-length play, which is the OTHER big project for 2008 (the main one being becoming a father). Again, I would stress if 2007 hadn't taught me that I can do it and that worrying is really just a waste of time.
I turn 29 this year - just a month and a bit away, actually. In under a week I find out if Ness is carrying our daughter or our son. In the next few days I'm going to finish my preliminary reading and start deciding some of the major stylistic features of the script I'm going to write. It's not a lot of time to stop and reflect on everything, but then, that might be the theme of 2007: things gaining momentum. Happiness seems to have a certain inertia that can push you through a lot of things, and last year was a large amount of movement in the right direction.
2007: It was a very good year. Onwards and upwards. |
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| Sickness |
[Dec. 30th, 2007|09:56 am] |
I missed Scott's thirtieth birthday yesterday due to a particularly nasty (but fortunately brief) virus thing (the onset of which had cut short my Pengelly Party time the night before).
Apologies to those who were expecting the traditional Clark Party Experience. Glad to hear it was a good time.
Once fully recovered I might do a "year in review" thing. Short version: it was a very good year. |
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[Dec. 6th, 2007|04:56 pm] |
I am going to Wellington to make a presentation to Arty people.
I will be going to Downstage's production of Urinetown that night.
Then I'm going to enjoy a night on the town with Corey (or Tarquin).
I will return on Saturday.
That is all. |
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| The Screen |
[Dec. 4th, 2007|09:14 am] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| |  pleased | ] |
I was at the world premiere of Men Shouldn't Sing on Sunday. Which is the script I wrote about two years ago and Michael Bell turned into a feature film.
For something I wasn't actually that pleased with when I handed it over (but then, who ever is happy with the final version of something they write?), they made a great wee film out of it. I was really proud of the effort everyone had put into the project and the result is something much cooler than I had thought it would be.
For one thing, there were over 900 people at the premiere. That's roughly two or three people for every volunteer (over 250 people were involved in this show) and they laughed at the right bits and clapped after every song (crazy!). In short, I think they liked it. I even got asked for my signature after the show! Faint delusions of grandeur abound.
Of course, the bits the crowd laughed hardest at weren't bits that I'd written, really (Michal sitting on a box and squishing it was GENIUS, just not MY genius) but I get to take some of the credit. Of course there are still bits and pieces I would change or tweak after seeing how they played on the screen, but for the most part, the audience seemed to get most of the jokes and follow the story, so I was much pleased. I actually sat at a premiere for something I'd written (which, if I recall correctly, is the first full-length script I've ever written). Wicked.
The final credit, of course, goes to Mr Michael Bell, who has made a bloody great film out of a cockamamie script that had more than a passing nod of homage to an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer (although with enough significantly different aspects to avoid a lawsuit). I am now the proud (yes, proud) owner of a DVD and soundtrack.
EDIT: There is also a spoiler-laden review. Woo! |
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| Be MUSEd |
[Nov. 26th, 2007|06:43 pm] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| |  thoroughly rocked | ] |
| [ | Current Music |
| | MUSE (in my HEAD) | ] |
Alright, so the Muse concert last night. How to describe it?
Four musicians on top of their game rocked the socks off everyone at the concert for a good ninety minutes. Phenomenal show.
Up until now my "best concert ever" was U2 in Auckland. Muse now share the top spot and for completely different reasons. The edge that U2 had (no pun intended) - Bono's charisma/audience interaction - was completely absent with Muse's show. But this meant they didn't waste any time sermonising or pushing a personal agenda: just rocked out one incredible song after another.
Rather than being right in the thick of it as I was at U2 I was seated (mostly to protect my lady's belly), which gave me a very different experience and appreciation. To be frank, I felt a lot safer after seeing the pushing and shoving that took place from my elevated position (still close enough to see the blur of fingers that Bellamy is). Different, but still awesome.
I've also had it expressed to me that normally great "album" bands lose something in live performance, particularly when one band member tends to have a greater presence/influence over the sound (cases in point: NIN, Smashing Pumkins). Not Muse. For one thing, they have added a performer to their lineup for touring purposes (normally Muse is a three-piece), for another each member knows what they're doing. Matt Bellamy is a genius, no doubt (and no gushing about his phenomenal command of his many instruments). But he was joined by a phenomenal bass player (I suspect he's a robot - he was that cool despite wearing a suit) a mysterious keyboard/misc music guy in the background (show yourself! Who are you, damn it!) and a drummer in a SPIDER-MAN SUIT. Their songs are officially better live than they sound on the album, for the record.
Pyrotechnics and "features" were relatively few (some giant smoke blasts, pretty flashing lights and giant balloons filled with glitter) but again, the sound was what we'd really come to see.
I left dry, still relatively fresh and thoroughly rocked and with a new green Muse shirt. Yes, I'm THAT fan. But replaying it over in my head, it jsut gets better and better the more I think about it.
To hell with it. Best concert I've been to so far. Although, after next year, I suspect my next concert experience will be The Wiggles... |
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| MUSEing |
[Nov. 25th, 2007|09:14 am] |
Muse concert tonight.
It's the last concert on their world tour.
I expect full thnder.
And lightning.
\m/ |
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| A show, some stand-up and a stand-off |
[Nov. 14th, 2007|10:23 am] |
I finally saw Year of the Rat on Friday, lending some weight to my assertions that it was really good. I can now say, with authority, that it is really REALLY good. Well-written, witty, exceptionally acted: first-rate. Four days remain. SEE IT.
Thanks to someone pulling out the day before, we had a rejigged comedy show for Monday at The Dux. Still, one of our better shows - my set was sadly cut short by an ill-advised decision (for which I must share a portion of the blame) to put a drunk heckler on to tell a "humorous anecdote": which turned out to involve abdominal pain, anal sex, an obstructed urethra and 48 hours of backed-up urine. The funniest part for the guy telling the story was that his friend swore him to secrecy about it. Way to go. Everyone else (by quality or contrast) was in fine form (and probably me too, due to the truncated nature of my set).
We're having a meeting tonight to talk about the December show and plan for next year at The Dux. Good times.
Last night at Fat Eddie's was horrendous. Note to managers: if you have a bar packed full of drunken assholes that have been at Cup day, odds are they are not there for the Open Mic night. A room full of loud, hostile people is not conductive to encouraging the best from professional comics, let alone people trying it for the first time. Still, we went ahead, and two acts later (one comedy that sank like a stone; a musical act that fared better) called it a night. I still get paid, and the people who were listening (and could hear) seemed to laugh at least twice. Hooray.
Next week is improv night. Woop woop.
I may also have got myself work redesigning the Fat Eddie's Comedy Night Fliers (for money$). They can be better.
Life in general is good. The freaked-out feelings come and go ("Oh my god I'm going to be a DAD what am I doing still doing comedy and improv, where are we going to live, how will I feed my FAMILY") but for the most part they're overruled by general excitement and happiness. I am a GROWN-UP (albeit one wearing a Superman t-shirt). Further freak-outs to follow. |
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| News |
[Nov. 2nd, 2007|12:33 pm] |
For those who haven't already been called by me or heard through the grapevine, my partner is pregnant.
All going well, I'm going to be a dad in early June.
Neat :) |
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| Armagotten |
[Oct. 25th, 2007|12:40 pm] |
As some of you may know, last weekend I went to Armageddon. I had a fantastic time.
My hopes of meeting Adam West and being recruited as the new Robin thwarted, there were still plenty of reasons for me to be enthused about my trip into the hallowed halls of the Aotea Centre, covnerted into a haven for all things geeky.
Mostly, it turned out to be the chance to catch up with old friends, some of whom I haven't seen in some time (Karen, TM and Andrew) and others I have no real excuse for catching up with in Auckland since we both live in Christchurch (Isaac).
As an overview (specific geekery to follow): I went to panels, learned a lot about the comics, TV and animation industry (they are, for better or worse, just like any other creative industry) and got to find out that even people who do things many of us only dream of are, by and large, still people (and mostly very cool folk too).
I also bought loot including Secret Six, Robot Chicken and Batman: The Animated Series (Volume 1) and some art (signed by the PEOPLE WHO MADE IT).
A fantastic weekend away and I heartily endorse Armageddon to anyone. Huzzah! |
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| Armageddon outta here! |
[Oct. 18th, 2007|10:30 pm] |
Up in Auckland until Tuesday. I may or may not be posting from my hotel room.
Oh yes. Hotel room. |
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| Dun-dun-duuuuun |
[Oct. 4th, 2007|10:00 pm] |
Tomorrow I drive to Dunedin (Broad Bay, to be precise) to meet my lady's extended family. Accompanying us shall be her mother. These facts, combined with us celebrating our nine-month anniversary this week, I suspect makes us Committed.
I shall also be smuggling a eurasian to see her boyfriend.
Ain't love grand? |
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| Chatter in the box |
[Oct. 2nd, 2007|09:30 am] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| | bouncy | ] |
Chatterbox has finished. Again, a great format which meant that every show, as well as being its own animal each night, was wonderfully educational. Each guest had their own particular energy and pace (mostly good, sometimes difficult) and their stories were genuinely fascinating. I wish I could have seen a couple of shows from the outside, but sadly they cast me all the time.
Performing for Margaret Mahy was a personal highlight.
Doing the show also made me quite aware as to the patterns and formulas you fall into in improv. In this case, pretty much every time we had a pop-up storybook I was the narrator. Mostly a good thing (I am good at narrative and I don't think there was a single one that sucked) but also a tad "safe" since there was no risk (for me or any of the other players getting a go). I am very very comfortable in a narrator role, because it shields me from an emotional connection to the storyline and lets me be clever. Not bad things, but to be a well-rounded performer I need to work my characterisation/emotional truth and resist the urge to be "witty story guy" a bit more.
Still, shows aren't the place to practice new stuff and rehearse, and in terms of providing quality entertainment we did our jobs well. A much better show in terms of structure, narrative (albeit provided by the guest) and craft than Radio Ha Ha. Also, a much nicer feeling to the cast and a better group dynamic. Thanks guys - it was a hoot.
In other news: go see Superbad. Now. |
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