Is it over? Am I supposed to work again now?

People were over, painting models for Quest like usual. Very comfortably I was upstairs in the lux red sofa chair, feet up on my cajon drum, watching TED.com and reading. I was absorbing nature energy like Naruto; going into sage mode - I was going to keep working on the new movie idea, read up on how laboratories are run. That led to thoughts of working environment which led to thoughts of work. That's when it hit me.

I'd been on vacation for two weeks.

And there was nothing stopping me from staying on vacation.

Sebastien Grainger - American Names

Finally played the UFC Undisputed Demo today!

Of all my regular internet reads, MMA sites like Sherdog and MMALinker are in the "whenever I remember" category; meaning I check the sites out only when I'm bored and have nothing else to do but catch a crazy fight or read about what's coming up next.  When I get around to it, I read the headlines and not really any of the articles.  I only need to know who's fighting who next so I can imagine it in my head and get hyped up about the potentiality of the battle.  Now there's a game coming out that tries to recreate that and it has a lot to live up to.
It's been in the works for awhile; we're all big fans of WWF No Mercy and Wrestlemania 2000 for N64 and when Yukes was announced by THQ as the developer of the game we all started to wonder how deep the system would be - if there'd be create a character, create a title, use of the hard drive for backing up match records, etc.  While I've only played the demo that was recently released, I'm happy to say that the game lives up to my high expectations and when it's released could end up being the game that brings me back to video games.
The controls were what I was most worried about; how do you capture the intricacies and unpredictability of an MMA fight?  What they've done is make everything really intuitive if you've grown up with a controller in your hand.  The four face buttons are left/right punch/kick which reminded me of Mortal Kombat.  There are two modifiers - body/power - mapped to the left trigger and bumper respectively.  There's a high block and low block on the right trigger/bumper side.  Then comes the right stick which functions like a grappling/parrying/shooting joystick.  Flick or press towards for a grab or shoot, hold up or down to parry and grab like it's EA's Fight Night.
Even on the ground, the controls are very natural.  You want to move into a better guard?  Use motions on the right stick like in EA's Skate and you'll move into better position.  It's not hard!  That's the best part!  You're in half guard and want to step over into full mount, you do a QCB,F (Quarter circle back, then forward) and you're raining down blows on his head.
Submissions!  Click the right stick and you'll go for whatever submission is best suited based on your position.  Then you mash or twirl the right stick!  It's like Naruto Ultimate Hero!  I've always kicked everyone's ass in spinning the stick, so no one is going to submit me!
Presentation on the game is fantastic.  Everything, and I mean everything, is straight out of the UFC TV show. They use the same graphics, camera angles, shot progressions so everything really makes you feel like you're playing the show.
Seeing as how I played a demo that has two characters for two hours straight, I'd say it might make me spend time on videogames again.  80 characters at least and hopefully a robust create-a-character mode will ensure that fights are entertaining all the time.  Luckily Mike is buying it the minute it's released so I can see what ends up in the final game before I buy it.  If Yukes can pull through on everything else it might be time for me to get a 360.

I keep hiding from the parties

I've yet to see Ash and Chris working their DJ magic live.  They've had many shows and the post-show pictures are always enough to scare me away from the massive crowds that are constantly dancing.  I'll have to go soon though, before the crowds get too big for me.

Track:  TapeDeckBros - Lasers & Arrows.mp3 

Nickel Eye

Another old post.
Nikolai, you're good, but it's a little bland.  Maybe there was too much hype going into any effort by the members of your other band, but Albert was able to pull it off.  Twice.  I did listen to The Time of the Assassins quite a bit, but it got me in a somber mood whenever I did.  Maybe that's what you were going for. *shrug*

I haven't listened to the album in a while.  Maybe I'll dig it up later tonight.

YouTube

Until just recently I'd been behind-the-times regarding YouTube.  All my computers were so old that they'd run internet video poorly and I rejected the notion that people in their rooms could be of any interest to me.  Fast forward to the day I get a new computer that can handle it and renewed is my interest in cheap, fast movie making.
It's a different beast for sure, but it's fully capable of bringing together an audience and launching careers.  The time and effort required to keep up with the content eaters out there is stressful, but rewarding if you have interesting material.
We, at 333half, made some horror trailers last year for Halloween.  They were short and silly clips of sci-fi madness and creepy retro scares.  I was particularly proud to see the view count for The Strangler, though the views were for reasons unintended.
This year we'll plan them out a bit better and hopefully launch a series of backlogged ideas that are begging to be made.  We're late to the YouTube party but the party is never the same without us.

Behind the scenes movie magic

When I was younger I wanted to be a filmmaker.  I imagined the process being a lot simpler than it is with friendship trumping talent.  I threw money at the hobby and came out of it bitter and sad because I had to face the cold, hard truth - movie making takes serious commitment and tons of planning before a single frame should be shot.

Years later I responded to an ad in Now magazine looking for interested young people who'd like to work behind the scenes and learn the ropes from seasoned pros.  They'd take us to various spots around the Toronto film making scene - the CFC, that studio that was north of Lansdowne Station - and teach us the basics on sound & lighting.  They'd be shooting shorts for the CFC's resident film makers and we'd do the lighting/grip work.  We were a ragtag group and it was amazing fun while it lasted.  I made some friends who I have on my Facebook list and I read up on their exploits sometimes.  Not many of us made it through the program.

I left the program disgruntled.  There are lots of little things about the film industry that irked me; mostly stuff regarding the unions and the number of hours required to join up and get work on a consistent basis.  I still enjoy the process though; having learned about lighting, electrical and grip I realize that I never wanted to be on the scene.  I have story ideas.  Stories that would be great on screen one day.  With the way things are nowadays, it's my lifelong passion for comic books that will pave my way to the big screen anyway.

Groceries delivered to my door because I'm a really lazy

The picture is old.  I did this one around Thanksgiving last year when I ordered a turkey from Grocery Gateway because I didn't want to carry one home.  Grocery Gateway has been in and out of my life for a few years now; dating back to the days when I lived above the Flying Monkey.  It's an amazing thing to order groceries online and receive them the next day in your pajamas.

Advice:  Don't order anything fresh that you can get cheaper at a nearby grocer.  Order heavy goods that are of comparable price to what you'd pay at the supermarket - cans, jugs, cases; call the difference a lifting tax.

P.S. - The turkey, cooked by roommate Julian, was a celebration of tasty!  We had a bunch of our friends over and we ate like kings.  Adam and Danielle, your pie was great.  Ash, what you brought went so quick that I didn't get any!  Everyone else, I can't remember what else I ate because I was gorging myself.  Yay!

Resident Evil

Well, the screenshot is old hat by now; Resident Evil 5 was released awhile back and most of my friends have already been there and done that.  I can't say that I'm particularly excited to join in the fun though; RE games haven't been scary since the remake on Gamecube.  Tank controls FTW.

The Hundreds

I visit The Hundreds often.  They're on my Google Reader list and they update a lot.  Bobby Hundreds, you're the man.

What is a capsule collection?

I wondered... What is a capsule collection?

Fashion fascinates me. The ideas behind a design, the people who dictate what's cool and what's "in", and the process of bringing an idea to life are all part of this wonderful lifestyle that I like to follow online and off. Go figure then, that I kept coming across a term that I'd never heard before - A Capsule Collection.

At first I thought it was something wild and Japanese; like Gachapon dispensers that new youthful labels were utilizing in their marketing. I remembered Dragon Ball Z had Capsule Corp., maybe a Capsule Collection is a term from that series. I even thought that maybe it was something to do with Akira and Kaneda's jacket with the pill on the back. Nope. I was dead wrong.

I found the answer at Yahoo! Answers. They tell me that a Capsule Collection is "...a set of apparel items -- say six to twelve articles -- by the same designer, that, when used together in different combinations, can produce about twenty different looks (outfits). A capsule wardrobe entails the same concept, however, apparel items can come from a number of designers. Each piece of the capsule must be interchangeable and mix and match well together."

I wondered and now I wonder no more.