| Tife and Limes: Fat Batman. |
[Jul. 26th, 2008|06:46 pm] |
Something new and some older stuff on the DevAr(gh)t
YSO Style: Rachel
Esco: Action Hero (bigger! bluer!)
Not Far From The Truth: Cake (in-joke)
-Decided against the weekend trip for several reasons- which in the end turned out to be good because my mom made a last-minute decision to fly down here and help set up an environmental conference in downtown. So she's here for a week. There's a lot of this going on:
VARIANT (broke 340 on this game)
-I kind of wanted to go to Comic-con this year because Sue is going to have a booth and Dub (of the BLOGOSPHERE) is in town, but the more coverage of the con I've seen in the news the more I'm glad I'm not wandering around in that giant mess.
Yeah I'm good thanks
I've been to SDCC in '03, '04, and '06 (always got in thanks to a friend or borrowed pass). I wouldn't go back there unless I was a guest or speaker. I'm not at all interested in movie or TV hype and there isn't even much worth buying at the con really. If I become retardedly affluent in the near future I might go back to throw money at my favorite starving webcomic artists. |
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| And now for something completely different |
[Jul. 24th, 2008|08:55 pm] |
Saw the Dark Knight. It ruled. You already knew that, unless you're ObiJay or Jom. Long movie but it flew by at a rapid pace. There are a few requisite gaps in logic but most are forgivable. Only one or two will probably bother you any longer than a few minutes. Definitely needs an unrated version when it hits DVD. The Dark Knight and Iron Man are on my Blu-Ray list for sure.
PROS:
-The Joker: Completely crazy AND completely in control. Excellent interpretation.
-Harvey Dent. Aaron Eckhart nailed it.
-Eric Roberts! Yay!
-Fight scenes were a HUGE improvement over Batman Begins (you could actually tell what was going on most of the time)
CONS:
-Maggie Gyllenhall (aka frightening melting face baby lady)
-Michael Jai White was included but wasted. Couldn't let the dude go out swinging.
-Batman's in-suit voice. Forced & ridiculous, plus a slight lisp. Got plain silly.
-Knowing Heath Ledger is dead. :(((((
This is the original design of a rad shirt sold at Chop Shop.
I am nerd enough to recognize all but five of them. Help me nail the rest.
( List under the cut )
[20:59] tentaclesex> esco, you're a huge dork
[21:00] Esco> the most dorkinest
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| Tife and Limes: No Time To Lose |
[Jul. 20th, 2008|11:48 pm] |
BWA
(this is a weird picture)
-Muscle memory. Wonderful thing. And since I've been taking such great care of my faculties, I jumped (literally) right back into it with no pulls or sudden strains. The only vital thing is making sure my joints are still used to absorbing the landing shock. Important to keep up. Otherwise I feel GRRR-IT. Lats and traps for days. Rock me the hell out of a gym the next time I roll up ins. The prime of my styles.
-I HAVE CONCEIVED A NEW PLOT. AN OUTLINE-WORTHY SUCKER. This is after god-damned HALF A YEAR of running around in circles mentally. But damn it I have something I am going to take the hammers to and fashion into a pitchable iron-clad force worth reckoning. Mm-HMM. Every step is a good one.
I am so determined to BE THE CHANGE I want to see in the genre but I am Lord Terrible at coming up with ideas. I can't grasp how writers and artists churn out stories and characters every day. I constantly question my ideas and knock them down for not being original enough, which can be a good thing, but I might be overdoing it. Like taking a blowtorch to the seeds before they've germinated. The best ideas happen when I'm not looking for them. Inspiration can't be caught, it just kicks me in the head at the most random times.
The whole process since 2008 started has basically been like this: I feel like I'm waiting for something to happen but I'm the only one who can get it started. That feeling SUCKS. IT SUCKS. DOUBLED PLUS TRIPLE-SIZE SUCKS.
[16:02] Esco> I've been going in circles with ideas since goddamn february
[16:02] p_d> is it gonna tie all those ideas you had previously that were just hanging?
[16:02] Esco> some of them
[16:02] Esco> there's always leftovers
[16:02] p_d> ahh
[16:02] p_d> man, i'm getting hyped
[16:02] Esco> never know when they'll factor into something else
[16:02] p_d> get HYPED larry
[16:02] Esco> eggggh
[16:02] p_d> get hyped!
[16:02] * Esco rolls his eyes and goes to sleep
[16:02] p_d> that's anti hype!
No what, sir? No TIME. No time to lose. Oh I see, no time... to LOSE, sir. (2 min. in)
ANYWAY. Monday is orff, so I am going to watch a TON of movies and start with the scribbles and post-its. Dammit. Janet.
-Also maybe some more art. Feel like sketching some eyeballs and lips with a mouse.
-Also also possibly a trip next weekend. I should get out of the house more anyway, all this dang time spent relentlessly thinking myself into a sodding pit. A pit with anxiety spikes. Need a break away from all the wild ups and downs of the last few weeks. |
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| Tife and Limes: The Limes is Wild, Jack |
[Jul. 18th, 2008|11:59 pm] |
BOOM in your face I got a band too
(This is probably what I'd look like in one of Hasbro's 2-inch Heroes lines)
-MAN. E'er since my brush with crippled finances, in the short four days since then the situation has turned upside down and now I am back in the green. It is positively nuts how one's fortunes can go from bad to worse to what-the-hell good. I'm not going to mull over it, no time for that, just know that I'm okay again and I have to keep on keeping on. Certifiably wild, the times is.
Work lately has been the same crazy way. Working a bunch all at once, hearing big things, having said big things cancelled the same day, up, down, up, down, (left right left right B A L3). At least I am not in bored status.
-Finished week FOUR of one hunn'ed pushups. I demand status reports from you guys that jumped on (points muscle-y finger at the Fonz, Gene, and Steve)
-YOU SAVED $29.36 WITH RALPH'S CLUB CARD. OH YEAH.
-DECISIONS:
[20:45] Esco> I have to reorder checks
[20:45] Esco> should I get ones with spongebob or batman on them
[20:47] cka> can't do both?
[20:47] Noz> get ones where spongebob IS batman
-Feeling secure again (albeit temporarily, as is always the way) and grinding a bunch. Going to pay for tap in the Fall at Pierce and extend my class card at the PAC, Olympica's back in consideration. Still getting rid of excess stuff. It's an inane cycle. |
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| Tife and Limes: Dracula with eight brass gun nozzle nipples are you serious Japan I mean goddamn |
[Jul. 14th, 2008|04:12 pm] |
| [ | Tags | | | daily, work | ] |
| [ | music |
| | Sly and The Family Stone - Double Rider Kick (Oh Wait) | ] |
FRESH.
-Well yesterday I finished chucking out invites to the YSO cast screening... the place is really small, like HELLA small, so going over capacity might actually be kinda fun. Right. So far I think I'm on track to get the room pretty clogged. I gave myself a good half hour beforehand to stress myself the fuck out before making a speech then sitting in the booth while clawing at my face from anxiety.
No, no, no. Confidence. Like an infallible rider keeck. You betcha.
-Holy shit has movie-related spending gone out of control. I checked my finances a few days ago, and everything certainly adds up, but Jesus Mary Chicken Steak did I ever spend more than I was taking in. Broke like a champion, like the lowest I've been in about four years. It was around three in the morning and I suddenly got UNGODLY depressed at the whole situation. After I woke up though I had a very unexpected boost in confidence. Dire straits, yes. But I've been in far worse situations before. Fuck all this, I am about to HANDLE THIS SHIET. UNGH. NO-THING gonna break my stride. Nobody gonna SLOW. ME. DOWN. OH NO. I GOT TO KEEP ON MOO VIN UHH.
Piling up crap I don't need and chucking it, resetting the router on my brain stem.
Dukes up and sloggin' through it.
-Man I wonder how much cocaine Sly was on when he shot that album cover. |
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| Tife and Limes: Don't be a dweller |
[Jul. 10th, 2008|01:33 am] |
-Finished the new wallpaper. I had originally envisioned it to be much closer to the SFII image, like blatantly obvious, but during the process I settled on just having a good number of similarities. There's no central iconic Ryu-esque character in my movie anyway and that would've been a big clue to seeing the source image resemblance.
All the dress shirt bodies were new pictures of me with some cutting and pasting of heads from other shots and various limbs. Tiffany's was a jumble of a mirrored neck, random arm and resized body. Didn't have a single other good shot of Mystery Girl with her face covered so I reused the original and swapped places with Sam in the layout (Sam was supposed to be in Balrog's spot, MG in Sagat's). Fortunately managed to successfully cram Sue in there too. It could almost pass for a bizarre coat of arms.
Speaking of SF, here's the current list of traditions that Jay and I have established when we play Super Turbo on GGPO almost every day:
-Aqua Zangief vs Black Zangief to start
-Sumo Torpedo collision showdown (on some occasions, Blanka Balls)
-Ken and/or Vega's hitboxes do something COMPLETELY retarded
-Double K.O. at some point (sometimes twice)
-Last match Zangief vs Zangief starts with full meters for that extra level of danger/manliness
[17:21] Esco> lord it does not GET more absurd than that
[17:22] ObiJay> everyone else has the same cookie cutter fights, not us. We aim to break the damn game engine
-Worked a 14 hour day (on one hour's sleep!) on Tuesday but it's an AFTRA show so I'm not seeing that check. The AFTRA process is too wacky to fully explain, in short my wages from that are going toward the membership fee until I can join. Ugh. Sometimes they don't tell you over the phone it's AFTRA, I just got there and looked at my voucher and muttered "FUCK"
I spent a good chunk of the morning talking to a guy recently moved to LA from Minnesota. He was trying out new things and "playing jazz with life" as he put it. During the conversation I abbreviated my five years in LA into about five minutes. It was strange hearing my own life condensed down into just the key events and transitions. I've had a few very high highs, a lot of the lowest lows, and a ton of completely uneventful periods in the middle... but hearing myself retell all that, I can't say I regret any of it. The desire never came to me to wish I could go back or second guess things I've done. Just given how I've turned out as a person thus far, I can't say I have any reason to fuck around and dwell. Good thing. It is what it is.
Sure things SUCK right now, but you know. Nothing stays the same forever. I just have to find the way I'm going to muscle my way through it as it happens. LIVE TO WIN
-I am currently halfway through this one hundred pushups program. I had accomplished it two years before on my own but honestly the last thirty or so were pretty sad halfway-down crapouts. I'm doing the program using the Perfect Pushup to lower myself until my chest is level with my knuckles each time. It'll be quite a personal mark if I can do 100 with proper form and not fall into the rushed aerobic garbage.
Also, because I am now prone to working through difficult life periods with punishing exercise, after I hammer out that 100 I'm going to apply the program schedule to handstand pushups. Oh yes I am. I've been doing them like crazy lately and my triceps have gotten just a little bit more tumoresque than usual. Doing wonders for my trapezius too, upper back and deltoids all raging out like the old days. I feel good. |
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| Tife and Limes: I am still listening to it and I still don't know what it means |
[Jul. 7th, 2008|10:36 pm] |
-Good Christ this is taking longer than I thought. Then again I never calculate all the tweaking and second-guesses. Keep this line by the nose? Curve it more? Thicker? Thinner? Ugh. Forgot that there were so many damned individual pieces involved although I have kept it to roughly 2 hours each. Some moreso because damn if I just can't get that likeness good enough. NOSES. Those are the WORST. Lips a close second. Saved a lot of time by pre-planning the scale so there is little-to-no resizing like both previous wallpapers. Hopefully I'll get this thing done on Wednesday.
-One festival delayed its announcements until Friday. Oh BOY MORE WAITING. The other one hasn't updated its website but otherwise hasn't sent any messages so I'm just presuming I didn't get into that one.
-GOD I am DEPRESSED.
-I am completely out of money for submissions. Granted the remaining ones I've got on watch for late '08 and early '09 are some ways away but holy shit with the SAG negotiation situation and gas and the economy and the relentless triple-digit HEAT and all that dreck, man I am just scraping by financially and mentally. Everything just plain straight-up sucks. I hope to Ganesh I get some damned good & certifiable news soon because quad-damned if doing all I can to stay optimistic & productive just AIN'T cutting the flucking Dijon Gouda-Horseradish spread. I am going nuts.
hyphen |
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| Tife and Limes: Shark Driver II |
[Jul. 4th, 2008|08:24 pm] |
| [ | Tags | | | daily, movies, work | ] |
| [ | music |
| | Earth Wind & Fire - That's The Way Of The World | ] |
My Fourth of July: Drawing with the mouse til my hand cramps, listening to Serpentine Fire, push-up marathon, scrambled eggs, and watching The Battle of Britain. Yep.
-Had a hell of a time yesterday. My four year old wireless router killed itself. The internet cut off and suddenly the box smelled like burnt coffee. Yes it was plugged into a surge protector (along with my TV and PS3 and nothing happened to those) so I don't know what happened. Spent half the day getting a replacement and resetting things to how they were, which despite technology's advances was a hair-ripping process. The ordeal took a chunk of money I didn't have. That's always the way.
-Saw Wall-E. It was good, very different. I liked a lot of things it did artistically, how most of it was told without dialogue. It had a lot of great MOMENTS. But overall it didn't really come together all the way. The happy ending almost didn't seem right with the way the majority of the movie was going, like suddenly it bent over backward really hard to get that perfect Disney ending. What they did with the credits was really good though, I would've been less happy if they hadn't wrapped it up that way. I didn't like Wall-E's voice or his constant noises. The character was cute and endearing enough just LOOKING at him, the vocalizing on top of gags and emotional moments was unnecessary. In terms of overall satisfaction I'd place it below The Incredibles/Finding Nemo, just below Ratatouille, and above Monsters Inc.
The berserk HAN-S masseuse bot (Pummel Bot) was my favorite.
Presto was the FUNNIEST short I have ever seen. The timing on the gags and the relentless succession of them was such perfect genius. I was crying at the subtle facial tics and reactions. Presto is a great example of how you can tell so much with the slightest movement, how posture and rhythm can move the story without words, and when to hit that brick wall and let the visual strike the audience like a megaton bomb. Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant.
-God is it EIGHT?? This is ridiculous!
-It was 105 today. Also looks to be in the upper 90's... FOREVER.
-I am outraged at my lack of productivity lately in the face of work having dried up completely, so I started yet another art project today. Hopefully this one will be done by Sunday. It's got a ton of pieces to it though. I want to get some examples slapped together to form a new art gallery on YSO but not in a conventional portrait sense. I want the characters to take on a life of their own. Like what Akiman, Bengus and all the greats did for Capcom characters. Just them doing normal shit or being in a crazy situation yet still staying true to their personality. I wish I were a more varied artist but since I'm not I just have to ask some friends and see if they can help me kickstart it. This'll be easier once the movie actually gets out there though.
This waiting, I swear. I am trying my damndest to start something new but I've been running in circles for ages. The best ideas happen when you're not looking for them.
-First notifications from festivals tomorrow. Fingers crossed. |
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| Tife and Limes: THRUST |
[Jun. 30th, 2008|11:59 pm] |
CONFIDENCE
-Got a nice healthy dose of optimism today. A big heap of feedback that was unbiased and reassuring. Shit is TAKING SO LONG to happen and I've dipped into pits of doubt regularly but fortunately there's always something to kick me in the arse and launch me back onto my feets. My chances are pretty good. It holds up. HOLDS UP I TELLS YA. I just have to make it through the next month and get the word back.
THE WAITING. IT'S UN-HO-LEH-EHHH-HEH.
-Work has dried up. The de facto strike is damned apparent. This shit had better get resolved, this is the WORST time to consider a strike. Freaking de facto recession (in California at least) what with gas being this crazy. People better be smart about this.
-Third run of MGS4: 3:49:22, Mantis, Wolf, Raven, Octopus, Pigeon, Hawk, Scorpion.
For my fourth run I was actually going to go for the Chicken emblem as well as knock out a bunch of the more ridiculous emblems. But once I got to Act 5 with a mere 13 hours in (35 hours is one requirement) I knew I did NOT have the patience to drag the same run out for that long. It's stupid. I wasn't going to leave the system on all night either. WAY behind on continues too. So I took my 793 kills and just ended it at 15:07:53. Still got twelve emblems: Bear, Eagle, Bluebird, Tortoise, Gecko, Frog, Lobster, Hyena, Hog, Cow, Crocodile and Panther. Up to 22/40.
Chicken, Giant Panda and Inch Worm can kiss my grits. Centipede/Leopard/Puma/Spider are all highly unlikely as those require +25 continues. I do not have the patience or temper to go for Big Boss. Little Grey, HA. Assassin, Ant, Bee, Gibbon, those are all likely. I was positive I did Scarab the last time but didn't get it. Next run will be probably both the Fox and Hound individual emblems. If I get those without too much grief or continues, then maybe Fox Hound.
At any rate I am taking a break from Metal Gear for awhile. (Right)
Screw YOU, Secret Code
-My sister and I beat the arcade version of Bubble Bobble a few days ago on Taito Legends. I had only played the NES version and she had never played it. She knew the characters from Bust A Move 2 ("AAAH That guy! We have a history! Damn him!"). Bubble Bobble is epic, that is a certainty, but the way the late levels turn into bubble-jumping puzzles is agonizing. This game was made to get COUPLES into arcades back in the 80's but figuring out some of them was interminable. Not to mention the friggin' GHOST popping up and executing us when we were still looking for a solution. A few levels had places you could get STUCK. The worst was figuring out Level 99 (FRIGGIN FALL THROUGH THE WALL EXCUSE ME).
Oh well. It's not even the REAL ending (boss turns out to be a giant sad dinosaur and you free your parents or something) whatever I'm good with the one I got. |
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| Tife and Limes: THE FEARLESS BRET HART got married? |
[Jun. 26th, 2008|01:01 am] |
My friend Ken Yee got married on the 23rd. Ken was my first best friend in elementary school, those were the days of hanging out at the comics store, watching late 80's JAPANIMATION (Akira and Madox-01 holla), riding my bike to his house to play GI Joes and later hella Street Fighter II on the Super Nintendo. We drifted apart during middle school and fell into completely different crowds in high school, me with the drama fags and him with the "cool Asians" (if you could call them that, HA). During high school he was still a part of my annual giant watergun fight every birthday. Don't know much about him now other than that he's still a die-hard A's fan and his neck got really thick. Dude used to be as skinny as a halogen lamp.
From left: Farhan Zamir (knew him in elementary, he lived in the court just above mine), Ryan Ko (used to roll with him during the SF Baptist years with Jonathan Ma. Ryan got huge somehow. He has crazy tits), Ken, Jason Torres (were in the same band class in middle school, he played alto sax), Ken Wong (EPICALLY HUGE GI Joe fights in his backyard with his brother, wild Nintendo birthday parties). Right: Ken and Aimee.
All the Asian people I knew throughout school, the majority of them stayed pretty close together after graduation and in/around the bay area. Seeing some of these dudes is hilarious because they all look EXACTLY THE SAME. Except Ken's neck. Shit is tripping me OUT. Also Ken Wong's smile has only become more sinister over time.
So he's the second good friend I knew who's gotten married. First was Sabrina, third will be Chris later this year. Still don't know anyone from an close circle that had kids.
I LEARNED DOUBLE PULLBACKS OFF MY TOES. UNGH. SUCK IT TREBEK.
A pullback is a horribly frustrating tap step that is one of the fundamental barriers between beginner and better-than-beginner skill. It is not something you can learn slowly or break down slowly which makes it VERY difficult in the beginning. My first few days trying pullbacks I was just cursing the hell out of my legs. It's one of those things where you have to work your ass off and drill repeatedly until your body figures it out and you have an epiphany.
Starting with your balance ON YOUR TOES, you jump up in the air, pull your legs back and brush the front toe tap against the ground as you're taking off (in like a millisecond), both legs are off the floor, and then land on your toes. You have to keep the legs relatively straight and jump up as opposed to back, try not to kick your heels up too far or kick your legs forward on the jump. The details are maddening but if you do them correctly you land in the proper posture to do several in a row immediately.
So single pullbacks you make two sounds: both legs together tapping the floor when you jump and again when you land. Doubles you go one leg at a time and make four sounds: Right jumps and taps, left immediately follows and taps so both legs are off the ground, then right lands, then left lands. There are triples and other variations (i.e. crisscrossing steps, or off one leg which I found not that hard after nailing the double)
There's a cheat way to do pullbacks where you rock back on your heels so you have space to flick the toe taps against the ground as you jump. It is nowhere near as difficult as jumping off your toes. I learned the cheat way at Pierce and was trying to get it clean off my toes when the semester ended. Somewhere during the last two weeks of class at the PAC I nailed that mother. All four sounds clean as heck. AROOO
Lindsey told Julia and I we could move up to the Tap I class whenever we wanted as we've nailed everything in Basic including the triple time step, triple-double time step, traveling time step and pullbacks. It helped that we already knew the basics so most of the stuff we already knew or at least knew variations of (waltz clog, back essence, shim sham, single and double time step)
Hot time! |
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| Tife and Limes: I want a pepsi and some ho-ho's |
[Jun. 23rd, 2008|05:15 pm] |
-After four days of 104-114, 99 degrees really doesn't feel that bad. Still sucks to run errands in that weather but it's not unbearable.
-I assume you have heard about George Carlin. Work wise he showed no signs of slowing down. That's the way to do it.
Is SO awesome.
-Got a bunch of 11" x 17" glossies printed up for really cheap, got here in three days too. I only wish I could find a comparable service for 24" x 36" prints. Current submission count: Six festivals. I find out acceptances starting July. I've got my eye on another two happening this year and three early next year, shit is getting really expensive though. I'll be happy if I make it in to at least two or three. Not that many places for a micro-micro-micro budget movie to go.
( A well toned & scantily-clad side kick. )
-Nice thing about the heat, no limbering up is necessary. Although I have yet to skip my regular six-day-a-week maintenance, I've been particularly lax in kicking and flipping. This will not stand. I need a standing full with ease, not trepidation!
I'm considering going to open gym at Olympica in Van Nuys. There's a $40 reg fee but it is literally half a block away from the PAC and tap only being 1 hour I'm always antsy to keep moving. Distance-wise MATS is three times as far away and gas prices will not permit a regular return there. Only downside is I don't know anybody who goes to Olympica. Flipping around in the gym is not much fun alone and I know a lot of industry folk go there (I know at least it is not as bad as LAVC's air of obnoxious show-offs and lack of space). Still, the proximity being what it is, I'll probably go if work keeps up. |
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| All 95 degrees at 2 a.m. Holy hell. |
[Jun. 21st, 2008|02:15 pm] |
-I drew this last August. Seems appropriate. It's been record breaking heat this whole weekend (111 yesterday) which seems to be prolonging itself through Monday. Last year the triple digits didn't kick in until Aug, which makes the here and now pretty disconcerting. It's too hot to do much of anything besides dodge the mandibles of heat stroke and pray the grid stays functional. Ted Amcor's working overtime.
-I worked on Thursday and thankfully the A/C was set up in holding, we were joking about FedEx deliverymen & Guatemalan landscapers spontaneously combusting. Work remains sporadic right now. For every dude I talk to that worked four days a week, there's one that worked twice in the last two weeks. Regardless, everyone agrees that stuff is harder to come by at the moment. Times are tough.
-A day after Cyd Charisse's obit I found out that Stan Winston died on the 16th at age 62. The man was responsible for many of the biggest sci-fi movies of the 80's and 90's. His work was a huge influence on me, particularly Aliens. Actually I think I'm going to watch that again right now.
( Snake? SNAKE? SNAAAAAKE ) |
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| Class Act & Beautiful Dynamite. |
[Jun. 17th, 2008|05:55 pm] |
MGS4: Gekkos
More to write on it after I go through it a second time. First clear time was 17:48:08, Frog/Scorpion/Hyena. Overall, easy contender for Game Experience of the Year.
Cyd Charisse died. It is the saddest day.
Edit: She was 70 when she first appeared on Broadway. Working it well past the standard, that's some inspiration. |
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| Tife and Limes: "Twenty years! And I PAY you to do it!" |
[Jun. 14th, 2008|08:45 pm] |
Not a Shaolin monk, but it's like giving a man a balaclava- the poses just happen.
Also those shoes were uncomfortable as hell and I still hate wearing contacts.
-I worked a 15 hour day on Tuesday, a 9 hour day Thursday and a 13 hour day yesterday. I am tired as balls. Thursday was mostly spent laughing at horrible, horrible, horrible dialogue on a hospital set. Friday was great because I got to work with a bunch of dudes from Pirates. All the work I've done in the past two months has consisted of generic roles but Friday was the first Asian-specific part. It was good to catch up on things with the fellas. A lot of high times, low times. Funny thing, my first job in April was replacing a guy I knew from Pirates and he was there Friday. Fucking Randy. That guy is a piece of work.
I've been playing hospital orderlies a lot recently. Even bought a pair of white shoes just for those parts. Also ordered a PROFESSIONAL GARMENT BAG like they keep on ridiculously overemphasizing on the info box. I've never actually seen wardrobe give a shit if we don't have one but it's easier than a backpack or suitcase.
You and me against the world, baby
-Went to the beach today for the afternoon which was quite nearly a waste of time. Wind was KICKING. Goddamn freezing out there. The friend I was meeting up with, her phone died and we didn't find each other all afternoon. I tried to salvage something of the trip and get some action shots but it was just too cold. Got one hell of a nap out there though. Clean air did me good. I have to make another trip out to Zuma and get some shots done, sometime on a weekday when the weather's calmer.
After I got home from Malibu I just laid down in the middle of my floor and fell asleep again for an hour and a half. I am sleeping the hell in tomorrow like a champion.
"Squidward, we don’t need television. Not as long as we have our.. IMAGINATION."
-Got my MGS4 on Thursday. Haven't played it yet. Sunday and Monday will be Metal Gear days. My sources say it's the best thing since sliced bread, the invention of the wheel, and interracial coitus. |
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| Tife and Limes: A million bagels |
[Jun. 11th, 2008|09:09 pm] |
| [ | Tags | | | dance, work | ] |
| [ | music |
| | The Sound of Philadelphia - MFSB | ] |
-Working my ass off this week. Yesterday I was on set for thirteen hours. The last three shows I didn't make any OT at ALL so this should help make up for most of that scratch I spent on festival submissions. Even though my scene was done in 2 hours, they kept me around "just in case" and I didn't do much for the following 11 but eat tacos and drink soda. Yes indeed, there are MUCH worse ways of making a living.
The cool thing was that although there were some frightfully dense people among the extras, the majority of them were very laid back and intelligent people. We spent a LOT of hours in holding talking. Usually I just play my DS and keep my headphones on. No obnoxious loudmouths for a change. It was probably the most hilarious sequence of conversations I have ever witnessed while working background.
Some of our topics: Photography, China, underage Ukrainians, Lewis Black, game hunting in captivity, robbed at knifepoint in Mexico, lemon cookies, Tennessee thunderstorms, maddening french fry minutiae, Golden Gate Bridge suicide jumpers, Ed McMahon and Evander Holyfield, driving to/from Palmdale, throwing tomatoes at the Coast Guard, MRIs, History of the World Part 1, health care in Denmark, the odds of getting killed in Inglewood at 2-6 a.m., female Buddhist Monks, camping in Napa Valley, Lakers/Celtics, greasy soup.
During the very last shot of the day I was behind a desk and found a book on the counter titled "Diagnostic Gynecology". In-between setups I read out loud several columns relating to the sexual behavior of seniors. Our P.A. named Coach looked at the book and just happened to open it up to the color photograph section of cancer-ridden & ulcerous vaginas. His reaction was PRICELESS. The truly hilarious thing about it was that he kept on looking for more pictures and reacting in the same horrified way each time, THEN he started SHARING it with as many other crew members as possible. None of them walked away! They ALL were initially horrified and then wanted to see how bad it got! I wish I had a camera at the time to get those reactions, it was killing me. "OH MY LORD WHAT IS THAT THAT'S THE MOST AWFUL THING I'VE EVER SEEN" *flips pages* "EUGH GOD ALMIGHTY I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS" *flips pages*
Work tomorrow and on a different show Friday. Hot time. Seriously. Freaking broiling.
-During tap today we basically did the same thing as last week but expanded on the time step section a little bit. Learned a triple-double time step. I'm picking up a lot of sequences that are pretty easy to remember and are good for drilling, I usually do a lot of tapping in my normal shoes on set when second team is setting up the shot. The alternate version of the shim sham I don't like as much as the one we do at Pierce, it's a lot lighter in parts and doesn't seem to really swing as much. Also improved on my pullback and double pullback off of my toes, although I have to keep my left leg from kicking out. Progress. Lindsey says that Julia and I can practically move up to Tap I already. I'll stick with Basic for another few weeks, possibly go between either class if I get booked on Wednesdays.
One thing I want to condition myself to avoid is what I call the "Tapper's Hunch". A lot of particularly good tappers tend to get this posture where their backs are slightly hunched and their arms hang out to the sides a little with their hands dangling at the wrists. I REALLY don't like it. I think there should be more overall presentation in tap, make it a full body expression like the old masters did (Jimmy Slyde, the Nicholas Brothers, etc). Regardless of the skill of the tapper I lose interest if the tapper holds the hunch and doesn't put any style or consciousness into anything above their legs. I got a ways to go but I'm getting into the habit of paying attention to what my back and arms are doing without compromising balance. |
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| Tife and Limes: 99 degrees, Burrito Time, My Car Is Melting |
[Jun. 9th, 2008|03:56 pm] |
YSO Style: Kelly
-Kelly and I have a very headbutting relationship (literally!). I got inspired over the weekend to do another portrait and decided to try something different with hers. Kelly is like 90% hair and mad freckled so the conventional black line didn't work without making her look Asian. The changes actually came pretty randomly and worked right away. Really happy with how it turned out. Not sure who's next or if I'm going to keep changing up the colors. It'll depend on whether or not it fits the person.
Not Far From The Truth: Erica
-This isn't that funny but I know everyone has that one friend who does this.
-I just spent $220 on film festival submissions. AAAAAARRRRRRGGGGGHHHHHH. Oh well. Could be worse. The waiting becomes less and less interminable as time goes on. The worst of it is behind me and I'm finally letting that sink in.
-Work tomorrow! Whoo! I have never heard of any of these shows! The times they are not so bad.
Getz/Gilberto #2 Live, Stan Getz w/ Laurindo Almeida, Tijuana Brass Re-Whipped
-I find myself preferring bossa nova the most when bolstering my jazz collection. Antonio Carlos Jobim is definitely one of my top favorites and had a lot to do with shaping my jazz preferences. I find that basically any combination of Jobim, Gilberto, Getz, Byrd, Tjader, Almeida, or Bonfa will do it for me.
I took a chance on that Tijuana Brass WC&OD disc and it's one of the best albums I've heard in the past year. Features Ozomatli and Thievery Corporation. Everything's been given an acid jazz twinge with a heavy funk slant and I CAN'T STOP LISTENING. DWA.
-Also, if you have an ounce of funk in your soul, watch this: Maceo Parker - There Was A Time. Mace lights up the solo at 2:30 and KILLS. This is the best stuff.
Edit: Here's James Brown doing There Was A Time back in 1968. Tight, soulful, outstanding performance. When he throws up his hands and brings it back down, the moment is just too sweet for words.
-My Aunt Sarah sent us a late birthday package. She refuses to ignore a birthday which has led to many pleasant surprises (every year I stop expecting stuff from any/everyone). She's also one of the few older relatives I have with whom I share some similar interests, the only other is my Uncle Leon who introduced me to Miles Davis and Thelonius Monk shortly after I picked up Jobim and Tjader.
Hmm. I wonder what theme she was going for here. Maybe bears. |
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| Tife and Limes: CARROT ROLL |
[Jun. 7th, 2008|03:15 pm] |
Based on a true situation:
FUN TIME STUDY PARTY
(Warning: Image is completely unsettling)
I absolutely need to track one of these down and hang it on my wall.
"The Egyptian God of Frustration"
Halfway through Season 4 of Babylon 5. Been going through 6-8 episodes a day. Finally knowing the whole story and the start of every major twist is great (particularly Sinclair & the fate of Babylon 4), for the most part my knowledge was knowing the ends of things and not the beginnings. There are only a few things I think were rushed (the end of Talia's story was particularly abrupt) but for the most part it's just damn good serial science fiction. Might pick up the movie box if that price ever drops.
edit: GOD these Minbari civil war episodes in the middle of the season are KILLING me. The longer the series has gone on, the more completely annoying the Minbari have become. Holy Flarn the speeches, the posturing, the speeches, the rituals, more speeches, the Valen! COME ON LIBERATION OF PROXIMA 3 (AGAIN EVEN)! On the other hand, at least I changed my mind about Neroon.
I was at Borders last Friday and came across the most preposterously cute book. I couldn't believe it at first and had to take pictures. I never would've guessed I would someday see a how-to book with an elephant doing the sun salutation. Edit: The book has been out since 2002! Boy am I late!
Babar's Yoga for Elephants
There's also Babar (Red & Yellow shorts) BENDABLE YOGA DOLLS. SQUEEEEEEEEEE
Past few weeks I've been playing Super Turbo with the fellas on GGPO. I started out just spectating Will & Noz murdering each other and finally jumped in one day as Gene was trying to improve his Dhalsim game. I started out thinking myself to be absolutely terrible but I've become a contender pretty fast. Like my KOF'98 reservations when Steve visited. Kaz & I duel our T.Hawks quite a bit. Jay & I have put our Zangiefs (Black Zang vs Aqua Zang) in epic speedo clashes with hot hot regularity. Jay and I also have the bizarre tendency to Double K.O. and dizzy on throws (wtf).
[17:48] Esco> AROOOOOOOOOOO
[17:48] Esco> I hAVE FINAL ATOMIC BUSTER'D THE jAY
[17:48] obijay> he did :(
[17:48] Esco> also earlier we were fighting zangief vs honda
[17:48] Esco> I won, he won
[17:49] Esco> then we double k.o.'d TWICE
[17:49] Esco> and the game said FUCK YA BOTH and sent it to the 1p continue screen
[17:49] Esco> the game is ludicrous
(I have only landed the FAB twice. Kaz was the first esteemed recipient)
Zangief and Fei Long are my mainstays, getting better with Chun and T.Hawk, followed with a little bit of Ryu, Dee Jay, Blanka, and Honda. My Guile is an absolute disgrace but I keep trying to use him. Making me pretty hot for SSF2T:HD, whenever that drops (I still hate Udon's art, holy BLAND & UGH). Pride Hawk, Zombie Bison, Carrot Blanka, Carrot Rog, Ghost Sim, Harajuku Guile, Lime Ken, Lemon-Lime Ryu. Good times. |
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| So ruff, so tuff, lemon cake I'm sorry what |
[Jun. 5th, 2008|11:55 pm] |
-Work has been slow for myself and everyone I talk to. Fortunately I got booked on something for today, which worked out hilariously. I had to drive down to bleedin' San Pedro so I left at about 5 a.m. I was operating on about 3 hours sleep because my attempt to knock out early at 10 failed miserably. We started at 7 a.m., they put us on a bus and drove us to location, I sat on a stoop and played my DS and then we were wrapped and back on the bus at 9:30 a.m. I didn't do SHIT. We got the full 8 hour rate plus a healthy mileage adjustment. That is what is called a good day. Got back to the valley, bought an icee, came home and took a substantial mid-day nap.
Strange business. I cannot say it enough.
-Wednesday I tried out the Basic Tap class at the PAC with Julia. The difficulty level is just about right for where I'm at. It's only an hour, so it's basically nonstop. On the first class as just part of the regular drills I learned an 8-count riff, a 12-count riff, the triple time step, bombershay, and an alternate version of the shim sham. Fortunately all the people in the class were at approximately the same experience level, I can't quite picture how it would've gone if anyone had no knowledge whatsoever. Practicing at such a rapid pace was something I'm not used to but it was challenging in a good way.
The only thing I don't like is that there's little/no time to just drill or pick things apart for ourselves. An hour is not long and access to a floor I can tap on is pretty valuable time. The class would be perfect if it were at least a half hour longer. But price wise it is the most affordable I could find, the instruction is varied and quick, and I had fun. As long as I don't get booked Wednesdays I'll be going there for the remainder of Summer.
-Last week I was at Pierce because I needed a place to practice and found that our room was open. Besides hashing out the majority of changes to my (ultimately botched) final, I found out a good deal of moves that I could do more or less safely with tap shoes on that slippery tile. There are a few things I have yet to attempt of which I believe I can save myself if I do slip, regardless anything I couldn't land 100% I knew wasn't worth trying at the time.
All the walkovers are fine, handsprings are fine (anything hand-planted first anyway), standard aerial is fine, backflips are fine. Round-offs are no good with taps on tile. Cartwheels to flips, yet to try. Slanted walkovers/aerials (meia lua reversao, aerial walkover and so on) are questionable. I've seen somebody land a pretty nasty looking butterfly twist in taps (it was like a 15 degree angle at best) and that got my mind wondering but I'll wait. Raiz, Dupla, Parafuso, probably. Gainer, still speculating.
Ask ye WHY?? Because I CAN! Also, if I can eventually integrate these moves in rhythm, that'll be something new. Once I saw a guy doing a rhythm tap performance and he abruptly stopped partway through to do a round-off and back handspring- the full corner, spot, set, and post-landing bounce. It brought the flow to a screeching halt and broke up the rhythm completely. He then continued on with the rhythm tap which had no continuity, made the whole flip a "what-the-hell" moment. The challenge here is making everything seamless and musical. I'll get there, by Krishna. It can be done.
-I am doing one-leg squats again. These are fucking tiring as hell. But I must be a complete man! A man who used to knock these out like nobody's business! I love my quads! Why is the term 'pistol squat' completely abhorrent to me? I have no idea!
-I want lemon cake! Also, a leggy brunette to make out with, possibly in the midst of said lemon cake! |
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| Tife and Limes: Tapping & Tachyon Emissions |
[Jun. 2nd, 2008|10:12 pm] |
-Freaking cocked up my final last Saturday. I made some last second changes to it the night before and just had to roll with it. Messed it up severely the first time but Emily is lenient as hell so I hit about 80% of it the second time. HUGELY disappointed with my performance. I didn't commit to it as long or as hard as I needed to. I couldn't even look up, I didn't have it down solid enough (brains self with lamp). The bright side however is that I have a basis upon which to build a MUCH longer piece. When I get back in the Fall I am going to have a two minute routine that I can do in my SLEEP. I manage to get my standard back up to par, THEN I'll start working on the really crazy stuff. Can't get ahead of myself, as much as I have a tendency to TRY to.
Jimmy Slyde died a few weeks ago. The man was a true master.
Tomorrow I'm going to hit up the PAC in Van Nuys and see what they've got for tap. Their website has been down for a few weeks but I know there's a SAG discount. I need something like 1-2 classes a week for the next three months, anywhere around $150-200 for the summer. Fall semester at Pierce doesn't start up until September. Fortunately, a lot more people said they're coming back. Sandy, Caroline, April, Meagen, maybe Anya. Times to look forward to.
-Last week I found out my handstand push-ups dropped to 2/3 of what they used to be. I was outraged with myself for neglecting my shoulders. I used to be able to do 15-20 at any time of the day. So I threw those back into rotation. With that plus all the planche work, my shoulders are all "ARGH and double ARGH previous sentence ARGH and also did I forget to mention ARGH". Good stuff. I want my deltoids back in their proper old form. Never know when a dude will get the impulse to stay upside down for prolonged periods.
It's fun to feel certain muscles wake up again. Stuff in my forearms and back particularly. During planches I've got this line across my upper back from my deltoids, traps and rhomboids that scream "HELLO WORLD I CAN RIDE A BIKE AGAIN". Hard to describe to say the least, but it's good. Really.
Gas is $4.15. I decided to postpone my return to Mats. It's just too expensive to drive into the city if it's not for work.
-Season 1 of Babylon 5 is pretty darn good. A small handful of bad episodes (TKO, AIEGH) but for the most part it has been solid. Michael O'Hare (Commander Sinclair) is KING MELODRAMA. All steel-jawed manly man all the time. Hilariously so. He works, though. Improves as the season goes on. Bruce Boxleitner later carried on a good deal of that melodramatic edge, only with more head movement and cheesy smiles. Anyway the G'Kar/Mollari feuding is SOLID GOLD. Best episodes so far have been their back and forth. The Sinclair/Garibaldi/Ivanova command structure is a nice comfy dynamic. This set is a keeper. Makes me wish Farscape was this easy to get. Being out of print, Farscape goes for $250-350 for all four seasons. Barnacles.
Crazy checking up on the cast. Andreas Katsulas (G'Kar) died two years ago from lung cancer. Richard Biggs (Dr.Franklin) died four years ago from aortic dissection.
Went back to Best Buy and all the B5 sets were gone except Season 5. The Season 5 boxes were untouched. My fellow nerds know what's up. |
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