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| 06:46am 18/09/2009 |
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Now that this place is empty, I look back on my life and reflect on what little there is.
I realize, I have never really fallen in love. |
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| So I got this Playstation 3 |
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| 11:46am 12/07/2009 |
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I have Little Big Planet and Metal Gear Solid 4 yet to be played. I've ordered Fallout 3 and Disgaea 3 which are on their way. For my wii I've got No More Heroes (US version) and Super Mario Galaxy and for the DS I've got Disgaea DS. But all of these can wait until I finsh( ...... ) |
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| 07:18am 08/07/2009 |
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I love catching the bus, especially when it's packed with people. Under careful observation you will notice that the bus is a gathering of all the anti-social outcasts of society who are forced to deal with being gathered with others. No one talks to each other or strikes a conversation with someone they don't know. If they do (it's usually some old person who just doesn't get it), notice how the conversation won't last more than 30 seconds before there is dead silence for the rest of the trip. It's especially great when there are so many of us on the bus that there are no seats available (sitting next to a stranger is awkward enough), so the leftover passengers have to stand in the aisle. Then, when the aisle is getting a little crowded, the guy at the end who is in the center of the bus should usually move back so more people can get on, but this guy is totally clueless about the ethics of bus travel and will continually stand where he is until he is actually told what to do by the bus driver, in the meantime he's taking in glares from all directions and starts feeling insecure about himself because he knows he's not doing something, he just doesn't know what. It's usually a guy that this happens to, girls have a bit more common sense in anti-social ethics. I like it how girls can take the hint that I'm NOT giving hints.
I may be coming off as a bit cynical about all this, but I'm telling the truth! This is what the real face of humanity looks like. If you want your daily dose of the "human condition" staring you in the face, just catch a bus with a lot of people on it. Try and avoid school-kids though, most of them are catching the bus because they're too young to drive and they don't quite grasp The Meaning. |
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| 09:12pm 01/07/2009 |
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The other day at a gig I went to I saw these two guys who call themselves "Neckhold". They are touring USA this month so go see them and tell me what you think. |
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| whoa, where did I go? |
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| 01:18am 22/06/2009 |
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I bought a game for the Wii called "Fragile: Farewell Ruins of the Moon", which plays like a survival/horror combined with RPG elements but also a sort of exploration-type feel to it. The story is about dramatic interactions with the main character and other characters who have experienced too much loneliness, mostly due to the fact that the population of the planet has mostly died out after a major catastrophe.
I played this game for about 3 days straight, it would have been shorter if I didn't get stuck at one point and the guy who wrote the walk-through on GAMEFAQS hadn't stopped writing it up to the point I was stuck. I was enthralled by the detail of this game and it's rich depth put into it, even if I didn't get most of it since the game is still in Japanese and hasn't been ported into English yet. I finally beat the last boss and watched a 10 minute cut scene that I couldn't really follow, but was eager to see what might come after the credits. The credits finished and then my console reset. I went back into the game and it was at my last save point, so there's no second playthrough or anything. I guess it's one of those "art games".
So now I'm about to colour in a weird line-art I just drew that was sort of inspired by it but you can't really tell..
( this. ) |
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| so.. |
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| 01:14pm 10/06/2009 |
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Lords of Chaos will be made into a movie about teen angst and rebellion, with the vampire guy from Twilight playing the role of Varg [edit: NOT Robert Pattinson but the other guy]. This is probably the best idea for a film since Aeon Flux.
If Varg-lovers will hate it and Varg-haters will hate it, then what's the point? |
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| Monoliths & Dimensions |
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| 06:04pm 06/06/2009 |
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I don't know how, but SunnO))) keep tapping into the very things I obsess over. There's consciousness subtracting to nothingness in death, there's land beasts with such great momentum they soar through the air, there's oracles and now we have monoliths, dimensions and ampersands!
The album is a monumental effort. No wonder it took so long. "Alice" has the best use of motorized cymbal I have ever heard, "Aghartha" has a consh-shell section (!), "Big Church" has a choir PLUS Dylan Carlson and "Hunting&Gathering (Cydonia)" is so unforgettable I can't remember a thing about it.
All tracks feature my hero Oren Ambarchi. Here's a cool story: One time I went to see Oren Ambarchi live and at the merchandise desk they had Gravetemple's limited edition demo CD "Ambient/Ruin". I picked it up and they sold it to me for $25 because they had no idea what it was. I bet I could sell it for $200 on eBay but then I'd be getting rid of a pretty cool CD, so I won't. |
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| I'm seeing Paul Dianno tonight. |
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| 06:47am 05/06/2009 |
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Probably my favourite singer for Iron Maiden, and the only one who was kicked out of the band because he was too cool. I haven't heard a thing from his solo career (because I can't find any of it) so I'm hoping to be either pleasantly surprised or pleasantly amused.
I remember my relief when I discovered one of his bands was called "Killers" and not "The Killers". |
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| s s s ssss s s sss ssssss |
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| 12:50am 10/05/2009 |
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Synechdoche New York is out in cinemas for this week only in Australia! It's actually only being screened in 5 cinemas in the country. The one in Brisbane is a bit out of the way but I have to see it, even though I have it on DVD.
I haven't done a rant about this film on my LJ, but I have elsewhere. Unlike some reviewers, I actually embraced the fact that I didn't get it on the first watch. I was thrilled that I just watched a film that will require multiple viewings to even vaguely understand it. I have never felt so stimulated before by a film that FORCES your mind to actually think about what it just saw. It's my favourite kind of gem that seems to fall into obscurity, the kind of film that seems to have a logical story but slowly it starts to make less and less sense and by the end you don't know what just happened*. But then you find that if you look at the film at a deeper level, read the film-language not as a straight narrative, but more like elaborate poetry, then the light of clarity will shine through your head and you climax over yourself just from pure thought.
The trick with Synechdoche New York is that you are meant to watch it as if there is no 4th wall. Think of the story as not being directed by Charlie Kaufman, but directed by the character Caden Cotard, and what you're watching is Cotard's vision of Philip Seymour-Hoffman playing the character of Caden Cotard. I think the film is supposed to work as a cinematic viewing, with the whole cinemas system of the lights going down, you watch a strange dream-like picture then the lights go up and you feel like you've just awoken. The film itself uses dream-logic. This won't be nearly as effective on a TV screen. It may be pretty close with a projector but not quite the same. I'm glad I've watched it on DVD because I'm prepared for what I'm getting.
*If I were to try and think of other films like this, off the top of my head there would be 2001: A Space Odyssey, The Fountain, End of Evangelion and probably some others that escape me. I'd have to compile a proper list, although I wouldn't include anything by David Lynch because I don't think they really are meant to be figured out. |
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| MOVIE NIGHT AT MY HOUSE! (photos taken with my DSi) |
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| 06:55pm 30/04/2009 |
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Hello! Welcome to Movie Night at Archfriend's House! All of these will be played from our living-room projector on to our large blank white wall (ignore the stains) and everyone will be served with a complimentary glass of Vodka.
First off we begin the night with -
Falstaff (Chimes At Midnight)
Specially imported from Spain (don't worry it's in English, well, Shakespearian English) this is the rare masterpiece by Orson Welles, one that he himself always raved on about. The story is a compressed version of both Henry IV, Part 1 and Henry IV, Part 2 by William Shakespeare, with elements of Richard II, Henry V and The Merry Wives of Windsor thrown in. Centered around Shakespeare's original character, John Falstaff, it is here that Orson Welles summarized a sprawling Shakespeare epic into film-format, using bits of material that otherwise suited the theatre. The film is wall-to-wall (except for the giant battle scenes) with Shakespeare-talk so if you aren't learned in complicated English words then you'll be left behind. However, with intense active listening skills you might just be entertained with the high-brow comedie experience.
Up next we have -
Love & Pop* and Shiki Jitsu ("Ritual")
Specially imported from Japan (the US version of Love & Pop is out of print) comes these two rare masterpieces of cinema. After finishing the animated world of Evangelion, before starting on the adaptation of Cutie Honey, estranged yet highly respected story-teller Hideaki Anno decided to make these two very personal projects. Love & Pop is an interesting exercise in obscure film techniques you'll never see anywhere else plus dynamic editing that thrusts you into the story weather you can follow it or not. Shiki Jitsu is the most significant film in existence, adapted from a book written by Fujitani Ayako (Steven Seagal's daughter) AND she also acts the leading role as her own fictional character! On top of that, we have cult film director Iwai Shunji also acting in the lead male role, a big deal because this is his only film he's acted in! There are more things to explain about it but I would be just drawling on about something which could easily just go into its own post. I'll do that later.
*no subtitles
If you're still around then get ready for -
Il Buono, Il Brutto, Il Cattivo
Specially imported from Italy this is the original 168 minute version which Sergio Leone originally intended! This will also feature the underwhelming monoreal soundtrack complete with sound-drops and all the static crackles and pops!! It's all in Italian with no subtitles so you will have complete purist-enjoyment.
And now to take us into the early hours of the morning we will watch -
Droopy, the complete theatrical collection
Get ready for non-stop laughing (on the inside) as this specially-imported-from-the-USA 2-disc set of 24 theatrical shorts climaxes all over the screen! After leaving the Warner Brother's studio tired of such bland characters like Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck or Porky Pig, Tex Avery went to MGM with complete freedom to make fully animated shorts of his own character, Droopy. These are non-stop gag based animations the way Tex Avery imagined cartoons to be. They will be watched in chronological order in its entirety so we can count how many gags were recycled! Also, witness the crude racial humour that reflected the times in American society from when these were made! You'll be laughing your brains out (on the inside)!!
Well that's it. After all that you will be kicked out into the cold grey morning and you'll have to make your own way home because I don't drive a car. |
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| Smashing the Antiu, once a year. |
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| 07:28am 07/04/2009 |
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Performance video for "Execration Text"
It's still unclear to me why John Vesano is no longer the bassist/vocalist for Nile. Just look at him! (in "Execration Text" and "Black Seeds of Vengeance" videos) He is a beast of a man. If I were in a death metal band I would want to keep that guy no matter what the cost.
Live performance for "Black Seeds of Vengeance"
Before Vesano there was a guy called Chief Spires but I don't know what he looked like. That's a pretty cool name though. Strangely enough after John Vesano left (after completing the "Annihilation of the Wicked" album) Nile's songs became a lot more catchier.
Demonstration of the guitars in "Papryus Containing the Spell to Preserve It's Possessor Against Attacks from He Who is in the Water" - Karl Sanders on the Left and Dallas Toler-Wade on the right.
The melodies are a lot more stronger on their last album, "Ithyphallic". It also helped that Karl Sanders and Dallas Toler-Wade weren't focused on the drumming side, as they left that up to their drummer (George Kollias). That is pretty logical to me. If a guitarist, who in most circumstances wouldn't know how to drum in the first place, wrote the drumming parts would it be anywhere near as creative as it would be if the drummer wrote his own part? Just listen to a song like "Eat of the Dead" from their last album, compared to a similar type of song from the previous album "Von Unaussprechlichen Kulten". Both are great songs, but Eat of the Dead has so many little subtleties in its drumming (try air-drumming to it) that you know only the genius of a proper drummer could come up with that.
Preview of George Kollias' "Intense Metal Drumming" DVD
I've been listening to Nile lately, partly because Karl Sanders' new solo album "Saurian Exorcisms" is coming out next week and I've already pre-ordered it. His last solo album "Saurian Meditations" is excellent, it took a while to really grow on me but now every time I listen to it only gets better and better. It's almost like a soundtrack to a forbidden movie. I think the best two songs are "Of The Sleep Of Ishtar" and "Contemplations Of The Endless Abyss", the latter being relevant to my interest of avant-garde soundscapes that creep me out.
OK now I have to go and find all these youtube videos.. |
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| 05:57am 31/03/2009 |
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Wow! what a great turnout! A total of zero (0) people turned up and we had a blast! The movie was great and everyone cried. "This movie makes me want to kill myself" said !error---38939820392093beep102982line5notavailable--error!be back next week for Garth Marenghi's Darkplace, audio commentary edition! |
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| Yo. 8-j |
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| 10:12am 30/03/2009 |
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I got Synecdoche, New York on DVD if anyone wants to see it (on a projector!) than be at my place tonite 8:30pm SHARP. |
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| one of these days... |
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| 03:14pm 05/03/2009 |
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One of these days I'm going to write a screenplay for Watchmen 2, and when it gets made into a film people will be all like "wow and I thought Alan Moore didn't suck!" |
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| 01:21pm 04/02/2009 |
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It is worthy to note that this film:
"UZUMAKI" is now in my possession.
It is important I mention this becuase my LJ is titled "Obsession With Spirals" and this is a film about a small Japanese town where everyone is obssessed with spirals. This DVD isn't available in Australia either so I had to import it from USA, which is a hardcore thing to do at this point in time. |
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archfriend's journal