Episode 38: Summer Daze (or: Vacations!)

So in five days I will turn 22. This is nothing, to me. I seem to no longer really care so much for my own birthdays. It isn't that I'm not excited to continue growing up (note: not so excited, though), but I just don't feel the joy building inside me like I used to when I was a kid, or - to a much lesser extent - even a year ago. Oh well.

I've been working fairly nonstop all summer, and now I'm taking an Acct. course for the credits to help with my Marketing Minor at Drake. This has been eating up a lot of my free time as of late, keeping me fairly busy. Add to that the extensive writing I've been doing, as well as reading the entire Bret Easton Ellis library and watching episodes of Frasier on DVD (with my photo project to boot), and I've been very busy.

This past week at work I nearly shut down; I was bored, I didn't feel it was worth the time, and it was simply a chore to do (which, I'm to understand, is the definition of "work" anyhow). I was tired all the time... I needed a vacation.

Now I'm (sorta) on it.

Last night I attended a Roger Waters concert, which was awesome. If you don't know who that is, chances are you've heard him but didn't realize it. Roger is the bass player for Pink Floyd and has a great solo career. I saw him in Omaha last night and he played the entire length of Dark Side of the Moon (the album) on stage, plus some stuff off The Wall and his own material.

It was amazing.

The seats were awesome, the music was great (Roger's guitar players were awesome, especially the guy that NAILED all of Gilmour's guitar licks), and Roger's voice was on pitch the entire time. Also, he made fun of and bashed Bush quite a bit, which was awesome.

Then, today, I went and saw Knocked Up (4.8 out of 5) and Sicko (4 out of 5) for my older brother, Dr. Pete Bartels' birthday. It was cool.

Now I'm home, ready to go to work for two days, take and Acct test, then continue my vacation with a 4th of July shindig in Des Moines with friends, as well as working on getting the Drake Lit Society up and running to... better standards than before.

Then its back home for work, classes, and less sleep again.

I'm excited.

Episode 37: Fantastic Pictures (or: Photographic Four)

As promised, here are both things I said I'd do yesterday, about fifteen minutes late:

First off, Fantastic Four: The Silver Surfer (he didn't really rise, so to speak) was pretty awesome. The first movie suffered from some... interesting pacing issues as well as a kinda weak script. The lines were cheesy, the acting was kinda bad, and the special effects were only so-so. And Dr. Doom was wasted.

Not so in FF2; First off, the story was just right. It had balance of humor and drama and tied up every loose end it created (unlike two other blockbusters I can think of... Spider Man and Pirates, I'm looking at you guys...). This time, instead of... uh... nothing happening for 90 minutes, the planet is in danger and the FF are there to step up and defend it. Along with Dr. Doom who pretends to be good but, come on, anyone with any comic book knowledge knows better.

Then there's the Silver Surfer. His origin isn't really covered in great detail, but you don't need it. To make him a fully fleshed out character is what ruins movies like this. Davey Jones would have been much better if they'd left him to be just.... Davey Jones. But in Pirates 3 they just tried to hard and, well, that movie sucked. In this movie, though, the "bad guys" (more on Galactus in a second...) are not given the greatest depth; Dr. Doom got his in the first movie, the Surfer is really just a pawn, and Galactus is just a storm cloud (again, more in a bit). This movie needed to be about the Fantastic Four's growth as a team and as individual characters since the first movie decided against this, and this time it worked.

And Galactus; If you're big into comic books, you know Galactus is a giant man in a purple/blue suit with a ridiculous helmet. In this kind of movie, it would only have been made fun of if that is how he appeared. So instead, the writing team for this film decided to make him a storm cloud that kills planets. And it worked. When the thing finally shows up to Earth near the film's climax, you'll be awed.

All in all? Not the best comic book movie made (Spider-Man 2, X2, and Batman Begins are in a constant war for that title), but its the best movie so far out of the summer blockbusters. And that's saying a lot. I give it a 4 1/2 out of 5 stars.
___________________________________

Now on to the picture show:

This summer I'm doing a little photo project I'm calling... well, I don't know yet. But basically its me taking group photos of myself. Here, have a look at the first batch of them:

This one I'm calling "The Band" for obvious reasons. Its the first one I did and kinda rough.

I'm calling this one "The Selection" because we're trying to figure out what movie to watch.

I'm calling this one "The Game" for, again, obvious reasons.

So there you have it. A movie review and some stupid looking pictures. What more could you ask for?

Enjoy, and see you soon!

Episode 36: Finding Direction (or: Chasing Amy)

Tonight at work - while I was supposed to be doing my job - my story found a direction, and took off.

I'd had nothing. No major plot, no over-arching themes, no structure, no real character development... nothing. It was just page after page of story.

I've been writing it in small chunks, or chapters if you will, out of any kind of sequence and without any real regard to any of the content I'd produced before it, or had in my head to produce after it. Sometimes this material was dependant on other, like-material, but most of the time it was not. Each chunk told its own, small story, then moved on.

Off topic: "Rocky Balboa" is a fantastic movie and I want to watch it RIGHT NOW. It would probably make me cry at some point.

Anyhow, tonight, while coming up with my very first named character (aside from the main one, I'd been using placeholder names that described the character. For example, mine would be [Author] instead of Skyler), a female character named Amy Headwright, and the situation Amy resided in, it all came together.

Now my story has a place its going. It will need a clear origin, and then after that some form of structure. Both my greatest fear and greatest hope is that, when I finish writing this monster of a story, that I will be left with all its bits and pieces strung about in no order for me to shuffle about and use to shape its final form; Safer Sephiroth.... I mean, a complete story.

But I'm far from that, now. If I had to give its completion a fraction of some kind, I would probably say it is near 2/13ths of the way done. But I just hit that second 13th tonight, and I'm thrilled as hell about it.

So, if you ever read this thing (if I ever finish, first, I guess), and you get to the first page that has Amy Headwright's name on it, know that I thank her with all my heart; she's made this mish-mash of ideas and short vignettes into something far more grand... An honest to God story.

In the near future (i.e. Thursday) I will be posting my nearly-a-week-late review of Fantastic Four 2, as well as giving you a sneak peek at my summer-long photo project.
See you all at the picture show,
-Skyler

Episode 35: Story (or: What I'm Writing About)

So, since I blog in many other places far more often than I even look at this site, I figured I'd let you all in on a little secret; the themes, characters, and general plot for my new story I've been working on for the past week.

The story is -currently!- titled "The Many Loves of Everbody Stills" and, as you can probably guess, focuses on one main character, namely a man named Everbody Stills. This is a strange name, I know, but it came to me while I was in the shower one day and, well... It is what it is. Don't debate things like this with me... Once I've made up my mind on it, it's pretty much done.

This story is going to chronicle the life of Everbody from his conception to his near-death (and possibly further, not sure yet...) and deal with, as the temporary title suggests, his many loves throughout that life.

But I'm a comedian first and a drama person second, you say? How could I possibly write a love story? Well, let me inform you that this will be no LOVE story. Not. A. Love story.

More to the point, it is a story of what it is to love and the dire effects that this has on a human being and his life. It is also a story of man's quest to find love and fulfill the missing gap in himself that can only be filled by the returned love of a woman (or man, but not in this story, pal!).

As is the case in real life, this story will have ups and down, comic moments of sheer gold balanced out with depressing bogs of sorrow and pain. Everbody will be run through the gauntlet by the time it reaches the story's conclusion.

I have, to date, 130+ single-spaced pages and am not close to finishing. Chances are good that I'll have more content than I'll know what to do with by the time I either finish it and start to compile and organize (I'm not writing in a flowing narrative... I'm writing in sections... GOD HELP ME!) or I give up and quit. But I'm having fun, and I know the entire story, so...

Anyhow, otherwise... I guess in the near future I'll have some more movie reviews (Silver Surfer and Knocked Up for example), and I'll share some wonderful pictures/stories about summer. Until then, though....

Godspeed,
-Skyler

Episode 34: "WHERE ARE YOU?!" (or: Here I am!)

I haven't been keeping up to date here very well, recently, and now I have a legitimate excuse (or so I would like you all to believe):

Aside from working nights (7pm-3am) most every night of the week, including weekends (which kills a lot of spare time I'd normally have, what with my stupid sleep schedule and all), I have stumbled upon something huge.

Deep within my mind, accumulating silently over the past six-to-seven years, a story has formed. Something large and grand, and unlike anything I've ever dreamed of producing outside the confines of my imagination. And last night, without much warning, it began flooding out of my and onto paper while I sat at my job.

For the past 16 work-hours, I have been working feverishly and produced over 58 single-spaced pages of good, interesting, and fresh content, straight from my mind's word-bakery. It is the most I've put together in my entire life, and the first substantial content I've created in nearly a full year.

Fearing for the past five months that I'm dry in the writing department, this has been both exciting and frightening. What if it's not as up-to-snuff as I seem to think it is? What if it just plain stinks?

The most fun part of it is, I don't care one bit. I'm going with it, working on it when I can (which seems to be while I should be doing my job) and where I can. This work is different than anything I've ever done; it's fun, adventurous, and challenging, and I can't wait to see where I end up.

Wish me luck.

Godspeed,
-Skyler

Episode 33: [Movie Title Here] 3: Sucks (or: Why Pirates 3 Was Trash)

Ok, I'm only going to warn you once and once only:HERE BE SPOILERS
Ok, that's done.

I loved the first two Pirates movies. I really, really did. I saw them both in theaters and loved them. The first one was fun and new and had pirates. The second one was more of the same, plus Davey Jones. It was win/win all around.

After the ending of the second film, it was clear that parts 2 and 3 were basically separated conjoined twins, although most people knew that going in. However, the wonderful setup of the second film almost promised a grand third and (God, I hope) final act.

These things included, at the very least, the rescue of Jack, the return of Barbossa, the story of Davey Jones, Will and his father, Will and Elizabeth's love, Jack and Elizabeth's love?, the heart of Davey Jones, the East India Trading Company, Cuttler and Jack's Past, Mr. Swan's loyalties, etc. There were many more, but they all seemed small and insignificant after watching Barbossa walk down those stairs.

So I waited a year, and what happens?

Garbage.

Like, I said, spoilers ahoy, from the beginning I knew I was in trouble when Barbossa was considered a Pirate Lord, on of the great captains. How can he and Jack be members of this council if Barbossa became captain by having a mutiny against Jack? I can understand one of them at a time, but they were never both captains of the same boat at the same time.

The scene where Jack is "dead" goes on for far too long (both during the scene and the effects of it throughout). The surrealist feel wasn't even well carried out. And the eventual rescue was poorly paced. The characters show up and instantly find him. "He's closer than you think" is a terrible device to use to move the story faster.

And why would Davey Jones put Jack there WITH THE BOAT if someone could just get out of (off?) his Locker?!

After Jack and Cuttler have their meeting, I expected them to go over the "mark" Jack had left on him, mentioned in the second film. By the end of the movie, when Cuttler is dead, there is no mention of this at all. Nothing.

There is an intense battle set up near the end of the film, where all the pirate lords have ships to fight the Company's armada. There's billions of ships, but only the Black Pearl and the Flying Dutchman fight. All the other ships sit there and wait. Then, after one armada ship is taken down, the rest of the Company's ships just turns around and leaves. One ship down, and an entire armada flees? And what did those pirate lords do, exactly? Argue for 20 minutes then do nothing until the battle is over, then cheer? Weak.

Davey Jones, an interesting character, portrayed as both cruel and sympathetic, is revealed to be the lover of Tia Dalma, or the water god Calypso. There is a scene where Davey Jones turns human. You think maybe, just maybe, after everything is said and done, at least they would have a standoff of some kind after all the backstabbing and double-crosses they've but each other through, but no. He just dies. Two movies worth of set-up for a character, no execution. Pathetic.

And don't get me started on Calypso. Not a character AT ALL in part two, minor role that builds in part three, she turns into a giant, turns into a bunch of rock crabs, makes a storm, really does nothing, and then is gone. Wow, great writing!

Will and his father seemed tacked on. Barbossa seemed tacked on. The pirate lords seemed tacked on. There were 90 deaths that were not needed (Gov. Swan, Norrington, Davey Jones, etc.) or that could have been handled better. It was all garbage. And killing both Gov. Swan and beaching the Krakken off-screen, when both were memorable aspects of the first two movies... this is unforgivable.

And let's not forget trying to keep up with the movie series' millions of character driven subplots. Every person has some other things going on in every scene, making it impossible to even focus on this final one. To illustrate how bad this is, I have drawn a diagram that maps out all the characters' subplots. (diagram in no way spellchecked)

So, it was disappointing. Two great movies, one big lump of poop. Tarnishing the series, "At World's End" just reminds me that trying to do too much with a plot can ruin a great movie.

I give this 2/10, and hope to never see it again.

Episode 32: Skyler Returns (or: Who are you...?)

Well well well, long time no see, eh? I know, I know... this will probably be "too little, too late" for most of you dear fans. Although, I don't really think I've got what qualifies as "dear fans," so...

Where have I been for over a month? Well, many places. None of which were that entertaining.

The end of the semester was an incredible mess. Having been largely apathetic about school and everything else, finals were a disaster that was unavoidable. If any lessons were learned by me this past semester, they were much appreciated. Here are some thing I have learned to avoid or change in my scholastic life:

Sleep - Yeah, I know... I've never been good at sleeping or keeping regular hours. But I rarely was in bed before 3AM most nights. This, of course, meant that waking up was an impossibility.

Eating - I costarted a little group called 10.5 which got together every evening and consumed foodstuffs at 10:30PM every night and, typically, sat down and chatted until 1AM. It is easy to see that this caused problems for my sleeping, but it also gave me quite terrible heartburn that lead to my eventual disphagia which, if you you look it up, is not really that cool a thing to suffer from.

Class Attendance - Go to every class. There is no excuse outside of being too sick or too dead. Otherwise, you're just too stupid.

Study for tests - This is going to sound like old news, but I can't stress enough how stupid you'll feel when you get a test back and, instead of a right answer, you had drawn a stupid little cartoon in hopes of getting a single point because it was funny. The only thing the professor will think is funny is how stupid you are and the face you make when you see your grade.

Friends - Friends are cool; girlfriends are cool. But consarn it there needs to be a limit. I like hanging out as much as the next person, but if you've got some assignment due the next day or a paper to write... Do that first. Guitar Hero 2 or Casino Royale will still be there the next day. The ability to turn in that paper won't.

Video Games - As mentioned before, Guitar Hero 2 or Final Fantasy of Halo or whatever your poison is... These are all great ways to relieve stress or waste time, or have fun. But do it in moderation. 15 minutes of homework should never compensate for 4 hours of Freebird on Expert mode. They always say that video games kill brain cells, and I think now I believe them.

Aside from this and the fear of my GPA and ability to attend school next semester, this summer has been nothing but simple and complicated. My old job wanted me back, so every other day I've driven a half an hour to fill out random paper work all over again (for the fourth time, they make you do it each rehire process you go through) and start actual work on Sunday evening.

I've been to my grandmother's house which was, as per usual, very boring. But I got to meet some old women down at the senior center and... Well, no, that was very boring, too.

My older brother is graduating from med school this weekend which is terrifying and exciting and sad and all that. It's been a long crawl for him, and as proud as I am it'll be hard not really seeing him for four years.

Otherwise, I'm going to get back in the habit of updating this thing on a regular basis. So, I hope to see you on here again fairly soon.

(Also, I'll probably review movies or something this summer, starting with Pirates 3 which is out this weekend and will more than likely be the best movie I've ever seen.)

Have a great summer!
-Skyler