Back to School

August 24, 2008

Breaks of any kind always seem too short. Tomorrow I go back to school again. I’m registered for a full 12 credits this time. Since I don’t have anything else to talk about at the moment, let’s look at my schedule:

Math: I believe this should be the last I must suffer of equation hell.

Introduction to Human Communication: Eww, human interaction. I’m really not looking forward to this. I took a similar class a long time ago, and hated it. I imagine I won’t like it any better the second time around. This time, however, I’ve got 3 years of real world experience interviewing job applicants. Maybe I can use my knowledge to be a pain in the ass to my teacher.

Anthropology: I signed up for this class because I needed the elective credits, and it sounded more interesting than anything else that fit the requirements. I’m hoping it will also help me create believable civilizations in my fiction. Of course, if the teacher does one of those stupid “getting to know each other” exercises where everyone has to explain why they are taking the class, I’m not sure if I will give my real reason. Perhaps I’ll say I thought we would be learning about the retail store, “Anthropologie.”

History of Graphic Design:
Another requirement, and I’ve heard it’s a pretty tough class. Between this and Anthropology, I think I’ll be writing a lot of research papers over the next four months. Oh well, at least I can laugh at the minimum word counts that seem to make so many students quake in fear.

I don’t mind writing research papers, though the stringent requirements to provide sources for all assertions does tend to kill the joy. I look at it as a challenge to write something for academia that isn’t dryer than an Arizona winter. Who knows, maybe I’ll even produce something worth posting here.

Logo Revision 3

August 17, 2008

You might have noticed a new logo gracing the upper left hand corner. I thought my last logo revision was a real improvement, but I still just wasn’t happy. Below you can see the progression from version 1. I really like this one, but we’ll see how I feel after a few months. Google plays with their logo all the time, so I figure I’m entitled to do the same thing.

MySpace Sellout

August 15, 2008

I decided to join the masses and create a MySpace profile. I’ll be using a plug-in app called iRead to display some of my favorite books, and short book reviews.

Check out my profile at : www.myspace.com/erellsworth

If you have your own profile, I’d be happy to add you to my friends list.

I’m boycotting this post

August 11, 2008

For a film featuring Robert Downy Jr. in black face, you’d think it might be the NAACP who’s got their broccoli steamed over Tropic Thunder. That’s not the case. At least not yet. No, this time it’s advocates for the mentally handicapped who are calling for a boycott. Apparently sections of the movie use the word “retard” and make fun of the mentally challenged.

The head of the American Association of Disabled Persons was quoted as saying, “I understand the studio, director and writers were trying to be over-the-top, but in doing so around the use of the word retard, they really crossed the line…My biggest fear is high school boys will see this thing and think its cool to use this word and play with it the way it’s played with in the movie.” Sorry buddy, I think you’re a little late. Like it or not, I’m pretty sure school boys already have their share of fun with offensive words.

What I find ironic is that boycotts just don’t work anymore. They might have been effective when used during the civil rights movement, but that was a real cause, with real support. Boycotting an organization for blatant discrimination is one thing. Boycotting a movie because it offends you is just silly.

Whether or not you find such humor offensive is irrelevant. A large, organized boycott may convince a significant number of people to avoid a film. What’s more likely is that it will drum up a lot of free publicity, as I believe is the case with Tropic Thunder.

5 movies I won’t see this summer

August 6, 2008

Hancock
I’m just plain tired of Will Smith.

The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor
Another sequel in the Mummy Franchise? Really? There was more to the “story” than they could cover in the first 2? Are you serious?

Swing Vote
Sorry, the premise here is just too weak. The outcome of a presidential election comes to ride on the vote of one average schmo? Sorry, but I think we all know that questionable elections are decided by lawyers.

Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2
I think this one is obvious. I never saw the first one, so I’m sure I wouldn’t be able to grasp the complex plot points of the sequel.

Disaster Movie
When I was a teenager, I thought Spaceballs was one of the greatest movies ever made. I was also a fan of the Naked Gun films, Airplane, and Hot Shots. I enjoy a good spoof. In my estimation, the Hot Shots movies were the last good film spoofs. I even have to admit to enjoying the first 2 Scary Movie films.

Unfortunately, those 2 films ushered in a string of the worst parody movies ever: Date Movie, Epic Movie, Meet the Spartans, and now Disaster Movie. I cringe every time I see a preview for another one of these so-called movies.

These “spoofs” are so vapid they can’t even stick to parodying their chosen genre. According to the Disaster Movie website, the film is “taking aim at everything and everyone, from ‘Indiana Jones’ and ‘Iron Man’ to Amy Winehouse and High School Musical.” Look at the movie posters and you’ll see they also take aim at The Hulk, Hellboy, Batman, Ironman, Kung Fu Panda, and even Alvin and the Chipmunks.

One could argue that Alvin and the Chipmunks was a disaster, but it’s hardly a disaster movie. Where parody films used to mock the clichés of one particular movie, or genre, the team of Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer just snatch up bits and pieces of every popular movie on the market and threw them into a blender.

Dr Horrible

August 5, 2008

If you haven’t seen this yet, you must go check it out right this second.

Back during the writer’s strike, Joss Whedon got together with some friends and set out to misbehave. Er, that is, they aimed to produced a quality piece of entertainment without the interference of evil overlords.

The result of their venture is a hilarious 3 act short film that affirms the power of basic story telling structure. Act 1 establishes the characters and the conflict. Act 2 raises the tension. Act 3 brings a resolution.

According to the website, the film was only supposed to be available until July 20th, but for some reason it’s still there. So go watch it while it’s still online.

Pickle Fork

July 22, 2008

My girlfriend and I created a mutual shop on Etsy called Pickle Fork. If you haven’t heard about Etsy, it’s like Ebay for artists and crafters. I intend to offer prints of some of my photographs at some point, and my girlfriend will be selling a variety of craft related items. Check out her original Etsy shop here. She makes the most amazing polymer clay beads you’ll ever see. I think there’s some kind of sorcery involved, but I haven’t found any lizard eye of newt laying around the house.

Anyway, the whole point of this post is to show off some of the Pickle Fork graphics I’ve been working on:

The Avatar/Logo:
Pickle Fork Avatar

The Banner:
Pickle Fork Banner

The Pickle Fork Mascot:
Pickle Fork Mascot

My Top 5 Favorite Zombie Movies

July 17, 2008

When you run over a zombie, you get a little blood on the windshield.5. Undead

This movie has over the top zombie destruction, just the right amount of camp, and a twist ending that doesn’t come off as lame. Oh, and there are Zombie fish. You can’t beat that with a shovel.

Great quote: “When I was a kid, we respected our parents, we didn’t eat ‘em!”

Time to mow the zombies.4. Dead Alive (aka Braindead)

Peter Jackson’s zombie masterpiece revels in camp, gore, violence, and blasphemy. During the climax the hero straps a lawnmower to his chest to battle the undead. While the chainsaw and the shotgun are clearly the weapons of choice for fighting zombies, the lawnmower deserves honorable mention at the least.

Great quote: “I kick ass for the Lord!”

mmm, bbq zombie!3 Dawn of the Dead (2004)

Yes, I like it better than the original. It’s just a tighter piece of cinema. Aside from the obvious improvements in special effects, the film flows better, and doesn’t suffer the pacing problems the original did.

Great quote: “I have an idea. We draw straws and the loser runs across the lot with a ham sandwich.”

sawing a zombie's head off2 Return of the Living Dead

This is 80’s horror movie camp at its finest, and funniest. If you’re a real zombie fanatic, you’ll notice a song by The Cramps on the soundtrack. Some other songs by this band also make references to the living dead.

Great quote: “You think this is a costume? This is a way of life!”

The cricket bat is arguably the new zombie fighter's weapon of choice.

1 Shaun of the Dead

For me this film represents the pinnacle of the zombie movie pop culture resurgence. While most zombie comedies get their laughs with pure camp, Shaun of the Dead does so with brilliant writing, and great comedic timing.

Great quote: “Lizzy, how can you put your faith in a man you spectacularly binned for being unreliable? A man whose idea of a romantic nightspot and an impenetrable fortress are the same thing?”

Free Nature Themed Wallpaper

July 15, 2008

Just click on the resolution you need. If your monitor has a different resolution, leave me a comment and I’ll see what I can do. Enjoy:


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Personal Rejection

July 13, 2008

Rejection is never pleasant., but the sting isn’t as bad when you get a personalized note. Today I received just that in regards to Hole in the Wall.

While we liked your writing, we didn’t see much point to the story or why all those things were happening to him.

This may not be a treasure trove of feedback, but it’s still valuable. Plus, it’s always nice to know that someone at least read the submission. When I get a form letter I have to wonder if the editor ever made it past the first page, or if they decided it was rubbish within the first paragraph and didn’t bother to continue.

On a side note, Hole in the Wall does have a point. I guess I buried it too far in the subtext. Back to the drawing board.