Until the end of the world again

For stuff that is updated more often, please visit me at http://cattterpillarboy.deviantart.com/ and http://catterpillarboy.livejournal.com .

Drop me a note or comment too, unless my suspicions are true and I am the last man on earth and no one else is out there.

In other words, WE’RE FUCKED.

Once upon a time in the not-too-distant future (in distant days longing to sense it all so clear):

Still no new tale to tell lately.

Writer’s block is still affecting me and for the life of me I cannot lately put pen to paper and make universes appear out of nowhere. There is the useless short story contest that the Austin Chronicle has every year and I just heard of a British short story contest that is open for submissions internationally (with a nice financial prize for first place too) that should have gotten the creative juices flowing all over the place. .

But even with the cash incentive, I feel a bit apathetic to those contests. I get bursts of ideas every now and then (like what is the deal with the guy who was born from the coupling of a man of the sea and a woman of the mountains; and one of these days I really get to get down and tell the amazing tale of the Last Ones Left Alive) but it seems the creative spark is just there smoldering and refusing to fully flame on.

Maybe it is the holidays, maybe it is the state of the world, maybe it’s the fact that I am land locked (I miss the ocean), maybe it’s the fact that whaling is going on again, maybe it’s the war(s) all over the world and maybe it’s the fact that another year is about to end and I have not written anything significantly new.

One thing it is not though is that I am another year older. Fcuk that noise! With my luck I may turn out to immortal. Forced to the living hell and forced to see how hollow the general populace of humanity becomes. Yes, there are those that create new cures for cancers (didja hear the one where they created a cancer proof rat? The cells are programmed to EXPOLDE if they even get a hint of being cancerous. Okay not EXPLODE, but it’s more fun to imagine that than silent self disintegration.).

But more often than not, the normal person we see are those that are forced to waste two days waiting in line for Black Friday so they can finally afford a lap top (by the way, I can’t afford a lap top even at Black Friday prices). The normal person that can bear to watch the detritus and crap that gets shown on the boob tubes. The kind that still thinks that awards shows really celebrate quality.

Yes- more people get their fill of entertainment online nowadays but remember that that portal into hell known as TMZ was a website first so there is no excuse.

I am reminded of a scene in the original Books of Magic where Tim Hunter ventures into the end of mankind and discovers that humanity has evolved to mindless beings with chlorophyll in their skins blindly looking for the best spot to soak up the dim rays of the dying sun.

We are closer to that than you think.

My pessimistic view of humanity aside, how about something more fun- how a best of list?

Best Live Show of the Year: VNV Nation at the White Rabbit, San Antonio
Granted I did not go to many live shows this year, foregoing even the many free shows at SXSW- but VNV Nation shows are a must whenever they are within a respectable distance. One thing I miss about living in SoCal is that bands of a similar nature do not regular visit over here. Yes- the live music capitol of the world tends to skip over EBM/Industrial/Futurepop/goth bands. However, a VNV show is very much like a visit from an old friend. The show was energetic, the set list was awesome and the band treated everyone (and I mean everyone as I was towards the back of the venue) like they were playing the show just for you.
Runner up: Imperative Reaction (opening for VNV Nation)

Looking forward to next year: The Birthday Massacre (my number two band); The Cure (now a lowly three) and hopefully SXSW has better bands next year.

Best New Album: Walking with Strangers by The Birthday Massacre
Totally, totally awesome and an incredible follow up to Violet, this album plays in my head even when it’s not on the CD player. The melodies are magnetic and the vocals are the sounds you hear upon entering the good afterlife. If Chibi and the rest of the band were not entering their 30’s, I guarantee you they would be on the cover of every rock magazine out there. And the song To Die For actually is to die for. Too bad mainstream America would never be ready music as beautiful as this.
Runner up: Judgment by VNV Nation (As It Fades should be played at every funeral); the new [SITD] album; the new Combichrist album
I have yet to listen to: The new KMFDM album

Looking forward to next year: The new Cure album (come on, Fat Bob-tell me that the new line up has recharged your creative batteries); hopefully that Reformation CD from VNV Nation

Best Novel: Crooked Little Vein by Warren Ellis
I want this novel to be real life. I want to read out loud the Secret Constitution of the United States. I want sit in the same smoke filled room as Private Detective McGill and I want Trix to kick, nay-stomp our heads in. But no way in hell do I want to live in the same Texas as presented in this novel. New York and LA are okay, though.
Runner up: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows (despite the meandering, seemingly meaningless middle portion)

I still have to read: Any of Bill Pullman’s books; some Doctor Who novels and Nury Vitacchi books that are on my to read pile.

Looking forward to next year: Any new work from Neil Gaiman that is not a screenplay and Warren Ellis’ next novel

Best TV Show: Doctor Who Series Three
My new favourite show, it just gets better (and by the looks of Time Crash, will continue to get better). Martha Jones is an awesome companion. The Sound of Drums is stuck in my head. The Dalek two parter was the movie I wanted Peter Jackson’s King Kong to be. Gridlock was the best version of a live action 2000AD strip. I will never Blink again when I see a statue of an angel. And I will never look at the word expillarmus the same way ever again. This show is just too much fun and I hate that I have to wait an ENTIRE year just to view what happens next.

WHAT?! Favourite moment when watching Doctor Who Series Three: Holly’s reaction when she thought the Doctor was going to regenerate in 42. The way she said “He’s my Doctor!” was the same as David Tennant’s 10th Doctor’s delivery to Peter Davidson’s 5th Doctor in Time Crash.

I am still waiting for it to come out on DVD: Torchwood

I have yet to see: Battlestar Galactica Season Three (although I just saw the awesome BSG: Razor), Supernatural

Runner Up: The new Robin Hood, Chuck, Spooks, Hustle, Bones and despite its sixth season 24 (which is waiting for me at home to be rewatched)

Possible Wasted Potential: Heroes (the last two or three episodes of Volume Two were great but the rest of the season had me nodding off and wanting to kill the characters myself)

Looking forward to: More of the Doctor, 24 Day Seven and all the other shows I enjoyed this year

Best Movie: None really stood out this year, well maybe TMNT
I think I only paid for one movie in theaters this year (TMNT was a free screening at SXSW). And while it was flawed fun, I doubt Transformers should top anyone’s best of list unless it was for special effects. Most movies I saw were on DVD and while there were a few good sequels here and there and a good flick here and there- for the life of me I cannot think of any that I would say WOW to.
TMNT was fun because it returned us to characters we used to know and found they were still the same good guys they were, just a few years older.

A good anime I did see was Ghost in the Shell: Solid State Society. It has been a while since anime (other than Miyazaki) has really interested me but it was fun and intriguing to see the good old Major again (and hearing new music from Yoko Kanno). It got me interested again in checking out not just more anime again but also cyberpunk in general (and made me rewatch the episode Kill Switch of the X-Files, probably my favourite episode of that show).

I did not get a chance to watch many HK flicks this year like I have in the past mostly because HK DVD’s are not region free like they used to be (and they are a little pricier nowadays too)

I will probably think of other movies I enjoyed later (like the third Pirates flick), but still, nothing really stood out this year.

I still have not seen: Beowulf and Stardust- so I guess you can revoke my Neil Gaiman Fan Club Membership; I have not seen Finishing the Game either

Looking forward to: Next year’s superhero movies, the new John Woo flick, the new Stephen Chow flick and the new Indiana Jones

Not looking forward to: Dragon Ball Z the movie- why is this getting made in the first place? Ditto for the Speed Racer flick that looks like my cat’s throw up.

Best Comic Book: World War Hulk (with special mention to Planet Hulk)
The comic book industry pissed me off this year. All the meaningless crossovers, the stupid creator exclusives with the big two, expensive prices and just the lack of heart and lack of the sense of fun that is put into many of the stories nowadays.

Then came the Hulk to smash the puny humans.

A beautiful bombastic blast of a read (take that Stan the Man!), Greg Pak infuses the best widescreen action movie you saw with the underlying theme of the consequences of anger and revenge. Never have I seen the Hulk’s anger as totally righteous and wonderfully portrayed (that and I cannot stand the idea of the Illuminati as presented in the Marvel Universe so I loved seeing them get beat up-I CAME TO HEAR YOU SCREAM- priceless). Yeah, I know Meik was the one who blew up the ship that killed the Hulk’s wife, but Manhattan would not have cracked in two if the Illuminati would just quit playing god.

It made me believe that mainstream superhero books can be good again. But then Marvel botched things up by stretching the tale needlessly to almost six months (should have been a weekly series) and it seemed they were too concerned with setting up the next crossover than concentrating on the one that they already had.
DC Comics were all crap this year.

Runner up: Buffy Season Eight- why is this book better than the superhero books? Well, Brian K. Vaughn wrote a portion of it.

Looking forward to: Ultimates Volume 3 just because Joe Mad is back in comics and whenever Udon returns to do more Street Fighter comics.

Not looking forward to: Final Crisis and Secret Invasion.

Best of the rest:
Best underreported news story: The creation of a cancer proof rat
Worst underreported news story: Buddhist demonstrations in Burma (important thins are happening, people- pay attention!)
It still sucks: The war in Iraq
I am tired of it already: Obama Vs. Hilary and the 2008 elections in general
It still sucks, Part Two: Angry men taking out their frustrations by shooting into a crowd. Not just them, but how society just ignores them until something snaps. Columbine, Virginia Tech and the recent mall shooting in Omaha need never have happened but you chose to ignore the signs and just named them as losers and loners. One wonders what would have happened if the shooters ever met (I sense a short story there, hmm...)
It still sucks part three: The weakening of the US dollar and the price of gasoline

WRAP UP:
Another year, another day, another dollar.
However as I write this the year is not yet over. 2007 was not a bad year; in fact it was a pretty good year. All my complaints are pretty much of petty, useless things that involve pop culture. Things could be worse, but I am happy that I do not dwell on that.
It reminds me of the following quote:
“Ultimately as in all aspiration to enlightenment, there is the abandonment of the self and the world.
The man [or] the woman who can fly simply believes that it is so; you have met the weight of the world and it does not matter.
Ignore it.
Fly.”

2007 was a pretty fly year.

But Judgement Day is still not coming soon enough.
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The holidays SUCK!

Once upon a time in the not-too-distant future (in distant days longing to sense it all so clear):

And still no new tale to tell.Halloween and the Day of the Dead have come and gone and now comes the times that try your wallets.

I just want to go all Charlie Brown on the world as I am barraged from all sides by sales that tempt the hell out of me. There are coupons from Borders where I can get some decent books and British TV that have been on my wish list for a while. There is a $350.00 laptop from Wal-Mart (I so need a laptop). The home needs furniture. I need Absolute Sandman Volume 2. And that new League of Extraordinary Gentlemen book. And a whole lot of other comics that I am behind on. Some great DVD’s are coming out in the next few months (Doctor Who, Ratatouille, 24 Season 6, Young Indiana Jones, Torchwood- the list goes on and on).Plus tons upon tons of bills are set for renewal in the next few weeks. Siddhartha got it right when he said desire was at the root of all suffering.

I just want to shut myself out of all advertising for the next three months or so and maybe then I will not be tempted to max out all my credit cards and open some new ones to buy all the inconsequential things that I want.

Halloween and the Day of the Dead are the best holidays of the year. What comes after next just sucks as goodwill towards one another and want of world peace is replaced for things made out of plastic and metal. Maybe Buy Nothing Day shall be observed by me for once. More info about that at http://adbusters.org/metas/eco/bnd/.

Scary Shite

Once upon a time in the not-too-distant future (in distant days longing to sense it all so clear):

Still no new tale to tell.But hope from Neil Gaiman for all of us who want to be writers:“When I started, I made my day job writing. I was a journalist, I wrote a few short stories, I interviewed people, I wrote non-fiction books. It taught me a lot about the way the world worked, a lot about deadlines, and it meant I wrote enough to develop a style, a voice that sounded like it was mine. And it paid the bills, and I edged over towards prose fiction and comics and only gave up my last few regular columns when I could afford to.That's how I did it.When I went to talk to kids on careers at my old school, in the 80s, I advised anyone who was doubtful about writing as a career to do something else ("Johnnie wants to know if there's job security in being a freelance writer?" said one mother. And I told her that there wasn't, and if Johnny, who didn't say anything, really wanted job security, she should go and talk to the people from jobs in banking and hotel management in the main hall). It's not an easy thing to do. But I still wouldn't trade it for anything else...”

Hmm…..Anyway moving on and in spirit of Halloween, here are some things that creep me out or just horrify me:

Maggots, tapeworms and worms: I have nothing against most bugs, but those that decompose dead flesh and garbage make me want to hurl, runaway and return to set them on fire.Raw meat: It is surprising that it took me almost thirty years to fully become vegetarian. As a kid I remember going to the open air markets where the bovines came straight after being butchered. The smell was overwhelming, and you could not escape the sights- I mean the cow head was still looking at me despite being several feet from the rest of the body.Gridlock: The first level of hell is being stuck in traffic going ten miles or less on four hours on a sweltering day with no AC and the car next to you is belting out the same Gangsta Rap tune the whole time.Doing your own income taxes and you realize you have to look something up to make sure you are doing it right.Doing your own income taxes and you realize that you owe.Realizing that band you like ain’t as good as they used to be.What passes for music on alternative radio stations nowadays.Rich Socialites.The government in Burma.The face that none of us are as young as we used to be.That karaoke is now on TV and is a hit.That originality has been dead for a long, long time. The rapid decline of the US dollar.Auto mechanics in Texas.Traffic in Texas. Weather in Texas.Nepotism in the creative industries.How alone we all really are. The price of comic books nowadays. The idea that out there, there is a 24 year old man is currently mourning the death of his 84 year old wife. DUDE, SHE WAS 84!The fact that none of this may be real. That scene in the Transformers live action movie where Optimus Prime holds the halves of his fallen friend like he was nothing more like a broken toy.The fact that whole world is conspiring against you. The pictures of the red skies in California- I remember all the ash falling from the sky during past wild fires there- but never the red skies. The realization that we will eventually lose everything that is dear to us. Life's a piece of shit, when you look at it. Life's a laugh and death's a joke it's true.(For life is quite absurd and death's the final word.)

And that is all I can think of for now.

I gots a rock

Once upon a time in the not-too-distant future (in distant days longing to sense it all so clear):

No new tale to tell lately.

Fall is here- the late sun rises and cool early morns give slight evidence of that, but the rapid rise to ninety degree afternoons laugh in my face as I am stuck in traffic without air conditioning because the mechanic that services my car of late tells me that they do not carry the Freon my car uses anymore because it was too expensive. Wieso bin ich ich verdammt?

Worry not about me, soon I will be complaining about the cold that hurts my bones.

The recent urge to create universes lately has been thwarted by the curse of writer’s block, low self esteem, lack of inspiration and it is my own entire fault. The seeds of the new universes are there, I am just currently too lazy to plant it. But hey- if something as bland as the Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer can be regurgitated onto the masses, some of my pabulum will eventually be forced upon you.

Speaking of creative pabulum- jaunt over to http://cattterpillarboy.deviantart.com/art/Zim-Vs-Lenore-66907539 and see something I am actually slightly proud of (albeit not original- but hey, it is not traced). It is a drawing I made when local comic book store, First Federal (http://www.thoraustin.com/index2.html) called upon customers to graffiti up (or graffitotag as I over heard on the Simpsons the other night) ceiling panels with comic book related art. There is a decent one of Kitty Pride there.

And I am proud to say that mine is the only one that champions smaller and independent publishers (as I love a good indie comic book- the latest one I am enjoying is Johnny Hiro).

Plus- I love the works of Jhonen Vasquez and Roman Dirge and am willing to promote their stuff for free.
Sadly, I am no longer a shopper at First Federal as I found I was charged for something I did not buy on a day I did not visit the store. They claimed it was due to faulty equipment, and they are probably right- but I just do not want to risk it anymore (this plus my decision to quit monthly comics and go straight to trades).

But you should not avoid First Federal- they have awesome staff there that takes their time to remember you name (because they have a new person starting to work there every three months or so) and an excellent subscription service.

There is an interesting controversy going around lately regarding the new biography of Charles Schultz, creator of the beloved Peanuts strip. His heirs are disappointed because the book paints Schultz as dour and depressed.

Well, Schulz’s heirs, first of all Sparky is an artist- if you ever see a happy artist, call him a poseur (and then slap them). Second of all, shiny, happy people could never have come up with this quote from Charlie Brown:

“This is my depressed stance. When you're depressed, it makes a lot of difference how you stand. The worst thing you can do is straighten up and hold your head high because then you'll start to feel better. If you're going to get any joy out of being depressed, you've got to stand like this.”

Third- we are all dour and depressed from time to time and we all express it in different ways. Obviously, Charles Schultz expresses this via his art which is comforting because there are way more negative ways to express it.

And last- yes, it may knock him down a peg or two in the eye of the public, but don’t hold that against him. It just makes him human. And going full back to the topic of creating universes, Charles Schultz created a universe that many enjoy now, then and in the yet to come.

For instance, after reading plenty of his strips, I only came across the ‘depressed stance’ strip today and laughed myself silly. You’re a good man, Chuck.

Oh, and by the way, when God was handing out brains:

I got a rock. ________________________________________________________________________

The New TV Season So Far...

Once upon a time in the not-too-distant future (in distant days longing to sense it all so clear):

Pretty Inspiring:
The protests led by the monks in the country of Burma. I am captivated and anticipate the actions of this peaceful group against that country’s junta. Hopefully, their non-violent actions will reach the attentions of the rest of the world and be an example for the rest of us.

Cool Stuff I saw this past week:

Lion and Dragon Dancers at the Austin Chinatown Center*
I forget how fun it was to see lion and dragon dancers up close. The last time I saw something like this was at the turn of this century during Chinese New Year in downtown Los Angeles. It was fun, but we only caught the tail end of it. This time, though, we caught it beginning to end complete with that bad ass percussion and the lions/dragons weaving through the crowd demanding your money [in a good way- the performers were mostly kids from Walnut Elementary and the money went back to them].

A fun time, and just reminds me that that we need more dragons and lions in everyday life.

The Fall TV Season: Seen this week:

CHUCK: Saw bits and pieces- it was okay. The funny-lovable-loser bit of the title character can get old very quick (and was already old by the predictable end of the show). Nothing but popcorn, which can be fun (and there were some good action beats in the show) but the pilot was ultimately forgettable. Hopefully the other episodes will be better than the pilot, but I am not expecting more than campy, cheesy stuff from this show.

HEROES: The Hiro Nakamura bits are still the best part of the show (and here I am contradicting myself on the funny-lovable-loser types on genre shows. Well- over here he is not the title character, and Maki Oka plays his role with more genuine charm). David Anders is unexpectedly funny as the baka gaijin masquerading as a Robin Hood type character. The other aspects of the show are just exposition for the rest of the season and were a little underwhelming (but hopefully the pay off will be worth it). And did they just kill off Captain Sulu? YOU SUCK!

BONES: This became one of my favourite shows last season. But everything seemed off for the most part during this season opener. The relationships, the chemistry between the actors, even the usually very interesting science that goes into explaining how the evil deeds were done- it all seemed like they took too long a summer vacation and are having a tough time getting back into the swing of things. Inexplicably, it all came back when the character of Zack came back in the last ten minutes or so- it’s not that the character is the glue of the show, it was like, hey- everyone is back, so let’s get back to work.

Like Heroes, this episode of Bones seems more like a set up for the rest of the season- the ongoing saga of Bones’ father, plus the search for the Fiji Husband and the Secret Society are all this show’s attempts at having a season long story arc that is popular nowadays. The only problem- this is one show that does not really need a season long story arc- the quirkiness of their relationships is fun enough to watch. Plus the introduction of a Secret Society Mystery that they have to solve almost feels like shark jumping.

REAPER: I was not planning on watching this and was not expecting much (despite being a Kevin Smith fan). The results? Very fun and a very Kevin Smith experience complete with a dead beat job where they just hang around wanting more in life and a smart mouth side kick. It proves that Kevin Smith can do humour without having the folks spout profanities and more importantly- without Jay or Silent Bob or overt references to his past works. Now, the real trick is to see if the show can carry on without Fat Bob (who is the original funny-lovable-loser).
BIONIC WOMAN: Did not see it, not sure if I want to watch a show that has an actor who is an admitted homophobe.

SMALLVILLE: Did the chick who does not want to admit she is Asian have to move to Shanghai wearing blonde wig?



________________________________________________________________________

092107

Once upon a time in the not-too-distant future (in distant days longing to sense it all so clear):

Really, really, really enjoying the new Birthday Massacre CD. I like at least much as I liked VNV Nation’s new album from earlier this year. Beautiful and haunting, it reminds me of the days gone past when I was inspired to write tons and tons of bad poetry and maybe a decent short story or two from listening to all the Cure albums up to Wish, watching Chasing Amy, discovering the works of Neil Gaiman (especially the Dust Covers compilation), hanging out at Salzers talking to that one girl who would always recommend great new tunes (introducing me to the wider world of Goth/Industrial) and hanging out on Silver Strand just standing on the beach, staring at the sea.

Creative impulses are stirring, I want to draw, sketch, write and just create new universes.

[But, Dammit- why does work have to zap all of my energy?! That is a stoopid excuse, though (smacks forehead with palm of the hand, returns to universe building, now just got to put stuff to paper…)]

On to other stuff, Fat Bob has finally relented and The Cure will finally play Austin! But before they do, the days will grow shorter, the leaves will fall, the animals head south or hibernate, the grounds will freeze, then the animals return and the frost goes away as the days get longer again and they finally play the Austin Music Hall on June 08, 2008.

Yes- not until June of 2008.

Hopefully there will be tickets left when I remember six months from now that they will be in town.

(This as I found out that a guy I work with once opened up for the band)

That said, I hope the new album is decent. I detest the fact that they dumped their keyboards and are opting for an all guitar sound. They sound alright, based on that DVD of performances with the new line up, but there is just something missing.

By the way, how much do you want to bet that the same that they will be playing Austin, it will be the same day that the Birthday Massacre or VNV Nation or Apoptygma Berzerk, will be playing here? That is the kind of luck I have by the way.

“Hey, Buddha/Allah/Gawd/Vishnu here- why don’t you have something nice; don’t mind the tons of crap that obligatorily comes with every single nice thing you will ever get…”
Self pitying rant over, moving right along.

Well, maybe one more- Why are all the cool Fantastic Fest films all on work nights?

Alright, okay and another one: They get a free ride to college, so who do the jocks at UT use their free pass to get STOOPIDER at college?

________________________________________________________________________

Ugly & Dumb=Me + My TBM Review

Once upon a time in the not-too-distant future (in distant days longing to sense it all so clear):
By the way- I am too dumb for New York and too ugly for Los Angeles.

Hence, I am in Austin.

But I am still too dumb and ugly for this place, so I actually live in the outskirts of this burg where no one notices or bothers me.

On that note, some words of creative encouragement from our old friend Mr. Jam (taken from: http://mrjam.typepad.com/diary/2007/09/how-to-make-it-.html#more):

“How to make it in the creative industries

THANKS FOR THE great feedback you sent me from yesterday’s piece. Clearly there are lots of creative, talented people in this community, and there’s an element of frustration at the fact that so much rubbish from obviously untalented people gets produced.

Well, I’m here with a message.

YOU CAN WRITE A TV SHOW OR NOVEL THAT MAKES THE CUT.
It doesn’t matter who you are or where you live.
Yes, the world centers of publishing are the UK and the US.
Yes, the world center of screenwriting is the US.
Yes, the world centers of music are the UK and the US.
And yes, it’s true that who you know and who you are connected with does count.

But you can achieve amazing things from a distance.

The questions that arose from yesterday’s piece about High School Musical were put very clearly by Catterpillerboy [hey- that’s me!], who said yesterday: “How does a writer get chosen for a project? …For struggling wannabe writers it sometimes feel insulting to see something so brain dead (and know that the writers got paid for that product) while we are here churning stuff out that will never see the light of day. Not to say that the stuff I am churning out is any good but if I am going to be writing crap, maybe I can get paid for it too?”

Meanwhile, my correspondent Poppy sounded depressed. “There’s so much bad stuff on television. It seems so unfair that the financing goes to the crap, while good, creative ideas are born on kitchen tables and stay there.”

These are good points.

Not all of us can live in Hollywood and have aunts and uncles who run film studios -- and that’s one of the reasons why so much bad stuff gets made. There’s a great deal of nepotism in the creative industries. Have you noticed how the credits at the end of films always include people who happen to have the same surname as the director and / or producer?!

But I think I can best illustrate how to make the grade with the big guys by referring to a real anecdote involving real people.

A friend of mine living in Hong Kong had an idea for a children’s TV series.

She got a group of people together and they wrote scripts, wrote a story bible, commissioned artists to mock up the characters, and even got some 3D animation done. Some of this work they paid for. Other people did it for nothing, because she asked them so nicely.

She racked up large debts by flying twice to LA. The first time, she hammered on doors of professional TV people, showed them her material, and got their feedback.

Then she came back to Hong Kong and revised everything based on what she had been told. At that point, I came in as a co-writer and worked on the characters and storyline and dialogue.

A couple of weeks ago, she flew back to LA with the revised material.

I saw her two days ago. She gave me the good news: she’s sold the whole project to a major US television corporation.

And you know what they liked about it? They liked its Asianness -- the fact that it wasn’t like the normal stuff they get.

The moral of this story: all you have to do to make it is to be serious about it.

To be a success, you have to want success. How much do you want it

-Nury Vitacchi”

On that note:

RAGE, RAGE AGAINST THE DYING OF THE LIGHT

Just wanted to yell that out.

This past week had the first day of the year that felt like autumn, despite the season still being a few weeks away and we are probably going to suffer through 90 to 100 degree weather till the middle of November.

But it was a nice preview with comfortable weather, a chill that does not feel forced and the beautiful dreary, grim skies that I love so much. It makes me crave pumpkin pie and Halloween, apple cider and short days.

Currently walking with strangers:

I finally got the new Birthday Massacre CD, Walking With Strangers. It is currently on rotation at home and at work My first listen the other night noticed a more guitar focused sound which is not surprising as did the not add more guitarists to their line up?

Anyway- the synths become more the front of the sound towards the end of the album and the songs go from a harder rock sound to more a luscious, atmospheric feel that really harkens to the moodier songs found in Kiss me, Kiss me Kiss me, Disintegration and Wish era Cure. In fact, the ending song, Movie, really reminds me of Plainsong. The band retains that darker eighties band sound, they were just born twenty years later. They are categorized as Goth, industrial even- I just call them New Wave.

But, of course, it is all anchored by the always beautiful vocals of Chibi. A vocal as well as a visual dark angel- it is awesome how they exploit her abilities on a song like Red Stars, where the smashing guitars threaten to rip your ears with their metal stylings yet her voice guides you through it and you find yourself enjoying this song even though at first glance, it sounds like another, shudder, Korn wannabe.

I additionally love the two remakes of some of their older songs, especially Remember Me. That bass hook is especially haunting.

If there is anything I find amiss with the album, it is that the band seems too comfortable with their material. The songs are as good as the ones on Violet (an album that I plan on taking with me to the afterlife) but these sound like B-sides from that album, there is no progression in them like Cure trilogy mentioned above or like how VNV Nation progressed from the lovely harshness of Praise the Fallen to the lyrical perfection of Empires and finally to the zenith with Future Perfect.

Some songs also end abruptly, but I can get over that.

But, the Birthday Massacre is still a relatively young band, and I know they developed a decent following from their first album. They are probably using this as their ‘safe’ sound to build on what came before. This album still has that spark and energy that made me enjoy them in the first place.

Walking With Strangers bashes in and leaves you wanting more.*

Rating: A- (but then again I am biased)

*In comparison, another female fronted band that I like, Switchblade Symphony also had a terrific first album, Serpentine Gallery, which I will also be taking with me to the grave. However their follow up albums did not live up to their promise and the band just fell into being another cliché Goth band (Witches, anyone? That remix album was decent though).

And also, maybe with more material now, maybe the next time I see the Birthday Massacre they will not have played their entire library of songs during their main set and not have any left for an encore.
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