Yes, I finally gave in and ordered myself the rather spiffy TransFormers Music Label Soundwave. While I consider the model to be somewhat flawed (the Gen 1 Purist in me says that the lower legs transform backwards, and all in the name of 'ar-tick-you-lay-shun'), let's face it... It's frikkin' Soundwave, people!
Gen 1 Soundwave was one of the finest toys to come out of Takara's Microchange catalogues, and there wasn't a 'proper' Soundwave until the wonderful stealth bomber version that graced Galaxy Force/Cybertron. Music Label Soundwave isn't just a remake, it's a very clever homage taking today's technology and building a classic Decepticon around it. Even if it's only ever on display, it'll look great on my TF Classics shelf. But, hell, it's a working MP3 player into the bargain. What's not to like?
There are a couple of things I would have done differently (ignoring the legs for the moment) such as making his weapons into 'batteries' that could be stowed inside him (if the battery compartment was made big enough for three AAA batteries, the weapons could have been made to scale and slotted in along with the real battery), and I might have been tempted to give him some kind of minion in the package, as well as having Music Label Rumble & Frenzy, but that's just me being picky and petty.
Spent some time today trying to think through a structure for my website redesign, and I'm fairly happy with the results so far. The complicated part will be actually putting it into some kind of practice, and deciding on a look. I'd like it to be more consistent this time - all sections looking similar - but what sort of overall look? I don't want it to be too TransFormers-centric, and I don't want it looking too plain... and then there's the logo, which will have to be 'remastered' for the new look.
I'm pretty certain that, once I've got this figured out, I will consider it the 'final' layout for the site. Changing the look every year was fun while I had the time, inclination and ideas... but I'm out of all three these days.
Tuesday 31 July 2007
New arrivals
It hasn't actually arrived, as such... As with last time, Parcelforce have informed me that I have a package from the States (awaiting its final delivery now that I've paid the Customs charge). Of course, last time this happened, I still had to wait three days for it to be delivered, despite specifying the next day for delivery. Good old Parcelforce.
I'm assuming, going by the charge, that this is the BotCon Games of Deception set, rather than the more recently ordered/despatched Alpha Trion/Weirdwolf/Vector Sigma BotCon souvenir set. That makes it something like a three week lead time... I'm guessing that means it wasn't sent airmail ;)
Pretty sure I selected airmail for A3/Ww/VS, so there's a chance I'll get another letter from Parcelforce very soon... That, or the set will just be delivered, depending on whether or not it's picked up by Customs. Breakaway got through because he was marked up as a free gift... but the TFCC are very scrupulous about their labelling of other stuff - always the correct and full amount listed on the forms.
It'd be really cool to have received both by the end of the week, but I'm not counting on it.
I'm assuming, going by the charge, that this is the BotCon Games of Deception set, rather than the more recently ordered/despatched Alpha Trion/Weirdwolf/Vector Sigma BotCon souvenir set. That makes it something like a three week lead time... I'm guessing that means it wasn't sent airmail ;)
Pretty sure I selected airmail for A3/Ww/VS, so there's a chance I'll get another letter from Parcelforce very soon... That, or the set will just be delivered, depending on whether or not it's picked up by Customs. Breakaway got through because he was marked up as a free gift... but the TFCC are very scrupulous about their labelling of other stuff - always the correct and full amount listed on the forms.
It'd be really cool to have received both by the end of the week, but I'm not counting on it.
Assorted weirdness
Of course, I forgot to write about my latest weird dream... Not sure which night I had this one - Saturday or Sunday - and I don't remember much in detail.
It started out as a TransFormers videogame, using the models from Galaxy Force/Cybertron. The part I was playing involved Galaxy Convoy/Optimus Prime flying around a human city, above a canal with roads either side (which reminded me strangely of Acton High Street). Decepticons flew past as targets to be shot down, and it was all rather repetitive... Initially, it seems, I was flying backwards (out of the screen... or was that the right way? As I said, the details are rather hazy now), but switched direction and suddenly found it far easier to play.
For a while, the 'game' switched to first person perspective... I was Optimus Prime... and then I came in to land on one of the pavements by the canal, in amongst the people, and realised that I was back to being me again, because I was the same height as everyone else, rather than a massive robot. But I'd flown in... and no-one batted an eyelid, except in irritation that I was suddenly in their way.
It was night time, and I was pushing my way through neon-lit streets, in a rather shady part of town (I'm still thinking Acton), and I was on a mission... I had to find the back alley people go to when someone has gone missing, and they want them found.
My old mate Paul, it transpired, had been kidnapped - and not for the first time - because he'd fallen for the wrong girl. This kept happening because, no matter how many times he was captured, warned, roughed up, and released, he'd still go straight back to her. I felt that she liked him as well, so that was kind of alright... I just wanted Paul found and returned safely. For some reason, this time, I'd left it alone for two weeks (teaching him a lesson? Trying to make him think I wasn't going to help him this time? Who knows?) but was starting to think that might have been too long... perhaps he'd normally have been released by that point.
Anyway. I found the back alley, and tried to talk a man into helping me. He directed me to a box on the wall (kind of like the information points on the Underground, but dirtier) which was actually the doorway down to the gang hideout. The way it worked was that you put in money (minimum of 20p, using a variety of coins according to the labelling, but it worked like a phone, so the money counted for so many seconds, and you had to be sure you put enough in to get your message across) and then someone would 'solve your problem'. My first problem was trying to find the right change... by the time I'd settled on a £1 coin, the guy I'd talked to had become so frustrated with my ineptitude, he decided to open the door himself, so I ended up giving him the money (much to his confusion, I hasten to add).
That's about all I can remember clearly, but I think Paul was released... and ran straight back to the girl.
It started out as a TransFormers videogame, using the models from Galaxy Force/Cybertron. The part I was playing involved Galaxy Convoy/Optimus Prime flying around a human city, above a canal with roads either side (which reminded me strangely of Acton High Street). Decepticons flew past as targets to be shot down, and it was all rather repetitive... Initially, it seems, I was flying backwards (out of the screen... or was that the right way? As I said, the details are rather hazy now), but switched direction and suddenly found it far easier to play.
For a while, the 'game' switched to first person perspective... I was Optimus Prime... and then I came in to land on one of the pavements by the canal, in amongst the people, and realised that I was back to being me again, because I was the same height as everyone else, rather than a massive robot. But I'd flown in... and no-one batted an eyelid, except in irritation that I was suddenly in their way.
It was night time, and I was pushing my way through neon-lit streets, in a rather shady part of town (I'm still thinking Acton), and I was on a mission... I had to find the back alley people go to when someone has gone missing, and they want them found.
My old mate Paul, it transpired, had been kidnapped - and not for the first time - because he'd fallen for the wrong girl. This kept happening because, no matter how many times he was captured, warned, roughed up, and released, he'd still go straight back to her. I felt that she liked him as well, so that was kind of alright... I just wanted Paul found and returned safely. For some reason, this time, I'd left it alone for two weeks (teaching him a lesson? Trying to make him think I wasn't going to help him this time? Who knows?) but was starting to think that might have been too long... perhaps he'd normally have been released by that point.
Anyway. I found the back alley, and tried to talk a man into helping me. He directed me to a box on the wall (kind of like the information points on the Underground, but dirtier) which was actually the doorway down to the gang hideout. The way it worked was that you put in money (minimum of 20p, using a variety of coins according to the labelling, but it worked like a phone, so the money counted for so many seconds, and you had to be sure you put enough in to get your message across) and then someone would 'solve your problem'. My first problem was trying to find the right change... by the time I'd settled on a £1 coin, the guy I'd talked to had become so frustrated with my ineptitude, he decided to open the door himself, so I ended up giving him the money (much to his confusion, I hasten to add).
That's about all I can remember clearly, but I think Paul was released... and ran straight back to the girl.
Monday 30 July 2007
Power
On a rather more positive note compared to the earlier post, I managed to finish reading Greg Bear's Songs of Earth and Power this morning. I spent the first half of the book just reading it as a fantasy book, loaned to me by my boss. Around that halfway point, I slowly started to pick up on something strange: The main character was a little bit like me.
It turned out that's why my boss loaned me the book in the first place. Furthermore, it transpired that one of our colleagues (at the time, left shortly after!) was vehemently opposed to my reading such a book. Equally so with Stephen Donaldson's Chronicles of Thomas Covenant. His reasoning was that it was a bad idea for someone like me to read about someone discovering their inner power, or about an outcast who becomes all-powerful.
And to think I once considered that guy a friend, of sorts.
Then again, the same guy mistakenly believed that I should never be made a manager as that was tantamount to 'giving me people to play with'. He might as well have been talking about himself, considering what happened when he was promoted.
It's strange... Certain kinds of people have a habit of seeing themselves when they look at me.
Anyway. The book. I must admit I was rather disappointed by the low-key ending. OK, recreating the world may not exactly be 'low key' by most people's definition... but read it, and tell me it's not. Some of Greg Bear's writing is so subtle, you'd barely notice anything was happening. On the other hand, some of it is exceptionally detailed, clear and thorough... There are times I found myself wondering why he'd gone off on a tangent when surely other things should have been more important, but it all comes together in the end. I'm not sure what to make of the Afterword... on the one hand, I could easily live without it's mysticising of a terrible coincidence. On the one hand, assuming the events occurred as related, it serves to underwrite the message of the novel - that there truly is more to us than most of us see in ourselves, and that we really should look a little deeper. People keep telling me this about myself... And I usually reply that I've looked deep enough... I just don't know what to do with what I see.
On a similar note, I watched the last seven episodes of Beast Machines season one today - some in the morning, the rest in the afternoon - and, while the animation is best categorised as 'disappointing' (it doesn't even attempt to emulate the toys' transformations the way Beast Wars did), the storytelling is excellent. Yes, there's an awful lot of cod-philosophy ("I AM transformed!") and pseudo-intellectual discussion of nature vs science (which gets even better when Rhinox returns)... but the action is there, and it's never black and white, good versus evil. I wasn't very impressed when I first saw the opening episodes (Beast Wars condescends far less), but having seen the whole first season, I've enjoyed it all. Hadn't realised there was another season of this (at least!)... but now, having seen the backstory of how the Maximals got back to Cybertron, I'm wondering if there wasn't more to Beast Wars than I've seen...
Shame the toys were rubbish ;)
It turned out that's why my boss loaned me the book in the first place. Furthermore, it transpired that one of our colleagues (at the time, left shortly after!) was vehemently opposed to my reading such a book. Equally so with Stephen Donaldson's Chronicles of Thomas Covenant. His reasoning was that it was a bad idea for someone like me to read about someone discovering their inner power, or about an outcast who becomes all-powerful.
And to think I once considered that guy a friend, of sorts.
Then again, the same guy mistakenly believed that I should never be made a manager as that was tantamount to 'giving me people to play with'. He might as well have been talking about himself, considering what happened when he was promoted.
It's strange... Certain kinds of people have a habit of seeing themselves when they look at me.
Anyway. The book. I must admit I was rather disappointed by the low-key ending. OK, recreating the world may not exactly be 'low key' by most people's definition... but read it, and tell me it's not. Some of Greg Bear's writing is so subtle, you'd barely notice anything was happening. On the other hand, some of it is exceptionally detailed, clear and thorough... There are times I found myself wondering why he'd gone off on a tangent when surely other things should have been more important, but it all comes together in the end. I'm not sure what to make of the Afterword... on the one hand, I could easily live without it's mysticising of a terrible coincidence. On the one hand, assuming the events occurred as related, it serves to underwrite the message of the novel - that there truly is more to us than most of us see in ourselves, and that we really should look a little deeper. People keep telling me this about myself... And I usually reply that I've looked deep enough... I just don't know what to do with what I see.
On a similar note, I watched the last seven episodes of Beast Machines season one today - some in the morning, the rest in the afternoon - and, while the animation is best categorised as 'disappointing' (it doesn't even attempt to emulate the toys' transformations the way Beast Wars did), the storytelling is excellent. Yes, there's an awful lot of cod-philosophy ("I AM transformed!") and pseudo-intellectual discussion of nature vs science (which gets even better when Rhinox returns)... but the action is there, and it's never black and white, good versus evil. I wasn't very impressed when I first saw the opening episodes (Beast Wars condescends far less), but having seen the whole first season, I've enjoyed it all. Hadn't realised there was another season of this (at least!)... but now, having seen the backstory of how the Maximals got back to Cybertron, I'm wondering if there wasn't more to Beast Wars than I've seen...
Shame the toys were rubbish ;)
It's a d'oh day
Went to see the Simpsons movie this last weekend... and wasn't especially impressed. It was very much like watching an extended episode of the TV series but, since I only ever catch the odd episode now and again, I hadn't realised how patchy it had become. There were some funny moments, but if I'd had a sheet of paper divided into two columns - hit and miss - I'd have put far more ticks in the miss column. The plot was uninspired (Homer creates an environmental disaster that gets Springfield sealed in a dome thanks to the Environmental Protection Agency), the subplots were excessive retreads of things that have happened in the series (Marge leaves Homer because he's selfish, Bart decides that Flanders would make a better Dad, Lisa finds 'true love'), and the setpieces were either predictable (Homer's 'wall of death' ride to save the town) or childish (while Bart skateboards naked into town, his groin is hidden by a series of 'clever' coincidences until he goes behind a bush, which shows through only at groin level), and most of the good stuff turned up in the trailers (Homer bouncing between a rock and a bar called 'A Hard Place' while attached to a wrecking ball). The opening scene, which shows the family watching a movie of a TV show, perfectly sets up the Simpsons movie experience when Homer complains about paying to see something that's free on TV, and calls everyone in the audience an idiot (or something like that). The best joke in the movie came during the closing credits, where Maggie spoke her first word: "Sequel?" While that was funny, it did send a nasty chill down my spine. According to the law of diminishing returns, a Simpsons movie sequel would not be worthy of a worldwide cinematic release.
Cut to today, where I'm still off work and - so far - still not doing a bloody thing of any use. News from work has done little to improve my opinions of the company I work for. Quite the opposite, in fact. More rats deserting the sinking ship, and further evidence of the rampant cronyism sweeping through Sales. One of the morons on Classified was recently banned from making Display advertising sales because his 'big client' turned out to be a teenager running a 'business' from his bedroom, with no means to pay the debt (several thousand pound) he'd accrued with his full-page ads running in several of our magazines. This same moron has now been promoted into Display sales to fill a vacancy created by moving another moron from one of our smaller magazines over to our flagship title. It's doubtful that this 'vacancy' was ever advertised, even internally, and this moron's cousin is one of the Commercial Managers, who would have approved the promotion... I'm sure that must be a legal grey area...
I'm meant to be looking into how I can further help this band of self-deceiving, self-destructive cretins, by taking over some of the website-related work... But I think my time would be far better spent updating my CV, writing a letter of resignation, and looking for a new job.
Cut to today, where I'm still off work and - so far - still not doing a bloody thing of any use. News from work has done little to improve my opinions of the company I work for. Quite the opposite, in fact. More rats deserting the sinking ship, and further evidence of the rampant cronyism sweeping through Sales. One of the morons on Classified was recently banned from making Display advertising sales because his 'big client' turned out to be a teenager running a 'business' from his bedroom, with no means to pay the debt (several thousand pound) he'd accrued with his full-page ads running in several of our magazines. This same moron has now been promoted into Display sales to fill a vacancy created by moving another moron from one of our smaller magazines over to our flagship title. It's doubtful that this 'vacancy' was ever advertised, even internally, and this moron's cousin is one of the Commercial Managers, who would have approved the promotion... I'm sure that must be a legal grey area...
I'm meant to be looking into how I can further help this band of self-deceiving, self-destructive cretins, by taking over some of the website-related work... But I think my time would be far better spent updating my CV, writing a letter of resignation, and looking for a new job.
Friday 27 July 2007
Halfway through the holiday
It's the end of the first week of my holiday, and I've barely set foot outside the house. I'd like that to change next week, so I'm considering looking into daytrips or, at the very least, some shopping outside my normal spheres. Popping down to Kingston to browse at The Entertainer, grab a milkshake at Shakeaway, and then pop around the other shops sounds like a good start.
Today seems bright and sunny compared to the rest of the week. Not to mention dry. The sky started out quite clear but, thanks to the very strong winds still blowing around, it soon clouded over. Not completely overcast by a long shot, and it's largely white cloud rather than the ominous grey of the last few days. Still, it's cloudy enough for me to think it's probably not worth trying to get up to date photos of the new additions to my collection.
Speaking of which, not long after I sent an email to the TransFormers Collectors' Club equiring after tracking numbers for the parcels I'm expecting from them, the first of them actually arrived. This year's membership figure, Breakaway, carries on the use of transparent red and blue plastic (actually transparent red and grey, with opaque blue), but uses the jet mold from Energon Superion/Superion Maximus. It's a great mold, looking suitably sleek in vehicle mode and very poseable in robot mode. The only letdowns are the awkward weapons (are they rifles? are they tonfa?) and the utterly bizarre limb mode, which convinces as neither arm nor leg.
Still, makes one wonder what the fourth and final limb will be... So far, they've all been from either Superion or Bruticus, meaning the last will either follow the pattern and be the helicopter mold from Bruticus, or baffle everyone by being one of the Energon Constructicons. Either way, there are three whole possibilities for the fifth figure - the torso - but I'm leaning towards the jet for the time being. It'd be really cool if it turns out the be the body from Bruticus, as that's the only combiner set I didn't track down. Either would make sense... whereas the giant digger most certainly would not.
Woke up today with a slightly dodgy stomach and, while the worst of it seems to have passed (so to speak), I'm still getting the odd twinge. Kind of annoying, as I'll be heading off out in just over an hour, for an evening if utter debauchery... I'd really rather it wasn't spoilt by a gippy tummy.
Today seems bright and sunny compared to the rest of the week. Not to mention dry. The sky started out quite clear but, thanks to the very strong winds still blowing around, it soon clouded over. Not completely overcast by a long shot, and it's largely white cloud rather than the ominous grey of the last few days. Still, it's cloudy enough for me to think it's probably not worth trying to get up to date photos of the new additions to my collection.
Speaking of which, not long after I sent an email to the TransFormers Collectors' Club equiring after tracking numbers for the parcels I'm expecting from them, the first of them actually arrived. This year's membership figure, Breakaway, carries on the use of transparent red and blue plastic (actually transparent red and grey, with opaque blue), but uses the jet mold from Energon Superion/Superion Maximus. It's a great mold, looking suitably sleek in vehicle mode and very poseable in robot mode. The only letdowns are the awkward weapons (are they rifles? are they tonfa?) and the utterly bizarre limb mode, which convinces as neither arm nor leg.
Still, makes one wonder what the fourth and final limb will be... So far, they've all been from either Superion or Bruticus, meaning the last will either follow the pattern and be the helicopter mold from Bruticus, or baffle everyone by being one of the Energon Constructicons. Either way, there are three whole possibilities for the fifth figure - the torso - but I'm leaning towards the jet for the time being. It'd be really cool if it turns out the be the body from Bruticus, as that's the only combiner set I didn't track down. Either would make sense... whereas the giant digger most certainly would not.
Woke up today with a slightly dodgy stomach and, while the worst of it seems to have passed (so to speak), I'm still getting the odd twinge. Kind of annoying, as I'll be heading off out in just over an hour, for an evening if utter debauchery... I'd really rather it wasn't spoilt by a gippy tummy.
Thursday 26 July 2007
Further inclement weather
At some point this afternoon, with this morning's headache still clinging on, I went to sleep for a couple of hours. Part holiday lethargy, part reaction to the late nights I keep having because I don't have to get up in the mornings, and part reaction to the soothing sound of the torrential rain outside.
Yes, it's still happening.
The last time I looked out of my window prior to succumbing to sleep, I could just about make out the houses across the road, but nothing beyond. OK, so the houses 'across the road' at my stretch of the road are about 80ft of garden further away than normal, but that doesn't change the fact that it was pretty heavy rain. Visibility of about 100-150ft is bad news all round, and I pity anyone who was out in it.
And yet we're not flooded around here. I really must take a look at the canal sometime, to see how that's holding up in this weather. Didn't seem out of the ordinary last week, and the rain we had then was much heavier than this week, so I'd guess our antiquated waterways are functioning well enough.
Anyway, when I woke up after my little nap, the headache was gone. Strangely, I did have a cold sweat on my brow which, while not particularly unusual with a headache, tends to suggest it was much worse that it felt at the time...
I spent a little time in the remainder of the afternoon painting some detail onto my TF Movie Barricade and Frenzy. Cosmetic details on the former, and a complete silver coating for the latter, to make him more presentable. It's quite a shame that Hasbro didn't go the extra mile in decorating these things, considering the effort that went into realising them for the movie. The models are are pretty darned good, considering their size, but the paintwork is sparse and frequently inaccurate. It's interesting to note that a fan recently repainted a whole bunch of movie toys and then sold them on eBay, netting himself somewhere not far off $4000, which then funded his trip to the San Diego Comic Con. My paintwork is nowhere near as good, but it's good enough for my collection... I'd quite like to paint up most of the models, just to improve on their plainness, but my brushwork is rather haphazard and, frankly, I'm too lazy to really get into it. Photos of those painted models were equal parts inspiring and disheartening... and I just end up wishing I could buy them looking like that.
Yes, it's still happening.
The last time I looked out of my window prior to succumbing to sleep, I could just about make out the houses across the road, but nothing beyond. OK, so the houses 'across the road' at my stretch of the road are about 80ft of garden further away than normal, but that doesn't change the fact that it was pretty heavy rain. Visibility of about 100-150ft is bad news all round, and I pity anyone who was out in it.
And yet we're not flooded around here. I really must take a look at the canal sometime, to see how that's holding up in this weather. Didn't seem out of the ordinary last week, and the rain we had then was much heavier than this week, so I'd guess our antiquated waterways are functioning well enough.
Anyway, when I woke up after my little nap, the headache was gone. Strangely, I did have a cold sweat on my brow which, while not particularly unusual with a headache, tends to suggest it was much worse that it felt at the time...
I spent a little time in the remainder of the afternoon painting some detail onto my TF Movie Barricade and Frenzy. Cosmetic details on the former, and a complete silver coating for the latter, to make him more presentable. It's quite a shame that Hasbro didn't go the extra mile in decorating these things, considering the effort that went into realising them for the movie. The models are are pretty darned good, considering their size, but the paintwork is sparse and frequently inaccurate. It's interesting to note that a fan recently repainted a whole bunch of movie toys and then sold them on eBay, netting himself somewhere not far off $4000, which then funded his trip to the San Diego Comic Con. My paintwork is nowhere near as good, but it's good enough for my collection... I'd quite like to paint up most of the models, just to improve on their plainness, but my brushwork is rather haphazard and, frankly, I'm too lazy to really get into it. Photos of those painted models were equal parts inspiring and disheartening... and I just end up wishing I could buy them looking like that.
Chilled
I'd just like to mention that I'm wearing a jumper.
Indoors.
In the summer.
Anyone else think this is strange?
The problem most people seem to have with the concept of 'Global Warming' is that they fully ignore the 'Global' part and get tripped up by the 'Warming' part. Global Warming doesn't necessarily mean the whole planet becoming uniformly warmer. The weather systems are far too complex for that. I don't pretend to know nearly enough about this planet to come out with a solid argument, but when European weather systems take such a dramatic hit from Global Warming that the weather front that would normally give us a pleasant summer suddenly dives much further south, leaving us with high winds and heavy rain, I don't suddenly go into denial. Sure, it's odd... But it just proves how much we don't know about this planet we're happily messing up.
So anyway, I woke up with a headache this morning. I'm blaming it on two things. First and foremost, I've obviously not been drinking enough water while I've been off work. I've been grabbing a bottle from the fridge every time I feel thirsty, but that's clearly not as often as I need. Second, this freaky weather is really bugging me. My body seems to be very sensitive to temperature changes because I can get a headache through being out in the sun, then going into an air-conditioned building. Going back out just exacerbates things. I'm feeling these very strange chills around my stomach and ankles (?!) which often precede and run alongside this kind of headache.
I've managed to tidy up a little, to the point where I can see my desk again... but I still have piles of paper to sort through and, for the most part, discard. Should probably get onto that soon.
Indoors.
In the summer.
Anyone else think this is strange?
The problem most people seem to have with the concept of 'Global Warming' is that they fully ignore the 'Global' part and get tripped up by the 'Warming' part. Global Warming doesn't necessarily mean the whole planet becoming uniformly warmer. The weather systems are far too complex for that. I don't pretend to know nearly enough about this planet to come out with a solid argument, but when European weather systems take such a dramatic hit from Global Warming that the weather front that would normally give us a pleasant summer suddenly dives much further south, leaving us with high winds and heavy rain, I don't suddenly go into denial. Sure, it's odd... But it just proves how much we don't know about this planet we're happily messing up.
So anyway, I woke up with a headache this morning. I'm blaming it on two things. First and foremost, I've obviously not been drinking enough water while I've been off work. I've been grabbing a bottle from the fridge every time I feel thirsty, but that's clearly not as often as I need. Second, this freaky weather is really bugging me. My body seems to be very sensitive to temperature changes because I can get a headache through being out in the sun, then going into an air-conditioned building. Going back out just exacerbates things. I'm feeling these very strange chills around my stomach and ankles (?!) which often precede and run alongside this kind of headache.
I've managed to tidy up a little, to the point where I can see my desk again... but I still have piles of paper to sort through and, for the most part, discard. Should probably get onto that soon.
Wednesday 25 July 2007
7.5/10 (on average)
I'm a little bit behind at the moment. Also, yet again, I'm going through the Four Stages of Holiday Awareness, even though I really should know better by now.
Oh well.
Last weekend, I went to see TransFormers on preview not once, but twice. I caught the first showing at some ridiculous hour of the morning at the Empire, Leicester Square, then went again with my old mate Paul on the Sunday to the Vue at Shepherds Bush.
Gotta tell you, it was better the second time around. The sound system at the Empire just wasn't up to the job, and I couldn't understand most of the robots' dialogue. Hell, even some of what the humans said wasn't entirely clear. When I came out of the Empire, I gave it a firm 7/10 because of a good few issues with the film as a whole. After seeing it again at Shepherds Bush, I'd increased the score to 8/10.
So, what's wrong with it?
Well, I understand that the writers themselves were not entirely happy with the final cut. Certain elements of plot appear to have been left on the cutting room floor, and what remains isn't exactly (ahem) prime stuff. If you haven't seen it and plan to, be warned that the following may contain spoilers...
My biggest problem with the film is the utterly redundant 'humor' scenes involving Sam's parents. Sure, establish character... but did we really need the conversation about euphemisms for masturbation? And on the subject of establishing character, well done on establishing the Autobots as a bunch or giant robotic jerks whose uncharacteristic lack of patience and brainpower frequently made a mockery of the idea of 'robots in disguise'. We really could have done without the whole 'back garden' scene, especially as it seemed to be there purely to give Ironhide an excuse to use the phrase 'leaking lubricant' which wouldn't have been so bad if he'd used it correctly. Messrs Kurtzman and Orci: when Ironhide speaks of 'leaking lubricant' he is not being literal, nor is it a euphemism for urinating. He is complaining about needless chatter, when action is required.
And speaking of needless chatter, what's with Bumblebee speaking through the radio for most of the film? I mean, why? What did it accomplish? It reminded me of Eric Idle's turn as Wreck-Gar, the leader of the Junkions in the '86 animated movie, but that's really not a good thing. Were we supposed to sympathise with him? Was it just a placeholder because casting a voice actor wasn't going so well? For the record, Mark Ryan may not have been anyone's first choice, but his two lines worked quite well, and established an older, more mature Bumblebee than following Gen 1 canon would have done... Even if he did act like a jerk, like the rest of the Autobots.
And Jazz... Sweet mercy, Jazz. What did you do to him? No, I'm not referring to having Megatron rip him in half at the end, I'm talking about his astonishing lack of character. His opening like is "What's crackin', li'l bitches?" and things don't get much better from there. Sure, he's the one who demands that they try to rescue Bumblebee when Sector 7 capture him but, really, what does that amount to? It has been said within the fan community that his death doesn't have as much impact as Bumblebee's capture because the latter is seen through Sam's eyes and we empathise with him, while the former happens as a consequence of the battle in the city, so we just don't have time to process it. How about this as an alternative theory: Jazz was characterised very poorly. Nobody actually liked him, so nobody gave a damn when he got torn apart. Personally, I was quite glad that Megatron shut him up. Jazz was meant to be Prime's right-hand man for special operations, and a huge fan of Earth culture and music... he was painted as a two-dimensional 'gangsta' wannabee whose only tick in the 'plus' column was that he transformed by breakdancing. Seriously, that was cool. The rest wasn't.
Ironhide... Wasn't quite right until the battle at the end, where he was awesome. At every other opportunity, he was just a lunatic who wanted to shoot stuff (including, but not limited to, Sam's dog and Sam's parents). If only they'd kept the whole of his arrival scene, where he actually answers the little girl's question, he might have come across as a fun character, rather than a redneck with a fondness for large projectile weapons.
Ratchet was good... but rather than putting him across as the good-time 'bot, he came across as a semi-reformed stoner after that run-in with the power cables. "Tingly", was it? Sure...
It's hardly worth discussing the Decepticons, as most of them didn't even speak (in English, at least). Starscream had one line, Barricade had two, Megatron only a couple more... other than that, they were target practice. The only real highlight of the movie was Frenzy, whose comic antics were all perfectly judged. He was, at once, a character in his own right, and a fun homage to Soundwave (witness the old 'transforming into portable hi-fi so dim humans will take him exactly where he wants to go' trick). With a character as adaptable as Frenzy, they didn't need any more comic relief in this film. Frankly, I ended up with more sympathy for him (he gets beheaded, restored by the Allspark, then beheaded again by one of his own razor discs) than for any other character in the film... and he's such a bad guy, he sticks his middle finger up at the humans after escaping from Air Force One.
Starscream's dogfight at the end was brilliantly executed, but treated as secondary - it was, essentially, just a special effects sequence. The early fight between Bumblebee and Barricade fared even worse - most of it happened off-screen, while we watched Frenzy rip off Sam's trousers (See? Did we really need any other comic relief?) in an attempt to capture and subdue him.
And then there's the humans... Sam and Mikaela were OK, but Sam's parents were just irritating... like an ad libbed routine that went on too long, but didn't get cut. The soliders were all functional, but you could tell straight away who was wearing the red jersey, so to speak. The main two were pretty good, and I hope to see more of their interpersonal dynamic in the sequel. Jon Voight worked pretty well as the Secretary of Defence, but didn't have to do much other than look like a man out of his depth... which, in this film, probably didn't constitute acting for someone like Voight. John Turturro evidently thought his character was supposed to be the comic relief, and overplayed it dramatically when we first meet him. He later toned it down briefly, only to go stupid again a little later, so I'm thinking that was largely down to wonky scripting for that character.
Storywise... there wasn't much. Or there was too much unnecessary crap which got in the way of developing the necessary stuff. The 'super hacker' Glen would have been entirely redundant if they'd developed 'not so super analyst' Maggie a bit better. If she was good enough to be drafted in by the Pentagon as an analyst, why did she need Glen? And if Glen was better than her, why wasn't he drafted in? Did they really think the script needed more comic relief? After Bobby Bolivia? After the Witwickys? After Agent Simmons? After poor, poor Frenzy?
After all that negativity, what was right with the film? Well, the robots and their transformations were stunning, particularly Optimus Prime's first transformation, and Bonecrusher's transformation into 'rollerblade mode' on the highway. So far removed from the chunky toys of 1984, and yet retaining their essence, and just enough like their movie toy counterparts that the toys still seem worth collecting. The facial animation was cleverly handled, but I can't help thinking some of it was unnecessary. Did all the robots faces really need to have a 'normal' and 'battle' modes? Still, each one was believable and realistic, and all had just the right amount of character in their appearance. Also on the plus side, the action was spot on and Ironhide made the best of it. Frenzy, as mentioned already, was brilliant in every way, a true scene-stealer. Stealthy and wily infiltrator, pint-sized engine of anger and comic genius, all rolled into one svelte, steel shell. Not sure I like the insectoid look of him, but his slapstick was excellent.
It was never going to be Shakespeare, but it was certainly more than a 144 minute advertisement for the toys.
In other news, both my boss and I are on holiday this week and, while she goes back to work next week, I'm off for the full fortnight. We met up on Monday to traipse around the Tate Modern (Dreams & Surrealism) and the Tate Britain (How We Are), which ended up tiring us both out. Were it not for the inclement weather (which is back today after some nice sunshine yesterday) we might have stayed out a bit longer and wandered round uptown some more. It was a fun day out, but I don't think either of us were particularly blown away by either exhibition.
Edit: Speaking of being blown away, though, my boss reminded me that we did put fear into the day of one security guy when we pointed out an abandoned Spider-Man backpack on the steps of County Hall. Since it didn't make the news in any sense, I can only assume there was no bomb in there... chances are it was left behind by a child who spent the rest of the day crying. You can never be too sure, though, and we didn't stick around long enough to find out.
Yesterday and today, I've been catching up with the last few episodes of Beast Wars I've found on the internet, and doing a little bit of extra detail painting on my movie Jazz figure. My boss challenged me to update my website during my holiday - and we're talking update as in the complete revamp I've been thinking about for ages, rather than just uploading new images. Truth be told, I'm just not feeling inspired right now. At least partly this is because my employers are now openly wanting to tap me for the technical web role they're introducing, and I've been given homework (look into what they want, get back to them with a list of requirements for training and software). Ironically, our Publishing Director gave me this 'homework' very shortly after giving me an article from a newspaper supplement about winding down properly when on holiday and not having anything to do with the office.
I'm feeling rather unfocussed generally... but I'm also sleeping a lot, so maybe I'll sort myself out in another couple of days. Of course, by that time, half my holiday will have passed by so, despite having twice as much holiday as last time, I'll be in exactly the same position.
Oh well.
Last weekend, I went to see TransFormers on preview not once, but twice. I caught the first showing at some ridiculous hour of the morning at the Empire, Leicester Square, then went again with my old mate Paul on the Sunday to the Vue at Shepherds Bush.
Gotta tell you, it was better the second time around. The sound system at the Empire just wasn't up to the job, and I couldn't understand most of the robots' dialogue. Hell, even some of what the humans said wasn't entirely clear. When I came out of the Empire, I gave it a firm 7/10 because of a good few issues with the film as a whole. After seeing it again at Shepherds Bush, I'd increased the score to 8/10.
So, what's wrong with it?
Well, I understand that the writers themselves were not entirely happy with the final cut. Certain elements of plot appear to have been left on the cutting room floor, and what remains isn't exactly (ahem) prime stuff. If you haven't seen it and plan to, be warned that the following may contain spoilers...
My biggest problem with the film is the utterly redundant 'humor' scenes involving Sam's parents. Sure, establish character... but did we really need the conversation about euphemisms for masturbation? And on the subject of establishing character, well done on establishing the Autobots as a bunch or giant robotic jerks whose uncharacteristic lack of patience and brainpower frequently made a mockery of the idea of 'robots in disguise'. We really could have done without the whole 'back garden' scene, especially as it seemed to be there purely to give Ironhide an excuse to use the phrase 'leaking lubricant' which wouldn't have been so bad if he'd used it correctly. Messrs Kurtzman and Orci: when Ironhide speaks of 'leaking lubricant' he is not being literal, nor is it a euphemism for urinating. He is complaining about needless chatter, when action is required.
And speaking of needless chatter, what's with Bumblebee speaking through the radio for most of the film? I mean, why? What did it accomplish? It reminded me of Eric Idle's turn as Wreck-Gar, the leader of the Junkions in the '86 animated movie, but that's really not a good thing. Were we supposed to sympathise with him? Was it just a placeholder because casting a voice actor wasn't going so well? For the record, Mark Ryan may not have been anyone's first choice, but his two lines worked quite well, and established an older, more mature Bumblebee than following Gen 1 canon would have done... Even if he did act like a jerk, like the rest of the Autobots.
And Jazz... Sweet mercy, Jazz. What did you do to him? No, I'm not referring to having Megatron rip him in half at the end, I'm talking about his astonishing lack of character. His opening like is "What's crackin', li'l bitches?" and things don't get much better from there. Sure, he's the one who demands that they try to rescue Bumblebee when Sector 7 capture him but, really, what does that amount to? It has been said within the fan community that his death doesn't have as much impact as Bumblebee's capture because the latter is seen through Sam's eyes and we empathise with him, while the former happens as a consequence of the battle in the city, so we just don't have time to process it. How about this as an alternative theory: Jazz was characterised very poorly. Nobody actually liked him, so nobody gave a damn when he got torn apart. Personally, I was quite glad that Megatron shut him up. Jazz was meant to be Prime's right-hand man for special operations, and a huge fan of Earth culture and music... he was painted as a two-dimensional 'gangsta' wannabee whose only tick in the 'plus' column was that he transformed by breakdancing. Seriously, that was cool. The rest wasn't.
Ironhide... Wasn't quite right until the battle at the end, where he was awesome. At every other opportunity, he was just a lunatic who wanted to shoot stuff (including, but not limited to, Sam's dog and Sam's parents). If only they'd kept the whole of his arrival scene, where he actually answers the little girl's question, he might have come across as a fun character, rather than a redneck with a fondness for large projectile weapons.
Ratchet was good... but rather than putting him across as the good-time 'bot, he came across as a semi-reformed stoner after that run-in with the power cables. "Tingly", was it? Sure...
It's hardly worth discussing the Decepticons, as most of them didn't even speak (in English, at least). Starscream had one line, Barricade had two, Megatron only a couple more... other than that, they were target practice. The only real highlight of the movie was Frenzy, whose comic antics were all perfectly judged. He was, at once, a character in his own right, and a fun homage to Soundwave (witness the old 'transforming into portable hi-fi so dim humans will take him exactly where he wants to go' trick). With a character as adaptable as Frenzy, they didn't need any more comic relief in this film. Frankly, I ended up with more sympathy for him (he gets beheaded, restored by the Allspark, then beheaded again by one of his own razor discs) than for any other character in the film... and he's such a bad guy, he sticks his middle finger up at the humans after escaping from Air Force One.
Starscream's dogfight at the end was brilliantly executed, but treated as secondary - it was, essentially, just a special effects sequence. The early fight between Bumblebee and Barricade fared even worse - most of it happened off-screen, while we watched Frenzy rip off Sam's trousers (See? Did we really need any other comic relief?) in an attempt to capture and subdue him.
And then there's the humans... Sam and Mikaela were OK, but Sam's parents were just irritating... like an ad libbed routine that went on too long, but didn't get cut. The soliders were all functional, but you could tell straight away who was wearing the red jersey, so to speak. The main two were pretty good, and I hope to see more of their interpersonal dynamic in the sequel. Jon Voight worked pretty well as the Secretary of Defence, but didn't have to do much other than look like a man out of his depth... which, in this film, probably didn't constitute acting for someone like Voight. John Turturro evidently thought his character was supposed to be the comic relief, and overplayed it dramatically when we first meet him. He later toned it down briefly, only to go stupid again a little later, so I'm thinking that was largely down to wonky scripting for that character.
Storywise... there wasn't much. Or there was too much unnecessary crap which got in the way of developing the necessary stuff. The 'super hacker' Glen would have been entirely redundant if they'd developed 'not so super analyst' Maggie a bit better. If she was good enough to be drafted in by the Pentagon as an analyst, why did she need Glen? And if Glen was better than her, why wasn't he drafted in? Did they really think the script needed more comic relief? After Bobby Bolivia? After the Witwickys? After Agent Simmons? After poor, poor Frenzy?
After all that negativity, what was right with the film? Well, the robots and their transformations were stunning, particularly Optimus Prime's first transformation, and Bonecrusher's transformation into 'rollerblade mode' on the highway. So far removed from the chunky toys of 1984, and yet retaining their essence, and just enough like their movie toy counterparts that the toys still seem worth collecting. The facial animation was cleverly handled, but I can't help thinking some of it was unnecessary. Did all the robots faces really need to have a 'normal' and 'battle' modes? Still, each one was believable and realistic, and all had just the right amount of character in their appearance. Also on the plus side, the action was spot on and Ironhide made the best of it. Frenzy, as mentioned already, was brilliant in every way, a true scene-stealer. Stealthy and wily infiltrator, pint-sized engine of anger and comic genius, all rolled into one svelte, steel shell. Not sure I like the insectoid look of him, but his slapstick was excellent.
It was never going to be Shakespeare, but it was certainly more than a 144 minute advertisement for the toys.
In other news, both my boss and I are on holiday this week and, while she goes back to work next week, I'm off for the full fortnight. We met up on Monday to traipse around the Tate Modern (Dreams & Surrealism) and the Tate Britain (How We Are), which ended up tiring us both out. Were it not for the inclement weather (which is back today after some nice sunshine yesterday) we might have stayed out a bit longer and wandered round uptown some more. It was a fun day out, but I don't think either of us were particularly blown away by either exhibition.
Edit: Speaking of being blown away, though, my boss reminded me that we did put fear into the day of one security guy when we pointed out an abandoned Spider-Man backpack on the steps of County Hall. Since it didn't make the news in any sense, I can only assume there was no bomb in there... chances are it was left behind by a child who spent the rest of the day crying. You can never be too sure, though, and we didn't stick around long enough to find out.
Yesterday and today, I've been catching up with the last few episodes of Beast Wars I've found on the internet, and doing a little bit of extra detail painting on my movie Jazz figure. My boss challenged me to update my website during my holiday - and we're talking update as in the complete revamp I've been thinking about for ages, rather than just uploading new images. Truth be told, I'm just not feeling inspired right now. At least partly this is because my employers are now openly wanting to tap me for the technical web role they're introducing, and I've been given homework (look into what they want, get back to them with a list of requirements for training and software). Ironically, our Publishing Director gave me this 'homework' very shortly after giving me an article from a newspaper supplement about winding down properly when on holiday and not having anything to do with the office.
I'm feeling rather unfocussed generally... but I'm also sleeping a lot, so maybe I'll sort myself out in another couple of days. Of course, by that time, half my holiday will have passed by so, despite having twice as much holiday as last time, I'll be in exactly the same position.
Tuesday 17 July 2007
Balance
Curious thing, life.
And, as broad statements go, that's pretty broad.
So here's the thing. I'm toddling along in my life, nice and safe in almost every respect. Forget the bomb scare that wasn't, just down the road from my office that, with any luck, has made one guy carefully consider where he parks his next car when he goes looking for a newspaper. Forget that travel to my sister's new place out in Swindon gets pre-disastered every time with, for example, a truck driving into a railbridge while the train is parked at the station before. Forget that, astronomical odds aside, I have not yet been crushed by a falling satellite.
I'm in good health, earning more than enough money to get by, and living comfortably (for the most part) with my parents until I can drag myself far enough out of the doldrums to find a place of my own. Around me 'locally', one of my colleagues has only just returned to work after being laid out by pneumonia, and another returned from her holiday with teary-eyed tales of how her boyfriend ended up with concussion, brain damage and a broken back. Meanwhile, an overseas acquaintance has, to all intents and purposes, got through cancer, but is now experiencing pain in her hip that's just getting worse, requires gradually more powerful painkillers, and is yet to be adequately diagnosed.
And, to think, I had only light and fluffy things to say when I fired up the computer tonight... I'll distract myself with that and see what happens next...
Popped over Swindon-way this last weekend, to visit the Royal International Air Tattoo at RAF Fairford. I was given two pieces of advice, and managed to follow one of them. The advice was:
1) Take a hat ('and wear it' being implicit)
2) Don't fall asleep
If I casually mention the sunburn on one side of my face, I guess you'll figure out which piece of advice I failed to follow.
The problem was that we'd originally planned to set out on the Friday evening, after I returned from work, then stay overnight with my sister and her husband. Because my memory for dates is so useless, I didn't twig that this plan clashed with an arrangement I'd made to go to a special IMAX preview of the new Harry Potter movie, '... & the Order of the Phoenix'. For whatever reason, I'd pegged that as the 24th or 27th, when it was actually (thunder, lightening... organ plays a few foreboding notes) Friday 13th. Basically, I was out late. Got home not long before midnight and, as is my wont, larked about on the internet for too long in the evening.
I struggled to wake up on the Saturday morning and briefly considered bowing out of the trip, but came to my senses, got up, got dressed, and made ready to leave.
While I had a seat - Ealing to Reading - I spent most of the journey dozing. When we changed train at Reading, it was standing room only, and our onward progress was stalled for about 40 minutes due to the aforementioned truck-hitting-bridge incident. At Swindon, we picked up the special shuttle coach to the airfield and I slept for most of that journey too.
Actually meeting up with Helen, Mark, and his folks took some doing, and we started out by not bothering. We tried phoning (why did it surprise me that cellphone reception was perfect out in a field? It was a bloody airfield, after all), but either couldn't understand anything (big planes go WHOOSH!), or got put through to voicemail, so we just opened up our porta-chairs and sat down for some lunch.
And, in my case, forty winks.
Eventually, we managed to get in touch with Helen, who gave us some rather vague 'directions' which amounted to a couple of landmarks by which we could plot their location, so we headed off in search.
To cut a long story short, we found them, and I can't say much more about the air show because I slept through most of it.
My face is recovering nicely, thank you.
Afterward, we headed back to Helen and Mark's place for a late dinner (hybrid of Asda Indian and Chinese 'banquets' which was actually rather nice) and - eventually - sweet, precious sleep. Before shutting down for the night, I availed myself of their library, flicking briefly through a chapter or two of Germaine Greer's follow-up to The Female Eunuch (which is such a memorable title, I can't remember the name of the follow-up :P), a few bits and bobs by a Christian writer named Adrian Plass (recommended reading, some of it), a couple of CS Lewis's Screwtape Letters, and something else which, for various reasons (chiefly that I can't remember whether or not my sister actually reads this blog, so I don't want to give the game away) I shall keep rather mysterious.
Suffice it to say, it reminded me quite strongly of something that happened to me some years ago which ended up changing my life quite dramatically in many ways... The books mirrored my own experiences to some extent. I even commented on it at the time...
Finding these books drove me to investigate the author and, as it happens, he'd actually written a follow-up. What I will say to my sister, if she's reading, is that I've already bought it for her, and had a small argument with our mother about whether or not it can wait till Christmas. In the end, I instructed her to take it and hide it away, or I'd send it to Helen myself.
I don't know exactly why (aside from the fact that I found it so compelling, I read it all in one sitting), but I felt that Helen should read it NOW. Certainly, it 'completes' the tale that started many years ago in the first books... but that's not all of it. There is still a certain resonance to the first books, and that continues in the follow-up. A sense of urgency, of a task that needs to be completed for everything to be 'right'. That's exactly what the 'story', such as it is, is all about... but, following my own experiences 'back then', and everything that's happened to me since, I felt a strange bond with the characters...
Very strange... and now isn't really the time to wax philosophical because it's late and I'm tired. Typical.
In other news, then, I've snapped up one of the BotCon 2007 attendee sets that has become available on the TransFormers Collectors' Club web-shop. The total cost of my order in dollars is not far off what Mr Spacebridge was charging in pounds... which is to say, I've got the lot (and more) for half the price he was after. I'm really enjoying this club... It has its detractors but, even taking the international premium into account, I still feel it's well worth the price of admission.
This is, of course, another reminder of how fortunate I am in life.
Having left work on time this evening, I spent a couple of hours down the pub with my boss, discussing life in general and work in particular. There may be a new project on the horizon... but it remains to be seen whether or not it would replace my current job or merely supplement it. The former is an obvious preference...
Oh, and Order of the Phoenix is, against all my expectations, pretty darned good.
And, as broad statements go, that's pretty broad.
So here's the thing. I'm toddling along in my life, nice and safe in almost every respect. Forget the bomb scare that wasn't, just down the road from my office that, with any luck, has made one guy carefully consider where he parks his next car when he goes looking for a newspaper. Forget that travel to my sister's new place out in Swindon gets pre-disastered every time with, for example, a truck driving into a railbridge while the train is parked at the station before. Forget that, astronomical odds aside, I have not yet been crushed by a falling satellite.
I'm in good health, earning more than enough money to get by, and living comfortably (for the most part) with my parents until I can drag myself far enough out of the doldrums to find a place of my own. Around me 'locally', one of my colleagues has only just returned to work after being laid out by pneumonia, and another returned from her holiday with teary-eyed tales of how her boyfriend ended up with concussion, brain damage and a broken back. Meanwhile, an overseas acquaintance has, to all intents and purposes, got through cancer, but is now experiencing pain in her hip that's just getting worse, requires gradually more powerful painkillers, and is yet to be adequately diagnosed.
And, to think, I had only light and fluffy things to say when I fired up the computer tonight... I'll distract myself with that and see what happens next...
Popped over Swindon-way this last weekend, to visit the Royal International Air Tattoo at RAF Fairford. I was given two pieces of advice, and managed to follow one of them. The advice was:
1) Take a hat ('and wear it' being implicit)
2) Don't fall asleep
If I casually mention the sunburn on one side of my face, I guess you'll figure out which piece of advice I failed to follow.
The problem was that we'd originally planned to set out on the Friday evening, after I returned from work, then stay overnight with my sister and her husband. Because my memory for dates is so useless, I didn't twig that this plan clashed with an arrangement I'd made to go to a special IMAX preview of the new Harry Potter movie, '... & the Order of the Phoenix'. For whatever reason, I'd pegged that as the 24th or 27th, when it was actually (thunder, lightening... organ plays a few foreboding notes) Friday 13th. Basically, I was out late. Got home not long before midnight and, as is my wont, larked about on the internet for too long in the evening.
I struggled to wake up on the Saturday morning and briefly considered bowing out of the trip, but came to my senses, got up, got dressed, and made ready to leave.
While I had a seat - Ealing to Reading - I spent most of the journey dozing. When we changed train at Reading, it was standing room only, and our onward progress was stalled for about 40 minutes due to the aforementioned truck-hitting-bridge incident. At Swindon, we picked up the special shuttle coach to the airfield and I slept for most of that journey too.
Actually meeting up with Helen, Mark, and his folks took some doing, and we started out by not bothering. We tried phoning (why did it surprise me that cellphone reception was perfect out in a field? It was a bloody airfield, after all), but either couldn't understand anything (big planes go WHOOSH!), or got put through to voicemail, so we just opened up our porta-chairs and sat down for some lunch.
And, in my case, forty winks.
Eventually, we managed to get in touch with Helen, who gave us some rather vague 'directions' which amounted to a couple of landmarks by which we could plot their location, so we headed off in search.
To cut a long story short, we found them, and I can't say much more about the air show because I slept through most of it.
My face is recovering nicely, thank you.
Afterward, we headed back to Helen and Mark's place for a late dinner (hybrid of Asda Indian and Chinese 'banquets' which was actually rather nice) and - eventually - sweet, precious sleep. Before shutting down for the night, I availed myself of their library, flicking briefly through a chapter or two of Germaine Greer's follow-up to The Female Eunuch (which is such a memorable title, I can't remember the name of the follow-up :P), a few bits and bobs by a Christian writer named Adrian Plass (recommended reading, some of it), a couple of CS Lewis's Screwtape Letters, and something else which, for various reasons (chiefly that I can't remember whether or not my sister actually reads this blog, so I don't want to give the game away) I shall keep rather mysterious.
Suffice it to say, it reminded me quite strongly of something that happened to me some years ago which ended up changing my life quite dramatically in many ways... The books mirrored my own experiences to some extent. I even commented on it at the time...
Finding these books drove me to investigate the author and, as it happens, he'd actually written a follow-up. What I will say to my sister, if she's reading, is that I've already bought it for her, and had a small argument with our mother about whether or not it can wait till Christmas. In the end, I instructed her to take it and hide it away, or I'd send it to Helen myself.
I don't know exactly why (aside from the fact that I found it so compelling, I read it all in one sitting), but I felt that Helen should read it NOW. Certainly, it 'completes' the tale that started many years ago in the first books... but that's not all of it. There is still a certain resonance to the first books, and that continues in the follow-up. A sense of urgency, of a task that needs to be completed for everything to be 'right'. That's exactly what the 'story', such as it is, is all about... but, following my own experiences 'back then', and everything that's happened to me since, I felt a strange bond with the characters...
Very strange... and now isn't really the time to wax philosophical because it's late and I'm tired. Typical.
In other news, then, I've snapped up one of the BotCon 2007 attendee sets that has become available on the TransFormers Collectors' Club web-shop. The total cost of my order in dollars is not far off what Mr Spacebridge was charging in pounds... which is to say, I've got the lot (and more) for half the price he was after. I'm really enjoying this club... It has its detractors but, even taking the international premium into account, I still feel it's well worth the price of admission.
This is, of course, another reminder of how fortunate I am in life.
Having left work on time this evening, I spent a couple of hours down the pub with my boss, discussing life in general and work in particular. There may be a new project on the horizon... but it remains to be seen whether or not it would replace my current job or merely supplement it. The former is an obvious preference...
Oh, and Order of the Phoenix is, against all my expectations, pretty darned good.
Sunday 8 July 2007
The Haul
So, another Memorabilia has come and gone, and I've come home with many bags of cool stuff. While it's often said that the summer events are smaller than those in spring or winter, it didn't quite hit me how much smaller this one was than the last one until my companion pointed out that they hadn't even filled the one hall of the NEC they were using. Also, no stage area? No big names at all? What gives?
Still, in lieu of this year's Auto Assembley, there were many stalls pushing TransFormers of various kinds, everything from Generation 1 (original and reissues) to the movie line... And yet, crazily (as you might gather from my previous posting) Hasbro were not there. At all.
The lack of big names or anything that might have made use of a stage area reduced the normally mighty Memorabilia to a glorified Collectibles Shopping Centre. Many of the usual suspects were in attendence, from the folks who do framed photomontages from various TV shows, and the stall which is always bristling with large-format canvasses of comic-book artwork, to the people who carry an inordinate amount of facsimile weapons of the bladed variety.
And without any star draw, my companion and I managed to be in and out before 11am (which is when standard entry kicks in) and we still made out like bandits. TransFormers-specific stalls included Space Bridge (getting more amiable every time I see him), Xybertoys, that guy who always has a tin of Quality Street on the stall, and even Sven & Simon of Auto Assembly. I very nearly bought something from everyone, and something from each iteration of TransFormers, from Gen 1 Reissue Skids and Astrotrain (the 'real world colours' version), through Beast Wars Mach Kick and Silverbolt, to a grand collection of Movie toys, which make the scoreboard look more like this:
Leader
Optimus Prime
Megatron
Brawl
Voyager
Blackout
Ratchet
Ironhide
Starscream
Thundercracker
Deluxe
Jazz
2008 Bumblebee
Scorponok
Wreckage
Barricade
Bonecrusher
Arcee
OK, that's only really added three Deluxe class toys, but I did also snag a set of the three Target-exclusive movie basic Energon repaints, Arcee, Sector 7 Signal Flare and Sector 7 Hardtop. Space Bridge reckoned they had far more on the way (via Parcelforce) but, by the time he reckoned they'd be with him, I'd spent the rest of my money, and I'd decided not to duck out of the show to get more money but to keep to my 'in pocket' budget of just over £200. Most of the rest I'll be able to buy in the shops, or online at the very least... I honestly doubt I'll be missing out on anything important.
As an extra bonus, my companion bought me the BotCon 2002 exclusive Tap-Out, a repaint of the Generation 1 Mini-Autobot Cliffjumper, the keyring version of the mold. He's incredibly cute, and Cliffjumper was the first Autobot I ever bought so there's a kind of significance to that. My companion later admitted that she had expected a more complicated transformation.
For complexity, see Mach Kick... His horse alternate mode is quite poseable in itself and the robot mode, while awkward, unwieldy and possibly not the most attractive in the world, is made up almost entirely of ball joints, so he has a decent range of motion. Then again, he needs a lot of that just for transforming, with the horse's neck and head becoming most of one arm, and the robot legs twisting over each other to get the horse's legs into place. Takara's design team for later Beast Wars models must have been a band of evil genii to create such wackiness.
Silverbolt is a curious amalgam of eagle and wolf. Striking to look at, and with some beautifully molded detail, he actually has a fairly simple transformation... The robot head is something close to that of Galaxy Force Fang Wolf/Cybertron Snarl, but with his beast wings sticking out of the robot mode's shoulders, the overall effect is not dissimilar to the Armada Seekers. His tech specs card features a lenticular image showing the CG interpretation of his beast mode along with two images of his robot mode.
Gen 1 Astrotrain is, apart from his colour scheme - identical to the one I bought about 20 years ago. He's a steam locomotive... He's a space shuttle... He's a robot with really stumpy arms and a massively long rifle. He does look far better in 'real world' colours and, as an added bonus, he doesn't have the weak leg of my original.
Gen 1 Skids is a very odd little robot. He seems far too tall to fit into his compact, two-seater hatchback alternate mode, and yet he manages perfectly. Granted, applying the stickers messes this up somewhat, but it'll be interesting to display Gen 1 Skids alongside his Binaltech remake.
From the Movie line, I grabbed Jazz, Scorponok and Wreckage, all of whom are impressive in their own way. Scorponok is likely to stay in scorpion mode, simply because his alleged robot mode doesn't feature in the movie, and looks a bit rubbish.
Additionally, I picked up the two TransFormers plushies, Softimus Prime and Slumblebee... Cute and clever in equal parts, they manage to impress by being soft toys that successfully fit into the brand.
Non-TF merchandise was largely T-shirts - one from Genki Gear (which has now become a full-time job for the husband-and-wife team) and the new gorilla sprite shirt from Retro GT. My companion was very taken with the 'knife and fork piggy' shirt but, as a trial product, they didn't have her size. I did also score Volume 2 of the Firefly Companion, for my sister... I already have her Christmas present, though, so I'm not quite sure what to do with it. Could have bought Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex: Solid State Society (the movie of the TV series based on the movie of the manga), but only the Region 1 disc was available... Sadly, the natty tin case didn't outweigh the inconvenience of not being able to watch it on my laptop.
Since we were out so early (a couple of folks arriving for Standard entry at 11am were surprised to see people already leaving), we decided to return to our hotel for a short nap before venturing into Birmingham town centre to pay a visit on the Bullring shopping centre for lunch and other types of shopping. There were also vague plans to pop in on the Solihull branch of Toys'R'Us, but we were first in need of a map to find the place.
Once we got into town and found a parking space (not as easy as we thought) we didn't really do much browsing, and what we did was very targeted - straight for The Entertainer, brief browsing of clothes, straight through HMV and Virgin (though I snagged the live action movie of Tetsujin 28 and the wonderful Pan's Labyrinth along with a couple of magazines), with a short rest while we scoffed some 'American/Mexican' fast food... which was actually rather tasty, and reminded me somewhat of the Californian/Mexican fast food place in the bay area of Auckland which I visited with my parents a few years ago.
Once we'd had our fill of shopping, we headed back to the hotel again to prepare for dinner, then bed... We'd managed to pack quite a lot into the day. Friday's bomb scare (the police cordoned off huge areas and blew up a car parked a little way down the road from the office, though it turned out to be quite innocent, and was later described as "just a gas leak") seems like it was ages ago.
The trip back home was uneventful, and with far less traffic than previous trips. So far today I've managed to avoid napping, even though I was feeling quite tired earlier. Better to get an early night tonight, to set me up for the week... I hope.
Still, in lieu of this year's Auto Assembley, there were many stalls pushing TransFormers of various kinds, everything from Generation 1 (original and reissues) to the movie line... And yet, crazily (as you might gather from my previous posting) Hasbro were not there. At all.
The lack of big names or anything that might have made use of a stage area reduced the normally mighty Memorabilia to a glorified Collectibles Shopping Centre. Many of the usual suspects were in attendence, from the folks who do framed photomontages from various TV shows, and the stall which is always bristling with large-format canvasses of comic-book artwork, to the people who carry an inordinate amount of facsimile weapons of the bladed variety.
And without any star draw, my companion and I managed to be in and out before 11am (which is when standard entry kicks in) and we still made out like bandits. TransFormers-specific stalls included Space Bridge (getting more amiable every time I see him), Xybertoys, that guy who always has a tin of Quality Street on the stall, and even Sven & Simon of Auto Assembly. I very nearly bought something from everyone, and something from each iteration of TransFormers, from Gen 1 Reissue Skids and Astrotrain (the 'real world colours' version), through Beast Wars Mach Kick and Silverbolt, to a grand collection of Movie toys, which make the scoreboard look more like this:
Leader
Megatron
Brawl
Voyager
Ratchet
Ironhide
Starscream
Thundercracker
Deluxe
2008 Bumblebee
Wreckage
Barricade
Bonecrusher
Arcee
OK, that's only really added three Deluxe class toys, but I did also snag a set of the three Target-exclusive movie basic Energon repaints, Arcee, Sector 7 Signal Flare and Sector 7 Hardtop. Space Bridge reckoned they had far more on the way (via Parcelforce) but, by the time he reckoned they'd be with him, I'd spent the rest of my money, and I'd decided not to duck out of the show to get more money but to keep to my 'in pocket' budget of just over £200. Most of the rest I'll be able to buy in the shops, or online at the very least... I honestly doubt I'll be missing out on anything important.
As an extra bonus, my companion bought me the BotCon 2002 exclusive Tap-Out, a repaint of the Generation 1 Mini-Autobot Cliffjumper, the keyring version of the mold. He's incredibly cute, and Cliffjumper was the first Autobot I ever bought so there's a kind of significance to that. My companion later admitted that she had expected a more complicated transformation.
For complexity, see Mach Kick... His horse alternate mode is quite poseable in itself and the robot mode, while awkward, unwieldy and possibly not the most attractive in the world, is made up almost entirely of ball joints, so he has a decent range of motion. Then again, he needs a lot of that just for transforming, with the horse's neck and head becoming most of one arm, and the robot legs twisting over each other to get the horse's legs into place. Takara's design team for later Beast Wars models must have been a band of evil genii to create such wackiness.
Silverbolt is a curious amalgam of eagle and wolf. Striking to look at, and with some beautifully molded detail, he actually has a fairly simple transformation... The robot head is something close to that of Galaxy Force Fang Wolf/Cybertron Snarl, but with his beast wings sticking out of the robot mode's shoulders, the overall effect is not dissimilar to the Armada Seekers. His tech specs card features a lenticular image showing the CG interpretation of his beast mode along with two images of his robot mode.
Gen 1 Astrotrain is, apart from his colour scheme - identical to the one I bought about 20 years ago. He's a steam locomotive... He's a space shuttle... He's a robot with really stumpy arms and a massively long rifle. He does look far better in 'real world' colours and, as an added bonus, he doesn't have the weak leg of my original.
Gen 1 Skids is a very odd little robot. He seems far too tall to fit into his compact, two-seater hatchback alternate mode, and yet he manages perfectly. Granted, applying the stickers messes this up somewhat, but it'll be interesting to display Gen 1 Skids alongside his Binaltech remake.
From the Movie line, I grabbed Jazz, Scorponok and Wreckage, all of whom are impressive in their own way. Scorponok is likely to stay in scorpion mode, simply because his alleged robot mode doesn't feature in the movie, and looks a bit rubbish.
Additionally, I picked up the two TransFormers plushies, Softimus Prime and Slumblebee... Cute and clever in equal parts, they manage to impress by being soft toys that successfully fit into the brand.
Non-TF merchandise was largely T-shirts - one from Genki Gear (which has now become a full-time job for the husband-and-wife team) and the new gorilla sprite shirt from Retro GT. My companion was very taken with the 'knife and fork piggy' shirt but, as a trial product, they didn't have her size. I did also score Volume 2 of the Firefly Companion, for my sister... I already have her Christmas present, though, so I'm not quite sure what to do with it. Could have bought Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex: Solid State Society (the movie of the TV series based on the movie of the manga), but only the Region 1 disc was available... Sadly, the natty tin case didn't outweigh the inconvenience of not being able to watch it on my laptop.
Since we were out so early (a couple of folks arriving for Standard entry at 11am were surprised to see people already leaving), we decided to return to our hotel for a short nap before venturing into Birmingham town centre to pay a visit on the Bullring shopping centre for lunch and other types of shopping. There were also vague plans to pop in on the Solihull branch of Toys'R'Us, but we were first in need of a map to find the place.
Once we got into town and found a parking space (not as easy as we thought) we didn't really do much browsing, and what we did was very targeted - straight for The Entertainer, brief browsing of clothes, straight through HMV and Virgin (though I snagged the live action movie of Tetsujin 28 and the wonderful Pan's Labyrinth along with a couple of magazines), with a short rest while we scoffed some 'American/Mexican' fast food... which was actually rather tasty, and reminded me somewhat of the Californian/Mexican fast food place in the bay area of Auckland which I visited with my parents a few years ago.
Once we'd had our fill of shopping, we headed back to the hotel again to prepare for dinner, then bed... We'd managed to pack quite a lot into the day. Friday's bomb scare (the police cordoned off huge areas and blew up a car parked a little way down the road from the office, though it turned out to be quite innocent, and was later described as "just a gas leak") seems like it was ages ago.
The trip back home was uneventful, and with far less traffic than previous trips. So far today I've managed to avoid napping, even though I was feeling quite tired earlier. Better to get an early night tonight, to set me up for the week... I hope.
To whom it may concern
Dear Hasbro UK,
Might I draw your attention to a movie which has garnered no small amount of attention recently, directed by a gentleman named Michael Bay, named TransFormers.
Announced last year, there were many months of speculation about this film before any firm details came out. Then there was more speculation before the first teaser trailer turned up. Then there was even more speculation before the first real trailer turned up. In short, it captured the imagination of many people the world over, most of whom were keenly looking forward to this movie.
It was released in cinemas in America on July 2nd and has, by all accounts, broken some records for the takings of movies released early in the week. It's been remarkably popular all round, and some folks reckon it's the best action movie anyone could hope to see.
I wish to draw your attention to this movie, TransFormers, because the brand is yours. In fact, you have been producing toys under this brand for more than 20 years now.
With this in mind, can you explain why your presence at shows like Memorabilia (at the NEC, Birmingham), Collectormania (at the CentreMK, Milton Keynes) and the London Expo (at the ExCeL Centre, London) has been either minimal or simply nonexistant? Particularly when you consider your current line of TransFormers toys is, in fact, the Movie toys, this seems to be no small faux pas on the part of your Marketing department. During the run-up to the movie in the States, Hasbro used every opportunity to make their presence known. Similarly, in Japan, TakaraTomy have created events specifically to publicise the movie and the toy line. Here in the UK, the publishers of the videogame of the movie put more effort into promotion than yourselves.
While I can (barely) understand your reluctance to get involved with the UK TransFormers fan community at events like Auto Assembly (which might possibly have happened this year if it had the backing of Hasbro UK), I cannot fathom why you would not promote, in any way, the movie or your toy line based on the movie at collector-oriented events like Memorabilia, Collectormania or the London Expo. Of those three events, only one this year - the London Expo - had any TransFormers presence from Hasbro, which amounted to a single unattended glass cabinet containing a minimal selection of upcoming toys. To describe this as a disappointment would be a massive understatement.
The movie is released in this country on July 27th and, just this weekend, you have missed another excellent opportunity to publicise the brand. Meanwhile, in the States, BotCon was held in Hasbro's hometown of Rhode Island and gave attendees the chance to see the movie in advance of the official premiere, to see - and buy - movie line toys, and to get an impression of what is to come in the future.
The message from Hasbro US is that they are backing the brand and giving it (and the fan community) the attention it deserves. The message from Hasbro UK seems to be "TransFormers? What's that?"
With the passing of the Summer Memorabilia show, you have missed your last good opportunity for pre-movie marketing. I can only hope that you decide to put in some effort post-movie.
Kind regards,
fuzzyløgic
(TransFormers fan, frustrated by the apathy Hasbro UK exhibit toward one of their leading brands)
Might I draw your attention to a movie which has garnered no small amount of attention recently, directed by a gentleman named Michael Bay, named TransFormers.
Announced last year, there were many months of speculation about this film before any firm details came out. Then there was more speculation before the first teaser trailer turned up. Then there was even more speculation before the first real trailer turned up. In short, it captured the imagination of many people the world over, most of whom were keenly looking forward to this movie.
It was released in cinemas in America on July 2nd and has, by all accounts, broken some records for the takings of movies released early in the week. It's been remarkably popular all round, and some folks reckon it's the best action movie anyone could hope to see.
I wish to draw your attention to this movie, TransFormers, because the brand is yours. In fact, you have been producing toys under this brand for more than 20 years now.
With this in mind, can you explain why your presence at shows like Memorabilia (at the NEC, Birmingham), Collectormania (at the CentreMK, Milton Keynes) and the London Expo (at the ExCeL Centre, London) has been either minimal or simply nonexistant? Particularly when you consider your current line of TransFormers toys is, in fact, the Movie toys, this seems to be no small faux pas on the part of your Marketing department. During the run-up to the movie in the States, Hasbro used every opportunity to make their presence known. Similarly, in Japan, TakaraTomy have created events specifically to publicise the movie and the toy line. Here in the UK, the publishers of the videogame of the movie put more effort into promotion than yourselves.
While I can (barely) understand your reluctance to get involved with the UK TransFormers fan community at events like Auto Assembly (which might possibly have happened this year if it had the backing of Hasbro UK), I cannot fathom why you would not promote, in any way, the movie or your toy line based on the movie at collector-oriented events like Memorabilia, Collectormania or the London Expo. Of those three events, only one this year - the London Expo - had any TransFormers presence from Hasbro, which amounted to a single unattended glass cabinet containing a minimal selection of upcoming toys. To describe this as a disappointment would be a massive understatement.
The movie is released in this country on July 27th and, just this weekend, you have missed another excellent opportunity to publicise the brand. Meanwhile, in the States, BotCon was held in Hasbro's hometown of Rhode Island and gave attendees the chance to see the movie in advance of the official premiere, to see - and buy - movie line toys, and to get an impression of what is to come in the future.
The message from Hasbro US is that they are backing the brand and giving it (and the fan community) the attention it deserves. The message from Hasbro UK seems to be "TransFormers? What's that?"
With the passing of the Summer Memorabilia show, you have missed your last good opportunity for pre-movie marketing. I can only hope that you decide to put in some effort post-movie.
Kind regards,
fuzzyløgic
(TransFormers fan, frustrated by the apathy Hasbro UK exhibit toward one of their leading brands)
Thursday 5 July 2007
Preparations
Off to Memorabilia after work tomorrow. MP3 player charged, bag packed, tickets at the ready.
Today at work was pretty crappy... Had a small set-to with the Senior Copy Controller over a job that got passed to me with absolutely no logging of details like "Salesperson requested change X to client's template" or "Client countermanded salesperson's request" or even "Copy controller fucked up the requested changes". As far as the 'rules' and procedures go, I got the impression I was in the wrong expecting this sort of thing to be noted. 'Rules' and procedures are one thing... then there's common flippin' sense.
Senior Copy Controller suggested that "we don't have time" to do the job thoroughly and properly. I pointed out that they always have time to chat... perhaps both of those issues need to be addressed.
Additionally, it transpires that two of our designers have been wandering into the Publishing Director's office to complain that they "have nothing to do". If that's the case, then we are surely overstaffed. It was unwise of them to tell the PD anything like that without first asking their line manager if there was anything to be done... There's always something to do in any Production Department.
I am becoming seriously fed up with the "don't have time" excuse. Back in my early days in this field, I'd have been slaughtered for coming out with something like that... And I've never been known to sit around yapping when I should have been working. Were it not against employment law, I'd like to see most of them sacked tomorrow. They are all lazy, whiny little wasters who would be very hard pressed to find another job elsewhere, and some of them even know this to be true... which is why it's all the more infuriating that we're saddled with them.
The Classifieds team have a new manager who, on his first day, got that band of rowdy kids to tidy up their playpen... No more crap strewn across the floor now and, boy, have they been quieter since he arrived? Still no sign of the call monitoring board, but I do hope it's coming.
Tomorrow is one of my deadline days, and my boss has one on Monday while my counterpart is signed off work due to pneumonia. It's not going to be a particularly pretty day, but we shouldn't be too late. I already have some of the editorial through, but my machine is flaking out (due to new software and font issues) so I may end up using my counterpart's to push the work through.
I'll be glad of the weekend... and Memorabilia should be fun. If nothing else, it'll be good to be out of the house for a couple of days. Who knows what I'll find at the show.
Today at work was pretty crappy... Had a small set-to with the Senior Copy Controller over a job that got passed to me with absolutely no logging of details like "Salesperson requested change X to client's template" or "Client countermanded salesperson's request" or even "Copy controller fucked up the requested changes". As far as the 'rules' and procedures go, I got the impression I was in the wrong expecting this sort of thing to be noted. 'Rules' and procedures are one thing... then there's common flippin' sense.
Senior Copy Controller suggested that "we don't have time" to do the job thoroughly and properly. I pointed out that they always have time to chat... perhaps both of those issues need to be addressed.
Additionally, it transpires that two of our designers have been wandering into the Publishing Director's office to complain that they "have nothing to do". If that's the case, then we are surely overstaffed. It was unwise of them to tell the PD anything like that without first asking their line manager if there was anything to be done... There's always something to do in any Production Department.
I am becoming seriously fed up with the "don't have time" excuse. Back in my early days in this field, I'd have been slaughtered for coming out with something like that... And I've never been known to sit around yapping when I should have been working. Were it not against employment law, I'd like to see most of them sacked tomorrow. They are all lazy, whiny little wasters who would be very hard pressed to find another job elsewhere, and some of them even know this to be true... which is why it's all the more infuriating that we're saddled with them.
The Classifieds team have a new manager who, on his first day, got that band of rowdy kids to tidy up their playpen... No more crap strewn across the floor now and, boy, have they been quieter since he arrived? Still no sign of the call monitoring board, but I do hope it's coming.
Tomorrow is one of my deadline days, and my boss has one on Monday while my counterpart is signed off work due to pneumonia. It's not going to be a particularly pretty day, but we shouldn't be too late. I already have some of the editorial through, but my machine is flaking out (due to new software and font issues) so I may end up using my counterpart's to push the work through.
I'll be glad of the weekend... and Memorabilia should be fun. If nothing else, it'll be good to be out of the house for a couple of days. Who knows what I'll find at the show.
Tuesday 3 July 2007
Beatmix Bumblebee ROCKS MY SOCKS!
It's one of those things. Me and consumer technology just don't mix for the most part. I loathe iPods, cellphones and PlayStation. Even gimmicky digital watches, once guaranteed to have me reaching for my wallet (two frikkin' versions of Casio's WatchCam!), have lost their lustre and I'm currently wearing an analogue.
So when Beatmix Bumblebee was first announced, I just rolled my eyes, and made a mental note to make snide remarks whenever I saw it.
Oh, folly.
When first I saw him I thought he was far too cute to pass up. It's actually a fairly good Super Deform model of movie Bumblebee with a very well sculpted face. So it doesn't transform, how could I refuse those big, cute eyes?
I'll cut to the chase: Currently he's 'energising himself' playing Jane's Addiction's most recent album Strays... and he's really grooving. He does pause oddly at times (I plugged him into the TV during the title music for CSI earlier, and he doesn't seem to like The Who), but the overall effect is definitely cute and fun. I can imagine him being a blast at kids' parties. His eyes light up with superbright blue LEDs, his chest and doors light up red/green and twitch up and down, a button on his chest glows green when he's recording (odd little snapshots of music or whatever that he'll play back later), his head bobs from side to side, and he twists at the waist every so often.
Not sure you can say any of it is exactly 'in time to the music', but these things aren't an exact science... He's very sweet, and could easily be staying on my desk for a while...
So when Beatmix Bumblebee was first announced, I just rolled my eyes, and made a mental note to make snide remarks whenever I saw it.
Oh, folly.
When first I saw him I thought he was far too cute to pass up. It's actually a fairly good Super Deform model of movie Bumblebee with a very well sculpted face. So it doesn't transform, how could I refuse those big, cute eyes?
I'll cut to the chase: Currently he's 'energising himself' playing Jane's Addiction's most recent album Strays... and he's really grooving. He does pause oddly at times (I plugged him into the TV during the title music for CSI earlier, and he doesn't seem to like The Who), but the overall effect is definitely cute and fun. I can imagine him being a blast at kids' parties. His eyes light up with superbright blue LEDs, his chest and doors light up red/green and twitch up and down, a button on his chest glows green when he's recording (odd little snapshots of music or whatever that he'll play back later), his head bobs from side to side, and he twists at the waist every so often.
Not sure you can say any of it is exactly 'in time to the music', but these things aren't an exact science... He's very sweet, and could easily be staying on my desk for a while...
Monday 2 July 2007
Damp Squibs
My lack of faith in the current incarnation of Doctor Who remains largely unshaken by the season finale. The idea of humans being the greatest monsters of them all is solid narrative ground. It's tried and tested, and takes a lot to screw up... And yet they managed. The final episode of series three of Doctor Who obviously thought it was being really dramatic and powerful... but it left me thinking "meh".
One can see there's a problem when, at the point where the true nature of the 'monsters' is revealed, I thought "Ooooh! It's Davros! They're the Daleks!" (however weak even that idea would be), only to be utterly disappointed by the realisation that it's actually a human head in the robotic sphere.
Then there's the Master... If David Tennant has failed to convince as the Doctor, John Simm has been completely miscast as the Master. Mischievous he can do. Downright evil and vengeful he cannot. I'm sorry, he just can't. And that whole thing about 'refusing' to regenerate? Since when can Timelords refuse a biological imperative that (traditionally) comes into play when they're dead? Clearly what died in the Doctor's arms was not the Master. Furthermore, given the red-fingernailed hand that retrieved his ring (Ring? What flippin' ring? When was that ever dealt with in the story?) with the Master's laughter echoing/blatantly ripping off Max von Sydow's Ming the Merciless at the end of the Flash Gordon movie, I'd suspect that the Master had pulled some trickery to become his 'wife' (I was also perturbed by the bruises on her face that were never mentioned in any way). But does this mean the Master will return as John Simm, or as Alexandra Moen (who, by the way, seemed to be channelling Kiera Knightly in her pouty 'emoting')?
The writers probably thing they're being especially clever with all their 'setting up future events' malarky... but if it's at the expense of developing the present, it's not really clever, is it?
And Captain Jack's speech at the end? Oh, please.
The weekend was rather dull. Didn't do the garden photography as it was raining. Made a vague start on a cartoon character inspired by a story synopsis written by a friend in the States... A sort of Superhero at the moment... though, considering 'my' 'idea' is a strange cross-pollination of X-Men's Storm, Silver Sable, Hawkgirl and Black Cat, I'm not sure the Superhero route is going to be the best one. I realise it's almost hopeless to try to be original with a comic book character, but there has to be something better than combining elements of four existing heroines...
My folks spent most of Saturday visiting sister and husband out in Swindon. The much-delayed 'housewarming'. I sent a gift - a candle in the shape of a candlestick - in lieu of my presence, as Helen likes candles. I'd expected them to stay overnight but, just as I was settling down for the night, they arrived back home... Very strange.
Once there was a decent amount of ambient light on Sunday, I did manage some photography of my newest acquisitions. Movie Ironhide and Starscream are rather photogenic, all things considered. BotCon 2006 Tigatron and the Buzzsaw/Laserbeak set came out pretty well too... and I even managed a few shots of Micron Legend (Armada) Scourge, which I completely forgot about last time. While the deluxe Optimus Prime mold is widely regarded as one of the most fun iterations of the Autobots' leader, I must say that both versions I have of the mold (Universe Ultra Magnus and this Japanese Scourge) have a rather odd mold defect, in that neither can face directly foreward - the head will always jump to the right. I'm half tempted to open the heads to figure out what's wrong... but I don't think I shall.
Sticking with the subject of TransFormers, I had a rather depressing realisation over the weekend. For the umpteenth time, I dragged my Generation 1 collection out of the cupboard to examine it objectively... And the sad fact is that I have very few worthwhile figures in that collection. I missed out on far too many early Gen 1 models - all those Diaclone reissues under the TransFormers banner - and ended up buying far too many crappy gimmicky models like Pretenders (I mean, come on, ugly, spindly, barely transforming robots hiding in poorly-proportion plastic shells?), the Battlechargers and the Duocons, and picked up only the most boring HeadMasters. I suppose the original Scorponok, complete and in good condition, might be vaguely worthwhile... but it's a crappy model, even by Gen 1 standards. Aside from Optimus Prime, Jazz, Wheeljack, Ultra Magnus, Megatron, Soundwave and the Seekers, I don't think there's one must-have in the collection. I have two complete gestalt teams for the Decepticons (Menasor and Abominus, with all of the mini-Seacons, but no Snaptrap to complete Piranacon) and one hopelessly incomplete set of Protectobots for the Autobots. I look at that collection and wonder what I was thinking... No wonder I've been picking up all the decent reissues... It's a subconscious admission that my Gen 1 collection is rubbish.
This week is essentially going to be 'what happens before Memorabilia'... The next few days will have no intrinsic value in and of themselves, as my mind is fully occupied with what's going to happen up in Birmingham. Will Hasbro be there? Will I be able to get all the upcoming movie toys I'm looking forward to? Will I find other cool stuff? And that's just for starters.
That said, today I managed to complete my magazine about an hour before the end of the day... Not bad going, but it's one of the smallest. Delays, inevitably, were with Editorial, the last two pages taking proportionally longer than everything else. Not sure why, exactly, but the editor certainly seems happy with her designer. This is no real surprise... After a rather shaky start in terms of discipline, this new designer seems bloody good. She has a better idea of text flow that any of the others, and I haven't had to correct anything significant. As my boss pointed out on the way home today, our latest two recruits to full design positions are showing up how poor the established staff really are. Even one of the earlier recruits, taken on as a Senior Designer, is too afraid of taking risks to really work out well with his editor.
Tomorrow, there's a small chance I'll be able to get ahead on upcoming flatplans and, at the very least, break even on upcoming website uploads. Even that won't really make a dent in things. Once all that's out the way, even more work will follow. It has become depressingly relentless, and I don't have time to enjoy my achievements anymore. I don't even think this is a sign or symptom of me being burnt out anymore... just that the job is crap, and it's become a production line, endlessly pumping out the same magazines, day after day, week after week, month after month.
On another note, my hip has been flaky again. Last weekend and during much of last week, it was either agonisingly painful or merely downright uncomfortable. Nothing like as bad as the last time, but still not pleasant. I started hitting it with ibuprofen earlier and more consistently, though - pills and gel. Still can't figure out why on earth any part of my hip would suddenly and repeatedly become inflamed... and am beginning to wonder if it's actually nothing to do with my habit of sitting cross-legged. Very strange.
On the upside, if I'm lucky, I may get a nice massage at the weekend...
One can see there's a problem when, at the point where the true nature of the 'monsters' is revealed, I thought "Ooooh! It's Davros! They're the Daleks!" (however weak even that idea would be), only to be utterly disappointed by the realisation that it's actually a human head in the robotic sphere.
Then there's the Master... If David Tennant has failed to convince as the Doctor, John Simm has been completely miscast as the Master. Mischievous he can do. Downright evil and vengeful he cannot. I'm sorry, he just can't. And that whole thing about 'refusing' to regenerate? Since when can Timelords refuse a biological imperative that (traditionally) comes into play when they're dead? Clearly what died in the Doctor's arms was not the Master. Furthermore, given the red-fingernailed hand that retrieved his ring (Ring? What flippin' ring? When was that ever dealt with in the story?) with the Master's laughter echoing/blatantly ripping off Max von Sydow's Ming the Merciless at the end of the Flash Gordon movie, I'd suspect that the Master had pulled some trickery to become his 'wife' (I was also perturbed by the bruises on her face that were never mentioned in any way). But does this mean the Master will return as John Simm, or as Alexandra Moen (who, by the way, seemed to be channelling Kiera Knightly in her pouty 'emoting')?
The writers probably thing they're being especially clever with all their 'setting up future events' malarky... but if it's at the expense of developing the present, it's not really clever, is it?
And Captain Jack's speech at the end? Oh, please.
The weekend was rather dull. Didn't do the garden photography as it was raining. Made a vague start on a cartoon character inspired by a story synopsis written by a friend in the States... A sort of Superhero at the moment... though, considering 'my' 'idea' is a strange cross-pollination of X-Men's Storm, Silver Sable, Hawkgirl and Black Cat, I'm not sure the Superhero route is going to be the best one. I realise it's almost hopeless to try to be original with a comic book character, but there has to be something better than combining elements of four existing heroines...
My folks spent most of Saturday visiting sister and husband out in Swindon. The much-delayed 'housewarming'. I sent a gift - a candle in the shape of a candlestick - in lieu of my presence, as Helen likes candles. I'd expected them to stay overnight but, just as I was settling down for the night, they arrived back home... Very strange.
Once there was a decent amount of ambient light on Sunday, I did manage some photography of my newest acquisitions. Movie Ironhide and Starscream are rather photogenic, all things considered. BotCon 2006 Tigatron and the Buzzsaw/Laserbeak set came out pretty well too... and I even managed a few shots of Micron Legend (Armada) Scourge, which I completely forgot about last time. While the deluxe Optimus Prime mold is widely regarded as one of the most fun iterations of the Autobots' leader, I must say that both versions I have of the mold (Universe Ultra Magnus and this Japanese Scourge) have a rather odd mold defect, in that neither can face directly foreward - the head will always jump to the right. I'm half tempted to open the heads to figure out what's wrong... but I don't think I shall.
Sticking with the subject of TransFormers, I had a rather depressing realisation over the weekend. For the umpteenth time, I dragged my Generation 1 collection out of the cupboard to examine it objectively... And the sad fact is that I have very few worthwhile figures in that collection. I missed out on far too many early Gen 1 models - all those Diaclone reissues under the TransFormers banner - and ended up buying far too many crappy gimmicky models like Pretenders (I mean, come on, ugly, spindly, barely transforming robots hiding in poorly-proportion plastic shells?), the Battlechargers and the Duocons, and picked up only the most boring HeadMasters. I suppose the original Scorponok, complete and in good condition, might be vaguely worthwhile... but it's a crappy model, even by Gen 1 standards. Aside from Optimus Prime, Jazz, Wheeljack, Ultra Magnus, Megatron, Soundwave and the Seekers, I don't think there's one must-have in the collection. I have two complete gestalt teams for the Decepticons (Menasor and Abominus, with all of the mini-Seacons, but no Snaptrap to complete Piranacon) and one hopelessly incomplete set of Protectobots for the Autobots. I look at that collection and wonder what I was thinking... No wonder I've been picking up all the decent reissues... It's a subconscious admission that my Gen 1 collection is rubbish.
This week is essentially going to be 'what happens before Memorabilia'... The next few days will have no intrinsic value in and of themselves, as my mind is fully occupied with what's going to happen up in Birmingham. Will Hasbro be there? Will I be able to get all the upcoming movie toys I'm looking forward to? Will I find other cool stuff? And that's just for starters.
That said, today I managed to complete my magazine about an hour before the end of the day... Not bad going, but it's one of the smallest. Delays, inevitably, were with Editorial, the last two pages taking proportionally longer than everything else. Not sure why, exactly, but the editor certainly seems happy with her designer. This is no real surprise... After a rather shaky start in terms of discipline, this new designer seems bloody good. She has a better idea of text flow that any of the others, and I haven't had to correct anything significant. As my boss pointed out on the way home today, our latest two recruits to full design positions are showing up how poor the established staff really are. Even one of the earlier recruits, taken on as a Senior Designer, is too afraid of taking risks to really work out well with his editor.
Tomorrow, there's a small chance I'll be able to get ahead on upcoming flatplans and, at the very least, break even on upcoming website uploads. Even that won't really make a dent in things. Once all that's out the way, even more work will follow. It has become depressingly relentless, and I don't have time to enjoy my achievements anymore. I don't even think this is a sign or symptom of me being burnt out anymore... just that the job is crap, and it's become a production line, endlessly pumping out the same magazines, day after day, week after week, month after month.
On another note, my hip has been flaky again. Last weekend and during much of last week, it was either agonisingly painful or merely downright uncomfortable. Nothing like as bad as the last time, but still not pleasant. I started hitting it with ibuprofen earlier and more consistently, though - pills and gel. Still can't figure out why on earth any part of my hip would suddenly and repeatedly become inflamed... and am beginning to wonder if it's actually nothing to do with my habit of sitting cross-legged. Very strange.
On the upside, if I'm lucky, I may get a nice massage at the weekend...
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