Mar 7 - Watchmen Review

Zack Snyder carried the book around the set as a bible and it shows in the film. While sections are compressed into film friendly(er) chunks, you still get the same ideas shown. 

With respect to Sex, violence and profanity - all are rife. While the F-bombs feel at home, the actual F-ing is a bit over the top. I'm no prude but a 2 minute SLOW MOTION sex scene aboard Archie was a little too much. The music is horrible during that scene too. Also we see blue penises which are mildly distracting but you get over it quickly - until the Doc walks. Then it's hilarious. The gore has been amped up. In some places it fits but at times feels gratuitous. This is certainly not a PG-13 rated venture for a reason and it's certainly because of the violence and sex. 

With respect to sound and music, it's wholly bipolar. There is some subtle music but at times we are bombarded with Bob Dylan or Simon and Garfunkel which can either feel at home or a tad too much depending on your own opinion. 

The ending has changed but it works. So much so I prefer it over the book's ending - It just gels better with the world created in the first 2 hours. The Black Freighter and the newsstand man's rants are missing but it doesn't feel like it. While the comic within a comic was almost a Greek chorus within the book, it is unnecessary and the film feels wholesome without it 

The time does fly while you're watching this but it flows just as well as it did when you sat riveted to any of the Lord of the Rings films and it really could not be shorter without feeling incomplete. The characters are believable enough to suck you in to an incredibly faithful adaptation with good performances from JEH and Patrick Wilson. Crudup is bland on purpose which fits so well with his character. 

I do feel some plot twists were explained with throwaway lines and my uninitiated company was left wondering what happened there as they missed the reference or the line that explained it. Although I can only spot 1, maybe 2 occurances where this happened so I was mostly satisfied. 

I give it a solid 8/10 - It will not change your life and be the best movie you've ever seen but it is satisfying in it's conclusion and execution and I feel that's what the ending should be like - satisfying. Even the most nit-picky of fans will enjoy themselves during this epic, well rounded and faithful adaptation. 

Mar - 5th Untitled

Ok this one is going to be varied but I am actually blogging instead of writing an apology. 

I have been avoiding posting since I booked my tickets for Watchmen as I don't want to be a total fanboy, however I AM SEEING IT AT 7.30 TONIGHT! THAT'S 10 HOURS AND 50 MINUTES AWAY!!!! OMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMG

SEE?! That's what the past days would have looked like. So I will spare you that. However there was an amusing Wikiprank on the Watchmen on wikipedia. Screenshots to come.

I will write a full review later today, my battery's about to run out :S

Mar 1st - Catch up

Right-o

Last night we had the reunion party for the show I musically directed last year Someting's Afoot (Musical murder mystery spoof) where we certainly did not watch an illegal recording that wasn't made of the show. Definately not.

I think things went awry when I noticed that noone else was really drinking as much as me. It could have been awkward. If it was, I didn't notice. So I'm kind of tentative about asking about it in case I offended someone or did something stupid. Cause everyone left in a hurry. Or I could have been unconscious for a while. Either or. 

Though at the party I re-met a girl. Things had been on and off due to a breakdown in communication (Our phones absolutely hate eachother) but we spent the rest of the evening after everyone had disappeared playing truth. 

Anyone who knows me will know I like playing truth. Mainly because I like being honest or I like being asked questions. Psychologists could have a field day with that statement. But I also find it's one of the best ways to get to know someone quickly. Maybe too quickly. Perhaps now we know why none of relationships last any length of time :P

But yes. It was fun. For me at least.

Feb 27th - Sorry for lack of posts

This isn't a real post really, Just thought I'd apologise for not posting anything in the past days as I have been reading a crapload about hypnosis and psychology and all that stuff. Everything I read makes me crave more knowledge about how we, as humans work. I am aiming to do a huge summary by the time I've gotten through my stack of books and I will make it up to you, I PROMISE!

Also I may be going to see Watchmen  at midnight next week! If you haven't read it, do! It's an amazingly complex and layered political thriller. Brilliant stuff

Feb 24th - God Complex

Ok, so one of the things my parents keep reminding me about as one of the dangers of hypnotism is gaining a god complex and a giant ego to go with it. To prevent this I don't really flaunt my 'abilities' and I am really humble about it. Which posed me this question: If I fear gaining a god complex, will I ever get one?

I mean, sure, I could get one without noticing but I don't know if that's possible or not.

Hypnotism Log:

Another Number Amnesia (Number 2)

Hand Anaesthesia (She could NOT feel her hand at all)

Reinforcement of last week's Therapy session (Now experiencing normal eating and sleeping habits and no more mood swings, generally happier with life)

I mean I am proud of myself and my achievements but I think it's more that I am happy with being able to help people change their lives. If I ever get egotistical about it, you let me know please :P

February 23rd - The Mighty Boosh

It's like having your mind raped by a midget wearing a rainbow coloured condom with shards of glass sticking out of it.

Feb 21st - A plethora of things have happened

I'm sure you all know exactly what's like to be intensively busy and you pretty much don't have time for anything except sleeping and eating in edgeways. It's been like that the past couple of days, except I invaded some of my sleeptime with watching 'The IT Crowd' but I'm sure if I hadn't, I would have killed everyone I know by now. 

So the show has been cast, in a surprising twist of fate The Guy was not cast as the main. No you read that right (should that be "yes you read that right?") - He didn't get it. Neither did I which is a pain in the ass. No, they went with a jock who is pretty high up on the pedestal and his entire head is a phallus. He's one of those guys who is just so damn awesome that they don't have to care about anyone's feelings because their feelings are more important, because he does sports. Whoop de fucking doo.

So their arguement for him to be cast in the role is that he looks the part. This guy is about 5'6", stocky and muscular, ugly as fuck but oh wait, he has curly hair. Jack Black had curly hair didn't he? Oh great, he'd be perfect because he has CURLY FUCKING HAIR.

Ok this is turning into a rage blog. (whiskers on kittens, whiskers on kittens, whiskers on kittens) Feeling better now. 

But I think the most frustrating thing about the whole casting process that they've gone through is that they are simply casting the parts as they resemble the characters in the movie OR they can play the instrument needed for those characters. In an awkward twist of fate, the teacher in charge of casting came up to me and said that I was hilarious in the audition but all the other parts were taken, so she was writing me a part. Wow, you might be saying, That's pretty dmn cool. 

Yes it is cool and this next paragraph is going to make me sound like a spoilt brat but hear me out. 

It's not cool, it's the opposite of cool. This proposition means 3 things:

1. They took pity on me
2. They're screwing around with a perfectly good script
3. I can't quit
   

That last one is the clincher. I had been asked months in advance to play horn for Les Miserables  up at the theatre in Orewa for $20 bucks a night. $20 a night for a 3 week season. I told myself while auditioning for the show that I would do it if I got a good part and would try to fit Les Miserables in or gratiously pull out of it. But now I haven't got a good part, I have a part that is likely to fuck up a good show, that will make no sense to fans of the movie and it's seriously in the way of my income stream.

If I pull out of School of Rock, my name is mud around school (Which it already is with the Head of Department - but that's a short story - She's a bitch and I'm not her beloved Guy), If I pul out of Les miserables, my name is mud at the theatre I've been at for 10 years and I will be broke for even longer.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH

Feb 17th - A Successful Hypnotherapy Session

I posted this on the IATH forums a while ago but I thought you guys would be interested in this

A friend of mine had been plagued by a crush that she was effectively a slave to (Her emotions, not the person). She also felt inadequate for any role of leadership, Hated how she looked and even self abused herself through depression.

I offered to help her through hypnosis as she was at the camp where I had my first bout of successes and believes in the power of it after witnessing first-hand and experiencing her hand getting stuck to her knee. She agreed to this as she wanted to be rid of these emotions. She had the willpower, she had the determination, she just didn't have the strength to do it alone, so I offered to help.

I took her aside after-school and sat her down and put her into a trance in about 2 minutes (pretalk inclusive). After several deepeners, I then told her to remember when I stuck her hand to her knee and re-imagine that except her hand was stuck to a large concrete ball that was made up of her crush for this guy, Her inadequacy and how she felt about herself and it was the only thing keeping her from reaching true happiness that was just out of her grasp as these problems were weighing her down. 

I then told her to put every single millimeter of her problems into her hand, dragged down by the ball onto her knee. Her arm was completely rock solid with tension and I told her that I was going to wake her up and she would be released from this weight when I snapped my fingers and she would feel relief, happiness and as if a weight had been lifted from her shoulders enabling her to live life happily but she had to be released from the ball.

So I woke her up and she whimpered at how her hand was stuck and I told her again that her hand was stuck to her problems and happiness was just aboe her and she needed to let go to reach the happiness. I said "LET GO" as I snapped my fingers and she just fell back into her chair, exhausted but relieved and much much happier.

And who should walk by almost immediately after but her crush. She had no reaction to him at all. She said she normally felt nervous or had a cold sweat or dreaded whenever she saw him but she felt absolutely fine. I found out ater that she happily ate a full meal for the first time in a long time without any guilt or feeling physiologically sick.

Feb 16th - 5 minutes

I'm going to share some of my writing with you to make up for my absences, It's ok, It's been sitting on my desktop unfinshed for about 4 months now and I think I rushed the ending but here it is, my short story 5 Minutes.

Dad glanced up from the road to his stopwatch and turned to me with an excited grin. “Five minutes! You’ve been driving on the road perfectly for five minutes! How does it feel eh?”

 

 I turned and grinned back.

 

I awoke with a start as sweat dripped from every pore, sliding around my eyes. Once the world had come into focuse the clock read 5:03am. No time to go back to sleep now. Stumbling out of bed to the window, the floor tiles were cold against my bare feet. When I moved the curtains aside a blast of sound and noise erupted and poured into my apartment with an icy blast.

 

Life in the city. Great.

 

The morning ablutions took place and the clock read 6:10am. Time to get breakfast. The carpet was a brief respite of warmth that was stolen by the kitchen floor. Why was everything so damn cold? I was out of milk and I had no bread left. My options were to eat raw cornflakes, choke myself on dry muesli, or go out for breakfast before work. Considering I was in the mood for a hot breakfast, the latter seemed the best option.

 

Picking up my watch and wallet on the way to the front door, the picture of my family caught my eye. While it had always been there, my dream about Dad struck a chord in my heart and I missed them. I missed them all.

 

The elevator didn’t offer much hope for humanity. Human waste of various kinds, either biological or painted adorned the walls. I didn’t live in an upmarket area, nor was it downtown; I guess you get creeps everywhere. With a solid ‘thunk’, the elevator stopped at the level 2 car park.

 

My car was parked where it always was. We didn’t get allocated car parks, but we may as well have. Everyone parked in their own little area so no one would interfere with anyone else’s plans. I hardly ever saw anyone else who lived in the same building as me. Occasionally I wasn’t alone in the elevator but eye contact is a quickly dying tradition. My car, however, met my eye with an inanimate wink.

 

I love this car. My Dad bought it for me when I first got my license. The bright red paint was peeling around the edges, the paintjob interrupted with acne of rust but it still looked great to me. The door popped open and I sat in the seat and took a deep breath.

 

The motor purred into life and the car showed it’s true, unpeeling self. The stopwatch hung from the rearview mirror. I started the watch and began to pull out of the car park.

 

 

The stopwatch read 3 minutes. Traffic was flowing. This was not good. I would have to find a park within the next minute or so. I spotted a park next to the McDonalds clinging on to the side of a block like a greasy barnacle. My stomach churned at the thought but the stopwatch beeped. With a sigh, I pulled into the park.

 

An overly confident and happy young lady served me a salad with a disdainful look. It was either the fact I was ordering something that took effort to make and wasn’t sitting and rotting on the warming shelf, or because they still had last months hamburger patties to dispose of somehow. With cardboard lettuce in tow, I moved to the horrible seating. It seems humankind is not ready for back support as the gaudy red stools suggested. Sprouting from the floor like creepy mushrooms, I tried to decide which was worse; the décor or the ‘food’.

 

With my cynicism in full roar, I ate my salad grudgingly. My watch beeped, I would be late for work.

 

I abandoned my salad at the table and ran to my car. Resetting the stopwatch, I pulled out. I work only ten minutes from my apartment block but it may have well been twenty minutes away with the delays and traffic.

 

The stopwatch beeped. I was only 2 minutes away from work. The display read 4 minutes 20 seconds and counting up. I had to make a move quickly. There were no parks anywhere nearby and work loomed above me. I decided, stupidly, to push my limits. 4 minutes 50 seconds.

 

I was close. I could taste victory. My car space was 500 meters in front of me. The stopwatch’s alarm beeped down. I was 100 meters away when the stopwatch hit 5 minutes.

 

 

The policeman tapped on the window. A brief glimpse in the rearview mirror showed bruising on my forehead and it began throbbing. My lip was cut and I had a black eye. What a great start to the day.

 

Apparently my car had suddenly stopped in the middle of traffic and caused the car behind me to rear end me, throwing my head forward against the steering wheel. The other driver was fine and seemed embarrassed about the whole situation. I couldn’t tell who he blamed from his expression. He was hard to read. The Policeman clearly thought I was nuts but thought the damage to my car and my face was enough justice for the situation. The other driver simply waved me away when I went to ask for his insurance details. “Let’s just deal with our own problems, shall we?”

 

Those words either had more meaning before they left his mouth or once they had reached my ear, but they certainly struck home. Looking at my car, his words added insult to crippling injury – my car had grown shorter by a quarter of a meter. Fucking great.

 

 

I walked into work half an hour late. I was greeted with looks of pity from my fellow cubicle rats – not because of my obvious physical injuries but because of what I was about to receive from our petrifying overlord – Margaret.

 

Margaret should’ve been dead. She was one of those people who had graduated from the simple method of counting age by candles to carbon dating. Worst of all was she was fat. I’m not talking normal leftover weight from the holidays fat but massive. If she weren’t such a repulsive being, they would have milked several Discovery Channel specials out of her swelled, putrid flesh. Unfortunately for us; she had always been fat and her years as an underdog fueled her with the rage that turned her cheeks purple and sent ripples throughout her bulk.

 

You could hear her coming by the wake of silence she left behind her. Weekend stories being hushed with the sound of suddenly shuffled paper and nonchalant typing. I swear my mind added Jurassic Park footsteps to her approach. I followed the example of my colleagues and started typing.

 

The silence was deafening until I heard the signature “ahem” behind me. To the untrained and blind listener, Margaret’s throat clearing sounded cute, like a puppy’s first yelp but with experience you would learn that the puppy was actually being strangled and drowned in fake sugar and pink syrup.

 

“Running late are we?” Margaret asked me in her most insincere and sugarcoated voice. I could smell the doughnuts screaming from within her.

 

“Yes, I had a traffic accident, I apologize Margaret” I replied, swiveling in my office chair. She seemed almost shocked when she saw my face. For an instant I saw actual emotion, as if there was a real person stuck inside a giant angry fat-suit. She almost regained her composure – “Be more careful next time. It’s very easy to lose someone special in such accidents”. And with a candy-floss puff she left me in a slack-jawed state.

 

I checked my vital signs. My head was there; painful but still attached. My heart was beating but my head was in a flurry. Had Margaret just shown actual human emotion? Was there more to her than two dimensions of pure bitch?

 

The office rats turned back to their computers, just as dazed as I was.

 

 

 I worked a 12 hour shift. It kept me busy. It filled my life up. The car smiled as I approached but I knew it was just trying to make me feel better.

 

I was sick of this, sick of work, sick of life, sick of being afraid. Sick of being stuck in the same 2 square kilometers. My life had been controlled by my phobias for 10 years. An entire decade. It was time for me to take the reigns.

I got into the car, started the engine purring and put on my seatbelt. I looked at the stopwatch. It glared at me as it swung to and fro menacingly. I returned the glare. “Fuck you!” I said as I reset the timer. The milliseconds started hurtling forwards and I pulled out of the office and onto the motorway.

 

2 minutes. I was approaching the off ramp which would take me back to where I used to live.

 

3 minutes. Getting closer and closer. I was driving as fast as I could, trying to escape the grips of time.

 

4 minutes, I was welcomed to the town by a sign blurred by my speed

 

4 minutes, 30 seconds. I could see the hill. Where it all began.

 

4 minutes, 40 seconds. I saw the white cross, stuck to the fence. Mum still put flowers by it every Saturday.

 

4 minutes, 55 seconds. I was doing it! I was escaping!

 

Dad glanced up from the road to his stopwatch and turned to me with an excited grin. “Five minutes! You’ve been driving on the road perfectly for five minutes! How does it feel eh?”

“It’s great dad! It feels so free!” I glanced back to him, saw the excited grin on his face as he shared his true passion with me. Father passing on to son.

 

His grin faded and he looked past me.

 

“Son! Look ou-

 

I snapped out of it, looked where my dad was looking in my memory. I tried to regain control in time but it was too late.

 

The stopwatch beeped.

 

 

5 minutes.

Feb 12th - 15th Eleven Fingers??

Right-o.

Firstly I apologize for the lack of posts, I have been in Whangaparoa for choir camp. That sounds really geeky until I mention it's on of the top 3 choirs in New Zealand.

Anyway I'm going to list the highlights of the past few days, in no particular order.

Firstly, I hypnotised 4 people on camp. One girl (one of my mates for about 5 years now) I hypnotised 7 times. 7 times. I made her hand stick to her knee, I made her forget her name, I made her think that a guy was wearing a red party hat becasue it was his birthday and I made her forget the number 2. It's always amusing to see someone count your fingers and find 11. I even made her get drunk on water. It was absolutely brilliant!!

Secondly the piece 'Past Life Melodies' by Sarah Hopkins is INCREDIBLE. I splits into 11 parts and has harmonic singing as inspired by tibetan monks and it creates a truly meditative and entrancing atmosphere.

Thirdly Valentines day makes me depressed. Enough on that.

While I'm here, I would like to promote the International Association of Teenage Hypnotists as I managed to do all of the things mentioned with all the lessons attained by simply signing up. You can do a course which costs around $400 dollars but the free lessons will get you a good headstart. Even if you don't want to hypnotize people, It is truly fascinating to learn more about it and it gives you more of an insight into how we humans work

Feb 11th - The Guy. AGAIN.

I'm getting so sick of The Guy.

You know how I said he said that he wasn't going for the part? 

He fucking was. GRRR

Absolutely hate it when people go back on what they say. I thinkt he worst part was that I had gotten my hopes up and was feeling great about my audition until I found out he was auditioning for the role. Not a chance in hell now.

Bet I'll get the part of the gay kid. I always either seem to bea charcter that's gay or in drag when I get cast.

Sigh.

Feb 9th - Hypnotism

Today I found a website called the International Association of Teenage Hypnotists. Once you join there are many free lessons available which will guide you most the way. However if you wish to become certified, there is a course which is about $300 which will end in your certification as a hypnotist.

While I would enjoy having to answer what the C.H at the end of my name meant, I don't have 3oo bucks at the moment.

Plus the fact that's 300 US.

I have enough ebooks on hypnotism to last me a while, I just need to find a willing subject...

Sorry for the short post, it's a chool night and I need to get my sleeping pattern back together :P

Feb 8th - Autism and Gaming

I just read this article, it pretty much blew me away so I think it's worth sharing as my thing for the day. Read it in full because it is a fascinating story.

I do wholly reccomend The Escapist not only for it's articles but because it also has some of the funniest videos you can find on the net. Zero Punctuation, Unskippable and Doomsday Arcade  are my favorites. Enjoy!

Feb 7th - The Guy

I was kidding, I left the last post on a cliffhanger ending just to screw with you all. In reality The Guy turned to me and said of his own accord that he didn't want the main part. He may or may not have meant this but IF HE DID it means that some other loser (eg Me) actually has a shot at the part. 

So I've been Researching Tenacious D (Found the complete masterworks 2 at JB today so I'm really happy I don't have to order it from the states) and gearing up for the epic audish on tuesday.

Also avoid the Toyworld near JB in the albany mall LIKE THE PLAGUE. They have these high intensity neon lights that have a slight blue tinge to them which isn't bad, makes all the colours kinda buzzy. But the worst thing is they strobe. Really fast. I felt sick and anxious while under them. Not fun.

Any tips for the audition? How would you define Jack Black? cause someone else's viewpoint would help :P

Feb 6th - My main man JB

The next blog asked me to read this card, so here goes: "In the ancient mists of time and space, there was a man who did make sweet sweet music with the goddess of reason who bestowed upon him the powers of pure awesome." He is here, Give it up for JACK BLACK!

After the lukewarm reception of The Wind in the Willows last year and with the emmigration of our resident director, the new drama teacher has proposed an epic show for this year's production. The School of Rock. 

I'm excited, you can tell because I'm using bold lettering and italics every now and again for emphasis. I am one of the hugest fans of Tenacious D, I can sing every song of theirs, almost perfectly - even more perfect when tipsy. Tenacious D and The Pick of Destiny is my ultimate guilty pleasure movie. It was created with the fans in mind. They didn't give a shit about people who didn't catch the memo of what they were missing out on in life and that's why it bombed but is amazingly good.

I wasn't excited when the news first came out about the show because my school is host to a phenomena you may or may not be familiar with. It's called 'The Guy syndrome'. What this entails is that the school has one The Guy. The Guy gets everything he wants and some things he doesn't want. He is The Guy that the young ones look up to and the elders despise as he has everything they ever wanted and he is everything they ever wanted to be because he is The Guy.  No-one fucks with The Guy.

So when I tell you that I had a momentary glimpse of something awesome, it was shadowed by the presence of The Guy. I knew I had no chance of fulfilling my dream, of pretending to be The Ultimate Guy -  Jack Black because The school's The Guy would get the part, hands down, no questions asked. I was crushed. I was angry. Worst of all, I was vengeful.

I knew I had to kill The Guy.

Feb 4th - Inspirational Speakers and Chivalry

Right 2 topics this time - Inspiration and Chivalry

Today at school we had W. Mitchell come speak to us. Don't ask me what the W stands for, I have no idea. He was horrifically burnt in a motorcycle accident which resulted in 65% of his body being burnt. Later after years of recovery and getting his life back together, He was paralyzed in a plane accident from the waist down. The first accident took his fingers and after skin grafts and months in hospital he looks like this:

Today he delivered a truly amazing speech to us about his life. The two messages I took from it were these:

1 - Responsibility means your ability to respond to the situation at hand
2 - It's not what happens to you that matters, It's how you respond to it

And on the topic of chivalry, my bus was absolutely pack this afternoon going home so there were about 7 girls standing and lots of guys sitting down. So I got up and let 2 girls sit down, expecting all the other guys to do the same and follow my example as the only 7th former on the bus, but they didn't. I didn't do it for thanks or to make myself look good and for all the girls to go "Oh look at him being so polite, I want some of that" thought hat would've been an added bonus :P

My message to all guys is to bring chivalry back because it's really important so all the girls feel some loving!

Any similar chivalry situations? Girls, how do you feel when someone does something similar?

Feb 2nd - Auditions

I really freaking hate auditions. I mean they're fine in hindsight but in a bulk situation like choir auditions today, you feed from everybody else's nervousness and it builds up inside you. I have small lapses within myself which worry me, so I downloaded a self confidence course. It's one half overly happy dude talking and the other half hypnotism so should be interesting.

Has anyone had an experience with hypnotism? For/Against?

(I'm going to ask a question every blog and you have to answer them lol)

Feb 1st - First of the month

Yes I am in denial over January 31st existing :P

So here we are, the second month of the new year. Which means I have been doing this project for a month now. I'd be interested to know your opinion about what I've covered so far and which kind of post you liked the most, I'm open to feedback.

As far as a personal journey goes, I am starting to notice smaller things in my life that are pretty damn cool. However my mistake is having a sense of duty to my blog which is tainting the experience I think. It's turning into a chore which is completely beside the point.

I'm going to keep updating this as regularly as possible but I'm not going to restrict myself to a rigmarole that annoys me (I'm not sure if that's the word but I've always wanted to use it in a sentence). It will be easier when I'm not wading through school admin crap and having to adjust my sleep cycles.

So feedback below please, keep reading, keep commenting - The more people show that they're reading; the more motivated I am! Also I'd like you to tell me some of your remarkable things for the day you're commenting on so by all means chuck that below too :)

Peace out

29th & 30th - Motivation

Another problem I have is motivating myself and avoiding procrastination. I'll think of some stuff to write here later

Jan 28th - First day of the first term of the last year of school

It's weird.

Really weird.

Almost surreal really. What doesn't help is that the red shirts (as opposed to green) that Westlake 7th formers wear are really conspicuous and juniors looking up at you which was a position I was in about 4 years ago.

Time flew by. At the time it didn't but in hindsight it did. Last year of school. good golly, Miss molly.

Umm yeah, not much to add to that really. It's weird.

Jan 26th & 27th - Leadership

It's inevitable that I will miss a day every week but I'm not going to stop apologizing because that would start the downhill descent of this blog.

So we had the 3rd form initiation day today. I signed up to be a buddy to them, show them around the school, answer their questions and try make them feel at home in as short a space of time as possible. I had a really quiet group except for one kid who always had another question. And not stupid ones you can't just shrug off, actual questions that need answering. Twas interesting. Then we played handball :P

I'm off to bed now - big day tomorrow, first as a 7th former so it's pretty cool.

Jan 25th - Euphoria

Well today I was getting changed (you decide if that's a euphemism or not) after getting out of the pool and my phone started ringing which never happens. I pick it up and here's a loose transcript:

Me: Hello, Logan speaking
Guy: Hello Logan! This is mutter mutter mumble mumble
Me: Pardon?
Guy: This is John with the Spirit of Adventure Trust! did you realize your Mum entered you into a competition?
Me: ...no...
Guy: Well she did and we have just pulled your name out of the draw and announced it on Murray Deaker's Show! You've won a trip on The Spirt of New Zealand!
Me: NO WAY! (and things of that nature)

So I'm pretty amazed with this. I'm more excited about it than I thought I would be but I have been thinking about signing up for it for a while now. Creepiest part is that Mum had been talking about The Spirit of New Zealand a week earlier, prior to her knowing about the competition.

I think the weird thing is that I've been waiting for a new opportunity to come around to meet new people. And then BAM.

In short, I'm pretty stoked :P

Jan 24th - Manliness

In the early hours of this morning, I teared up. I DIDN'T CRY, I just teared up. The reason for this was I had found on youtube the piece by James Horner - The Machine Age.

This piece is the opening credits music to Bicentennial Man, a wholly underrated movie I had an obsession with when I was about 10. The obsession was more with this piece than the movie as I dubbed it onto my personal cassette tape (with the help of my sister) about 3 times on each side. This was my special tape, only amazing things went onto my tape, like the entirety of star wars episode 1, voice acting and all (Doing this and half imagining and remembering was a cool experiment) and I spent 2 hours on the first day we dubbed it listening to this piece over and over.

So here for your listening pleasure is the opening sequence to Bicentennial Man. It is worth watching, perhaps for the music, perhaps for great performances, but I'm in it for the nostalgia. (2.44 onwards gets me particularly)



(The actual sequence can be found here but embedding was denied for copyright reasons *shrug*)

Jan 23rd - New technology

I am writing this blogpost from my wii console. I must say it's not the best medium for writing long distance as I have to point the wiimote at a qwerty style virtual keyboard and press every single letter. The alternative is a phone keypad style thing but there is no predictive. So the remarkable thing about today is that this post took 15 minutes to painstakingly tap out. That sentence inclusive. And that one. But not that one or this one.

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Jan 22nd - Beliefs

Today I encountered a religion I had never heard before - Discordianism. Worshipping the Greek goddess of chaos, Eris, this religion believes that reality is acertained through discourse and chaos. When reading more about it, it sounds more like a parody religion than a real one but not to the extent of pastafarianism which I had a sudden craving to read again. 

With my ADD internet browsing style, I now have the complete works of Nietzche, Several bibles of various religions, The Gospel of the flying Spaghetti Monster and The 5 part Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy trilogy. I love the internet ^.^

I just found it incredible the wealth of knowledge that is out there regarding people's views on life and I plan to read through as much as possible to try and make sense of this crazy existance

Also for Douglas Adams fans, Eoin Colfer is writing a 6th book! I am truly bipolar in my reaction to this news :S 

Jan 21st - Chromotherapy?

Ok so I've had a long term problem with my ankle which is like a mild rash that occurs when my ankle is exposed to anything, technical name being psoriasis. I have been battling it for about a year and a half now with antibiotics, creams and all other kinds of shit. It's made me really self concious and so it is very rare to see me not wearing jeans.

But I recently heard of a thing called chromotherapy - Light colour therapy. You get a special light and put coloured gels on the light and each gel has a different effect. I don't class this with oogie boogie science because think about it - your body relies on vitamins from the sun so surely an altered light source from one spectrum would have a healing effect, right?

My Mum had a crook knee a while back and she spent 18 months trying to fix it with physio and whatnot. Apparently Dad (Who did the lighting for Shortland Street) put a green lighting gel on their bedside lamp and shone it on Mum's knee for about an hour or so for three days in a row. It was only a week later that Mum realised she hadn't had any pain from her knee since that therapy. So it kinda works. Cashin the elephant has a similar story.

So with this in mind, I spent a day in my light-proofed room with a light shining on my ankle. It is impossible to say whether it had effect or not but I suspect it didn't because I was using a really lame sheet of cellophane instead of a gel which converts the light 100%

I will keep you posted on such things related to this.

Jan 20th - Sickness

I hate being sick. Stomach Cramps, Migrane, throat swelling. I'm a happy chappy right now. I seriously can't think beyond my sorry state so apologies for that, I'll try make it up to you tomorrow

Jan 19th - Moon Landing

Just watched part of an episode of Mythbusters about the Lunar Landing and how it is a hoax, which sparked me into thinking; what if it was a hoax? What if one of the greastest moments in the history of mankind was a complete and utter sham?

This also put me onto the thought that tomorrow is inaugration day and Obama will become the new President, hoping of course that he survives the day. If Obama is assasinated, I will lose all hope in mankind. This is humanity's chance to grow up and surpass the racist thoughts of yesterday and embrace equality and could all be ruined by some stupid redneck sparking the next civil war.

I think I think too much.

Jan 17th & 18th - Love

Today I helped my sister film a video highlighting all the places that were important to her and her boyfriend for their one year anniversary. Her boyfriend works 5 weeks on and 5 weeks off on a supply boat for an oil rig. I think it's incredible that a relationship can stay constant with that kind of interruption all the time. He is an awesome guy and I would approve of him marrying my sister (which they have talked about a lot).

I can't say much about love due to my inexperience, I have had many relationships but only several have lasted over a week. I think it's insecurity that can drive love away and to cope with this, you just have to give in and go with the flow. 

What's also interesting is how many people actually are in love with the idea of being in love and will fool themselves into thinking that they are in love. While I guess it's better than moping about nobody loving you, it's probably more pain than it's worth in the long term when you wake up one morning and realise how empty your life is.

Jan 16th - Cooking

I love cooking, adding ingredients together to form a greater whole. It gives a feeling of deep satisfaction. Even better still is when you make up a recipe from scratch and it turns out brilliantly.

Here's one I made up today:

Hamburger Patties:

400g Lamb mince

2 tsp Mixed Herbs

2 Cloves of garlic

1-2Tbsp of Steak Sauce

I really hate using premade stuff in recipes but the steak sauce adds a lot of flavour that mixes so well with lamb and herbs. I used lamb instead of beef as it is lighter, easier to digest and it was what was in the freezer :D

Jan 15th - Photoshop

Ok you may think me vain, but I do touch up my photos before I put them up on facebook or other sites. Actually I think it's the opposite of vain because I recognise my flaws and want to hide them... Interesting debate to be had over that.

I've always had an obsession with black and white photography and have done some

 average works such as this: 

I don't know why but there is some distinct beauty in seeing the world through a B&W high contrast window. Things are griitier, prettier and breathe more. Sorry I'm getting gushy, I get gushy around photography (Found out I passed level 2 photog today BTW, it was nerve racking because There were 2 assignments worth 6 credits each and one worth 12. You had to get a minimum of 18 and I failed one of the 6s)

But that being said, slight splashes of colour are always nice so the technique of colour accenting was right up my alley. My most recent (and successful) attempt is as shown here:

I think I look like rick astley XD

Also if you wanna get into photoshopping and can't afford it, get GIMP. It's free and just as good. Enjoy!

Jan 13th & 14th - Double feature

Apologies for my absence yesterday, I was at a friend's house and he had used up his bandwidth so it was running at below Dial-up so it was near impossible to get here and blog for you lovely people.

The title for today reminds me of Grindhouse - a double feature of 2 films, one directed by Quentin Tarantino and the other directed by Robert Rodriguez. If you haven't checked out either Planet Terror or Death Proof, you really should as they perfectly resemble all that makes B-Grade so freaking awesome. Blood, guts, smut and deadpan dialogue - It's all in there and executed perfectly.

And if that doesn't do it for you, I'm sure a girl with a machine-gun leg will!

But that's besides the point. The point I was meandering hopelessly towards was the nature of B-grade films. It amazes me that something can be so bad that it is good. Perhaps it's because sometimes we need to take a break from mainstream Hollywood popcorn flicks and indulge in something that doesn't try to live up to expectations but rather makes it's own.

You do get those that dabble in both, The Spirit being a prime example. It's getting increasingly hard to tell with some films whether they take themselves seriously or not. Another prime example being the Batman movies with great actors like George Clooney facing off in a technicoloured Gotham, fighting ludicrously camp villains. It makes up for the lack of *THUD* onomatapoeia *ZWHACK* that there was in the tv series.

So I challenge you to watch a B-grade movie and enjoy something that hasn't got it's head most the way up it's own arse. Filmmakers show their absolute best creativity and originality when not pressured by Hollywood's expectation. 

(I always wanted to be the guy who got to write the onomatapoeia for Batman. It would be such a brilliant job to have. Also I think someone should make a Lego Batman mod to put them in the game cause that would be beyond rad)

Jan 12th - Euphoria

I have absolutely no Idea but I am so happy right at this very moment. It's hard to figure out the source of this frivolity. It may be the song 'Parklife' by Blur. In that case I may be laughing at myself for singing along everytime the backing singers shout "PARKLIFE" in a cockney accent but everything is good and right with the world in my mind.

Jan 11th - Gaming and Shopping

There is nothing like escaping the confines of reality and finding a truly great bargain.

That's all the wisdom I have for you today kids XD

Jan 10th - Good entertainment

Today I had the pleasure of joining Mr. Lewis Bostock (www.youtube.com/lewisbostock) on a lovely romp to the cinema. We went to see Frank Miller's and Will Eisner's 'The Spirit'.

To say the movies is good is a lie. To say it is bad is also a lie. To say this movie is so amazingly bad it is good is just my opinion but I had fun during it. Whether it was Lewis' total slackjawed awe at how horrific the film was or the snide comment possibilities that entertained me more is hard to say; but is really hard not to think that this would make one hell of a 'Mystery Science Theatre 3000' episode.

So if you are either drunk, into B-Grade or suicidal, Go see the spirit. Though I would imagine it would be undearable going on your own.

And for those more buff on their films - think Flash Gordon.

Jan 9th - In good company

I just had a nice and relaxed evening with some good family friends of ours - talking and relaxing as the food slowly cooked on the bbq and the children frollicked. I even got to kayak on their massive pond in an open kayak (I never understood the logic in removing all that waterproofed the kayak and stopped the user from getting wet) and then later swim in a 3m deep pool.

These things were not the best part of the evening. the best part was how easily everyone got on, there was not one uncomfortable moment and I love sharing time with people who are so cruisy. I think if everyone took the time to timeout and chill with some seriously good people, the world would be a better place XD

Jan 7th & 8th - Importance of keeping track

Ye gods.

Ok, now I can see how important this keeping track thing is. I had missed a couple of days in my diary, and when I went to fill them I had no idea what happened and what to write about. So my remarkableness for those missing dates is you should ALWAYS NEVER lose track or your life will slip away in a blur of "huh?"

I say again:

ALWAYS NEVER.


That has to be the most intellectual sounding and profound posts I have ever written.

Jan 6th - Public Bathrooms

I'm not really a squeamish person or pedantic or neurotic or anything (well I lie, but for the purpose of argument, let's say I am not), But I absolutely HATE public bathrooms. I see no possible reason for someone of the male persuasion to leave their bodily fluids everywhere but the specified reticle, I mean it' not like it's fucking hard to AIM!!

That aside, I was impressed with Albany's Food Court bathrooms. I walked into the cubicle dreading the worst. The thing was SPOTLESS. Bravo Westfield, Bravo.

Jan 5th - Sleeping in

There is nothing quite like sleeping in, even as light attempts to enter the room and the sounds of the day filter in through every crack, you roll over and think "fuck you" and sleep in till 12.

I love doing that.

Jan 4th - Poolside

There is a lot to be said about just chilling by the pool. It doesn't matter whether you are reading, texting, listening to music or surfing the net, it's a really pleasant position to be in. It's like the running water brings tranquility to one's soul, which i'm sure it does. Maybe it's because I'm a Capricorn as i'm sure the astrology people out there would argue is the reason.

The neighbour's dog just ruined all the tranquility. I hate that fucking dog. GRRRR

Jan 3rd - MY BIRTHDAY!!!

I think That's pretty damn remarkable enough. And If not then:

LEGO BATMAN!!!And some shorts too.

Jan 2nd - Dreams

Convinced a friend to re-pursue her dreams of dancing. She had danced for a while before but it all fell through to university and work demands. By simply mentioning that she should, she had the second opinion she never asked for, out of the blue and she can't not do it now.

I feel good that I could be part of that XD

Happy New Remarkable Year!