25 ODD-FOOT OF GRUNT

WARNING: MAY BE PLOT SPOILERS BELOW, BUT NO MORE SO THAN THE TRAILER



I saw King Kong today. And frankly I was sort of disappointed. NOT because it was bad, but because it wasn't. I actually quite enjoyed it. Maybe I'm some sort of dumb-movie-goer, or maybe I'm not, but I'll explain myself further regardless.

I was swept up in the magic of the island, I was in love with the old-timey New York style, I felt for Kong, I was scared for Anne (Naomi Watts' character) I actually liked Jack Black. I thought Peter Jackson did a good job, despite being somewhat Peter Jackson-ish in his 'natives looking like orcs' approach. There were some good edtiting techniques, particularly the scene on the Empire State building, and recalling of earlier shots from the movie.

Yes yes, the movie was obviously done with CG and it was noticeable, but I could actually look past it, which is hard for me to do, and embrase the movie for what it was saying, and not how it was said. The person I saw the film with kept shaking his head as if to say "yeah right! that'd never happen!" but that's not the point. The film doesn't have to be realistic in its story telling, its unbelievable in nature, you have to suspend that part of your brain to enjoy it!

I did have some gripes though: The dinosaurs. Not enough of them. And they were pretty weird looking. The tyrannosaur was alright, a bit toothy but ok, but there were these other dinos that were sort of like Allosaurs & Raptors in one, which struck me as odd, as well as some serious scientific error with the long-necked dinos. Shall I go into it? No, well too bad: See, the bodies of the long-necked were that of an apatosaur, but the head was all wrong. It was thought up untill 10 years ago or so that they had short stuppy heads because the skulls were never found. Then 10 years ago they were found, and they were actually long slender heads. The ones in the movie had stumpy heads. Which is ok if they were a Camarasaurus or something, but that's rather obscure so I am not certain. Then again the did have a Torosaurus instead of a Triceratops, which is also obscure. Final criticism, a few too many mythical creatures. Sure, its the lost world, but not Middle Earth. The giant phallic worms and the Orc-bats were odd to see.

There were a lot of good things though, far out weighing the bad: The casting was good. Adrien Brody was good to see in a strong role despite his character being a writer and him looking like the worlds biggest wimp (watch Dummy to see what I mean). The old-timey New York was really cool, with the detail done pretty well (as far as I know), the skyline was cool, and Times Square was also cool. Old-timey ads are also always awesome! (A brand-new Chevy for $445). I enjoyed the pace, with the substories, and the fast pace in the second and third hours. I liked the set designs, the costume design and the sound was great too. The music was corny drama music which was good. A bit of a let-down with the titles, could've been a LOT cooler.

It was funny watching it though: There was some kids sitting behind us (which by the way: Not a movie for kids) and they kept talking the whole time. The funniest question they asked there dad, when the saw a giant skeleton of a gorilla "Is that a giant human?". Double-handed face slap!! Also we went for a drink afterwards and the bartender was talking about it too, in an extremely thick ocker Aussie accent she was complaining about the pace of the movie. It was kind of funny, and made me feel really elitist, but then again it was a Hollywood blockbuster I was defending, so yeah whatever.

Overall I'd give it a 7.5/10, good, not great, but certainly not bad at all.
A must for video, a maybe for the theatre.


IT'S THAT TIME AGAIN



I'm redoing my portfolio to take around with me when the job hunting begins in April. Here is my cover/contents page. I'm sticking with dinosaurs and color, but changing the font from Helevetica to something nicer and newer. Got any suggestions? Linus? Will? You guys know about that sort thing.. anyone else, because they're too lazy and I want your ideas too...

IESSO

88 MILES PER HOUR

Tanner, the champion got me this wicked Back to the Future toyset! It REALLY REALLY rules.. i mean REALLY! A lot has happened since Christmas, I slept a lot, got a new phone (Sony Ericsson K608i on the 3 Network) and booked a flight to Sydney. So maybe thats not a LOT! but it is still something... I've got to go to Sydney to get my passport so I can go to the states... and I needed a new phone becuase mine was BAD! This new one has got it all, 1.3MP camera, which is NEARLY good enough to take happy snaps, it's got BlueTooth so I can syncronise my contact and calendar info, helping to keep me more organised, and its got video talking becuase that is cool. Yeah, so whatever.. I dunno what to say. I'm pretty tired, I've been awake for 29 hours now, which is long enough to be tired, but not long enough to be giddy and delirous. Soon though... soon..

Goodnight for now. See ya soon. IESSO

WELL WISHES

Happy Holiday's everyone! Happy Hanukah/ Hannuka/ Hanukka/ Hanukkah/ Chanukah/ Chanukkah/ Khanike/ חנכה, etc, as well as a Merry Christmas and Happy Kwanza! I wish you all my heartfelt blessings. And in case I dont post before new years, Happy New Years as well!

I hope this is what Santa and/or Hanukah Harry brought me. This is real too! I am not making this up! Greatest. Toy. Ever.

SO, UH, YOU COME HERE OFTEN?

WHAT WE WERE DOING IN A SEX SHOP IS IMMATERIAL, but is important is this monster! If I'm not mistaken it is 18inches long, and dammit it was HEAVY! The American Challenge, what an understatement! I just thought it was funny. Tee hee. Rude things! Yes, I am a 14 year old boy. If you don't beleive me on how long it was, just look at it compared to the length of my torso! It's friggin huge! I can't imagine people actually use it. Seriously, it's massive! You would have to be very, um... experienced, and still the sheer mass of the thing, how deep are you?! I am perplexed. And if it's a novelty joke gift, it's pretty expensive at $69.00 ... heh heh heh... what a funny price. Tee hee.

Another point of note: This was taken on Tanner's phone camera! So much better than mine!
IESSO

HATE TO STATE THE OBVIOUS

BUT... I was reading a website dedicated to iPods and the producers of the site wishes everyone a happy holidays. Which lead to some people getting annoyed and posting comments wishing everyone a Merry Christmas instead. Then other people got annoyed at those people saying that a generic season greetings is better than a specific holiday. It spiralled completely out of control. But both sides make such a good argument that I just had to blog it up.

SIDE 1: MERRY CHRISTMAS
It is Christmas time now, so why can't people have the right to say Merry Christmas instead of the generic Happy Holidays? People should not be offended if someone wishes you a MC even if it is not your religion, the intention is good, so accept it gracefully. By censoring all specific religious holiday celebration out of the holiday season we end up with a bland, souless holiday run by corporate America or something crazy like that.

SIDE 2: HAPPY HOLIDAYS
Yes, it is Christmas time, but it is also other holidays around now too! Chanukah is on the same day in the western calendar as Christmas, so by wishing a generic HH we can cover ALL holidays with one phrase. There is no censorship involved with a HH wish, rather a greeting that encompasses other holidays besides the predominant Chrsistian holiday.


Personally I have no problem with people wishing me a MC, but I do prefer the HH greeting because as part of a minority group in Australia where the Jewish community is far and few between, wishing people a MC would be the ultimate sellout. Or something like that. I personally don't understand why people get so bent out of shape when people wish you a HH. It's not like we're not wishing you a MC, we are, because that is your holiday. Duh. So what is the problem. By wishing HH is does not assume you are Christian, or Jewish, or Muslim or anything else.

So chillax people on iPod site. Chillax.
And have a HAPPY holidays!

And to everyone reading this site, I will wish people well in a less rant-style post later in the week. On Christnukah day.

IESSO

FEAR NOT GOOD CITIZENS!

THE MASTHEAD SHALL BE REDONE. I'm much to tired and lazy to draw a cool swirl, but don't worry; I'll do it tomorrow.

IESSOOOoooooohhhhh yeeaaahhhhh
(said like Isaac Hayes)

UPDATES

SORRY about the infrequent posts this week. I've either been busy or lazy or both...
HERE IS THE LAST WEEKS EVENTS IN NOTE FORM:


- Got my new laptop. It is good. The screen is big and it runs fast. I am very pleased with it.

- Gone XMas shopping every day. It is boring. And expensive.

- My space themed QCA book was rejected. I liked it. But the powers that be don't. Sigh.

- I emailed Cutts Creative about talking to them about the folio, but they will be closed till late January.

- I got in a lot of trouble from Sebastian for being late too many times. It was a disaster but worked out ok in the end I guess.

- I screwed up with UNG typing in the wrong thing in a MSN conversation relating to my ex. Disaster. But I think things are patched up. They're still a bit shaky though...

- I went bowling with Tanner the other night. Damn its actually really really hard. The ball is too heavy. My arm hurts.

MORE O' THE SAME

BEEN WORKING on the 'Copper Book' for a little while now, tweaking ideas, struggling with text. And because I've got nothing else to show, I thought I'd show you the progress of this then. Yawn. Boring. Feel free to leave whenver you want...

IEZZzzzzzzz.....

PS. If you wanna give me some feedback on what you like/dislike that'd be muchly appreciated. I never know whether my work is ... um... working or not...

BLAST FROM THE PAST

I bumped into my my school art teacher working at a shop over the summer while shopping for UNG. I've seen her a few times since high-school and the fateful night at the year 12 formal*. It's funny; even though it was 5 years ago since high-school I can't help but call her Ms. Turner, even though we are both adults now.

It was nice to see her again, she's a nice lady. I told her what I had been up to; finished uni, with the top folio mark, shopping for my girlfriend... etc etc. She asked if it was my ex.... and hit a sore spot. I don't like talking about her anymore, but lately she's come up in coversation a few more times than I would have liked. I've had some dreams about her too recently (in the last few weeks) always the same: I'm back at my old place in Spring Hill and things are how they used to be. But I'm aware of all the things wrong with our relationship that I couldn't see at the time. I guess love blinds me from the things that aren't working, and everyone else around me can see it.

Why would these thoughts come up NOW? I guess the series of coincidences reminding me about then; like finding her address on an eBay page I registered years ago could be one, or Tanner finding her phone number in his old phone, or things like bumping into Ms. Turner who knew us back then... but also my concerns about the future.

I'm planning on moving to New York next year as we all know. But I don't really want to go alone. I'd like to take UNG with me too. And then fear of becoming involved with someone like last time hits me. Of course they're completely different people and our relationships are totally different, but the situations are somewhat similar. 5 years ago I finished high-school with A and we moved in together up in Brisbane, and started university. Now I've finished uni and am hoping to move with UNG to a new city to start a new phase in my life, and I'm worried that history might repeat itself.

I know that this is a somewhat public arena for my concerns, but this blog is my place to voice my thoughts, good, bad or otherwise. This is something I need to work out, and hopefully not worry about. But the concerns are still there nonetheless. History would never repeat itself again, but I am terrified that I am once again being blinded by my love. Of course I can't see anything wrong with UNG, everything is great! She's a wonderful person! I think she's fantastic. We get along wonderfully, we have similar interests in most things, we have different strengths and weakness's but use what we have to help each other out. There is no reason for my fears other than my history.

What do I do? I don't know. What can I do? Do my concerns have any merit? Probably not, but then again it certainly is possible. I suppose I should talk about this with her. I have in a way. She knows I have a bit of a weakness when it comes to my ex. She knows about New York and my hopes for her to come with me. She's mostly eager to come with me, provided she is able to work in the US... I think...

Any input from anyone would be muchly appreciated, although no input is fine too. I'm not actually asking for advice at this stage, just voicing my thoughts, but if you want to comment, please do. If you're a long-time reader or a personal friend you should know that when it comes to life, love and the big things I don't always think entirely rationally or objectively, but I do take it very seriously. Often much too seriously.

Thank you. I'm Elliott Scott, being somewhat of a downer tonight with this post and the previous one, signing off.

* PS. for those of you who aren't aware of what actually happened at the formal, it's kind of a funny story, and kind of crazy, but mostly just plain ol' creepy. See Ms Turner and I got along well, as I usually do with teachers that I respect... And at the formal she got very drunk and came up to me. I was sad to say goodbye and all that usual teacher-student stuff. But strangely she was sad too. She told me what an inspiration I had been, and how she was really going to miss me and stuff, and we hugged. And then SHE KISSED ME! And it wasn't any sort of normal kiss that maybe a grandmother gives to a grandson. NOPE! It was a kiss on the lips, with a slight tongular action. Only slightly. But still. CREEPY! By the way she's not too old or unattractive or anything in case you're picturing some niaive kid and a geriatric, but saying that IN NO WAY was I attracted to her! And to make matters worse, but funnier now, my girlfriend was standing right behind her. LAUGHING at my misfortune. No, she wasn't angry, or jealous, she laughed. A few weeks later we were kissing and stuff (my girlfriend, not Ms Turner) and she started doing the Ms Turner voice and it FREAKED ME OUT! Anyway everytime I bumped into Ms Turner after that night she always had this look of utter embarrassement. It's funny now. But only after 5 years of telling the story. HA HA! Nightmares!

PPS. I was talking to Ms Turner today about UNG. She was happy for me. I'd bumped into her last year (well when I say bumped into her I really mean I went to the high-school to see her and get her to let me mooch off the schools darkroom facilities!) and we went to lunch. She said I looked really sad, but I didn't tell her why. I was actually nearly crying being back at the high-school. Everything was the same, but different.

PPPS. One more Ms Turner annecdote and I'll wrap this up: She quit teaching and went back to school to study psychology. Which isn't very interesting really, except that my brother was also taking psych and was in her class! He was a student of hers too, so they knew each other. He was telling me that she was one of the bad kids, sitting at the back of the room talking and giggling and being distruptive. I thought that was hilarious! He was one of those kids in her class, and now she's sort of doing the same thing back at him. Um.. ha! Funny! I was a goody-goody though.. as if you didn't guess that already!

DEEPTHROAT

POSTED AS A COMMENT FROM AN ANONYMOUS SOURCE.

Anonymous said...

"hey everyone,
this is not elliott-related, but needed to get off my chest, and i guess this is teh best forum to do it. From a very reliable source, some gossip about someone who thought he could teach us some design... let's call him colin. apparently colin never even worked as a designer, he was only finished artists at an ad agency.!!! i'll let you make of it what you will, but i'm kind of really annoyed that he always talks of his industry experience, but he never worked as a concept person, only finished art.
>:| "

My comments are:

1. Wow. I'm shocked if this is true. Although it doesn't really change a whole lot. We have learnt whatever we learnt, what's done is done. If you didn't learn as much as you wanted to sure blame the teachers, but also take a little responsibility. I agree that posing as an expert when it's not the case isn't the best thing to do, but it doesn't make our learning that much less valid. I hope not anyway. Our college career is not the end of learning... we have plenty of time to learn what we need to know.
2. Why post anonymously? Who are you afraid of? Please, be honest on my website. Your comment is not malicious or nasty in any way, don't be ashamed of speaking the truth (although at the time of print the claim has not been validated. I will ask Colin myself)
3. In the future I'd urge you to not use my blog to comment on trivial matters. NOT that this is trivial, but you might think if one person commented on something unrelated, why cant I? and soon we'll be discussing which brand of cereal we like. What I'm trying to say is this: It's MY blog. I want to have some control over what goes up or not. So if you have anything you find interesting and want to share, like this, EMAIL me and I'll probably put it up. Just like I've done on this post.

Thanks for the understanding.

As I mentioned I will email Colin this comment. I want his feedback on this matter. If he can give me a valid reason why his opinion should be valid that would be good. If not... well... I dunno. But we should at least hear his side before judging him.

IESSO

A LONG AND PAINFUL PROCESS

THIS POST HAS UPDATES! SCROLL DOWN FOR MORE CRAP! I MEAN, GOOD....









UPDATE! Here are some internal spreads now to look at. The insides are also duotoned! Pantone 875C and Black! WOOT! Metallics! Anyway, back to the images: They're pretty small sizes I guess, but thats for copyright reasons and because I'm much too lazy to include hi-res ones. So shut yer _traps! Anyway theres some nifty gimmicks built into the design like the SpaceFactsTM and the GridsTM and the Voyager FlipBookTM ALSO and much more cool!TM is the use of ACTUAL NASA PHOTOGRAPHS! That's right peoples NASA! They're letting me use the images, royalty free. Which is cool. But I've got to include a little footnote of where the photo was from, and if there are people used I have to ask for their permission. YEAH RIGHT! "Dear Mr Armstrong..."

Anyway, IESSO AGAIN!

(OLD STUFF NO-ONES GONNA READ:
Here is the cover concept for the new QCA Promo book, commonly called "The Silver Book". The theme revolves around discovery and 'discovering your new dimension' **cough cough LAME cough** And its space themed. The internals look cool too. Don't worry folks the brown/tan isn't that color, it's actually a metallic copper color with distressed elements. It's meant to resemble the plaque found on the Voyager space probe.

I'm Elliott Scott, boldly going where many have gone before, signing off.)

CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE

HERE is the Flickr stream of polaroids I took at the grad exhibition that Linus has so graciously and painstakingly and lovenly nagged me for, restored, and posted up on the interweb for all to see. Thanks dude. Without your hard work we would never be able to enough these photos at the moderately higher res that they are here. You are the best person in the whole world.

Sarcasm? Why would you even suggest such a thing. Of course not!

IESSO

SEXUAL HARRASSMENT PANDA!

AT WORK TODAY the UNG was cold. My boss says: "Stay close to Elliott, he's hot".

This comment wouldn't be so bad except for the fact that everyone thinks HE likes me. I just turned and looked at him in horror/shock while he giggled like an idiot. I'm not sure if he meant it that way or not, but it was weird.

IESSO

NOW THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKIN' ABOUT!

I ADMIT comparing screen sizes is only a step away from comparing penis length, but still, I'm getting excited about the 17in PB. It is THIS ^ much bigger than my current 12in PB. I can work so much easier! WOOT.

That's all. I promise no more screen size comparisions, no more mentioning of Powerbooks, and probably no more penis length comparisions.

IESSO

I DON'T EVEN KNOW ANYMORE

MAYBE I'M OLD or something, but 'What is with these kids these days and their tight black jeans?' I mean seriously? It is not a good look. And here is why: Tight pants only look good on REALLY skinny people. I'm talking really-skinny-no-ass people. Otherwise because they're tight down to your ankles they make your butt look big. Seriously. Your butt DOES look fat in those jeans. Even if you are a tight-bodied young hipster.

Ok. So maybe I'm an old man who is out of touch with the world and am just realising it now. BUT seriously they make your butt look big. I think they're cool though and I wish I could wear them, but no, big-buttedness stops me!

On the other hand we're presented with another 2 problems.

Problem 1. Guys wear them too. And that's fine I guess. I'm all for androgenous fashion! All for it! But the problem of MALE CAMEL-TOE is not something that should be ignored! Or can be ignored for that matter. Ok fine, they may be cylists but the effect is much the same.



Problem 2. A quote from Tanner: "Chicks look great in those tight pants. Guys however, also look great." Hmm. Repressed sexuality issues aside the fact that guys have thinner hips and are more suited to tighter pants is somewhat disturbing. Showing off your body is fine, but I don't want to walk to Hungry Jacks in the Mayer Centre and be bombarded by denim covered asses. Guy or girls!

The rant makes no sense, and is entirely invalid. But yeah. It's been bugging me.