Dennis! Now, More Bored Than Ever Before!

  1. In the 8 facts about [name], you share 8 things that your readers don't know about you. At the end, you tag 8 other bloggers to keep the fun going. Each blogger must post these rules first.
  2. Each blogger starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.
  3. At the end of the post, a blogger needs to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.
  4. Don't forget to leave them a comment telling them they're tagged, and to read your blog

1

I'm a nerd. My favorite subjects in school were history and science. I was a NJHS member in Hawaii, was on my school quiz bee team in Guam. Was even on TV (albeit local Guam TV which all of three people probably watch). I spent my recess with my nose in a book while my classmates played tetherball or basketball or dodgeball.

Anyone else think sports is kinda gay?

2

I'm a geek. The obsessive, pack rat kind. My room is filled with pocket books (mostly genre books), DVDs (mostly genre DVDs), toys (mostly Comic book toys), and magazines (mostly FHM - I mean SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN! SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN). I've emptied my closet of clothes so I could stuff more things in there. I've written fan fic, played D&D, and ranted on blogs in geekspeak. I only get really engaged in a conversation if it's in that certain elitist vernacular that geeks love to perpetuate.

Geeks love elitism.

3

I'm a dork. I don't like socializing for the sake of socializing much. It takes me eons to open up to people. I hate parties and social crowds. Plain crowds are fine. The kind you can lose yourself in. I like to stare at people around me with a scowl on my face.

Security guards tend to think I'm a terrorist

4

I 'm a loner. I like doing things alone. Commuting alone. Walking the mall alone. Watching movies alone. I didn't attend my prom, my graduation, attended only one reunion and am AWOL from most social functions if I can give even a half decent excuse. People are noisy and I like the quiet. I like the dark.

I hear the voices in my head better that way.

5

I'm an impatient bastard. I don't like to stay in one place for a long time. That's why I'm such a bad shopper. I don't like standing in front of a store haggling with the barkers. If I need something, I zone in on it, drop the cash, and I'm out of there. I don't take the same way home all the time, I don't hang around the same malls and I don't like waiting around for anything.

Contrarily, I was in UP for a decade.

6

I'm a pop head. I listen to the most sacharine, sugary pop music you can imagine and like it. Shut up with your grunge and your punk and your "alternative". Alternative is common. Pop is the new alternative.

Baduy is the new cool.

7

I'm totally blocked. I've got the mother of all artist's block. I can't draw anymore. It has something to do with my depression. I just don't have the passion anymore. Every time I sit down in front of a blank page I just stop and stare at it. One of these days I'm going to have to work through that.

But only after my serial killing spree.

8

I'm a closet optimist. Though it's well covered by my guise of a pessimistic realist. I think the best of everyone, all the time. I like to think that the human race isn't a bunch of fucking wankers who are out to get me, take my money, and piss on my head, then knife me in the back.

But I'm pretty sure I'm wrong.

 

Tag, you're it...

A Cinephile's Grimoire

Originally posted on Oct 18, '07, at slangards.multiply.com

These are magical, mystical, absolute mouth-watering movies that I am mad about.

They cover basically everything I've seen since around 1985, movies I used to have in my old VHS collection, before DVD made those beloved, delicate black plastic space wasters obsolete. I actually still have a lot of them, stuffed in a box, in my closet, gathering dust. Even have some Betamax tapes. Ahhh, Betamax.

These are mostly Hollywood films because the site I use, www.impawards.com, doesn't have a lot of the stuff I saw in college. When I find posters for that stuff I'll probably add it in.

I love these films for different reasons. Some of the reasons don't involve the rational thought processes of normal people so do not leave replies saying "this movie sucks so hard I use it to vacuum my carpet!".

I know it sucks. That's probably why I like it.

Philistine.


See the gallery HERE.

Hasbro Marvel Legends Wave 3 Launch

Start:     Oct 20, '07 10:00p


HML 3 Launch at Toy Palace in Farmer's Market, Cubao.
October 20, 2007

Neil Gaiman is directing DEATH!

Rotten Tomatoes

Neil Gaiman has turned his hand to many things, from journalism to film directing through short stories, comic books and novels - both graphic and regular. He's even been a lyric in a Tori Amos song.

2007 marks a banner year for Gaiman's talents on the big screen, as he's providing the source novel for Matthew Vaughn's Stardust and the screenplay (with Roger Avary) for Robert Zemeckis' Beowulf, while overseeing Henry Selick's translation to screen of his Coraline and preparing to direct the film adaptation of his Death: The High Cost of Living.

His works in print to date include The Sandman, Anansi Boys, Neverwhere and Good Omens. On screen, Neverwhere was adapted from the BBC television series he penned, and in 2005 he wrote MirrorMask with Dave McKean.

And when he's not doing all that he's keeping bees at his Minneapolis home. And, really, you can't go wrong with a beekeeping author.

As part of our ongoing series of Dinner and the Movies conversations - which kicked off with our mammoth chat with Kevin Smith earlier in the year - Rotten Tomatoes took Gaiman for sushi on a recent visit to London and spent ninety minutes in his company learning more about the workings of his mind, and quizzing him on his career past, present and future. Back in June we encouraged you to put your questions to Gaiman, and we represented some of those on your behalf too.

By popular demand we've provided the full version of our chat as an MP3 download for your listening pleasure. For those who prefer your soundbites in text form, we've extracted the juiciest morsels (pardon the pun) which you can find on the pages of this article.


On preparing to see Stardust for the first time:
I was terrified, but I'm always terrified. The first time I was terrified was the first time I got to the set properly while they were shooting. I was on set two weeks before shooting and then first day of shooting I had to go off and go back to being an author. I got back about two months later when most everything had been shot and I was sitting there in the screening room with my daughter absolutely terrified that what I was going to see would be appalling. And I sat there and it was wonderful. I realised I'd been holding my breath for two months.


On his relationship with Hollywood:
Alan Moore is a very, very dear friend of mine and a genius. And, to be honest, I think one of the finest writers of the last fifty years. At least in film I feel like I got to watch Alan walking across the landmine field ahead of me and watching what Alan did definitely got me to the point of thinking, right, I won't do that then.

What Alan did, and did from the word go, was say, "I've created the comics, the comics are the things I care about. Give me the check, go make your movie, it's nothing to do with me."

So I don't do this thing of, "Give me the check, I trust you." What I wanted to do was to find people I liked and trusted to make films, in the understanding that if I wanted the film to be exactly the thing I had in my head, then I should probably direct it myself. If I wanted it to be something else that I would enjoy, my job was to find the right person to do it and let them get on with it.

On his favourite parts of Stardust:
I love anything with the princes in. I love Michelle Pfeiffer's confrontation with Ditchwater Sal; as little scenes go I love it I think because it's exactly what I wrote in the book. And I love Captain Shakespeare because he's not what I wrote in the book and he's something I can just take pleasure in.

One of the things I like about the film is it's really a hard film to pick favourite bits from because it works so well as a whole.

I love Charlie Cox. I love the whole of Charlie Cox. I love Charlie starting out as this awkward kid in a bad bowler hat and a coat that doesn't quite fit him and a geeky haircut being beaten up and I love Charlie being everything that he grows up into and I love Charlie learning what love is and I love Charlie when he gets turned into a dormouse.


On story changes when adapting for screen:
A film is not a book. If you could absolutely do a BBC Classic version of Stardust it would take lots of 45 minute episodes and at the end of the first episode our hero would be born. Around about episode three or four he and Yvaine would meet. And you could do that and it would be faithful - I'd love to see it sometime - but it wouldn't be a film. You have to squish things if you're going to make it two hours and also there were things I did in the novel that are novelistic.


On getting ready to direct Death: The High Cost of Living with executive producer Guillermo del Toro:
You can have many different types of executive producer ... what Guillermo really wants to do is be there as a safety net for me. We're talking right now about me going out to the Hellboy 2 set and spending a while just shadowing Guillermo, talking to his crew, getting an idea of why he does what he does. Interrogating him, getting in the way... This is the Guillermo del Toro two-week film school, which really does sound absolutely fucking awesome.


On casting his female Death:
You have to have somebody who the entire audience falls in love with more or less immediately. Of whatever sexual preference or gender the audience happens to be, they all have to love her. You have to have someone likeable, bright, who can do the thing of being smart and sweet and optimistic without ever being cloying or irritating or making you want to hit her. And with a certain amount of vulnerability. Those, I think are the key things I'll be looking for in an audition and they're certainly the key things I've brought up in talking to actresses.

I've had several breakfasts and cups of tea with people.

On the potential for a movie version of American Gods:
Lots of directors over the years have approached me about doing American Gods. The big problem is a lot of directors come to me and say, 'We've read American Gods, we want to make it into a film.' And I say, 'Great.' And then they say, 'So... do you have any idea how we make it into a film?' And I say, 'No, if I'd have known how to make it as a film I would have made it as a film and not as a great big sprawling novel!' Nobody has yet satisfied me that they were someone I'd want to leave my baby with but I'm sure sooner or later somebody will.


On fantasy directors for American Gods:
I would love Stanley Kubrick. I'm pretty sure I would hate Stanley Kubrick's American Gods. I would probably feel about it exactly the same as Stephen King felt about The Shining. But I'm also sure it would be an absolutely mind-bogglingly wonderful movie. Of living directors, I don't know...

I'd love to see Terry Gilliam's American Gods because Gilliam is probably my favourite director in the whole world. Gilliam on an off-day is better than most people on their on-days.


On playing in the Batman universe:
Every now and again I've gone and done little Batman things. To be honest my favourite is probably Secret Origins of The Riddler and the Batman Black & White Batman/Joker story that I did with Simon Bisley although both of them are vignettes. There's a story that I signed a contract with DC to write called The Night Circus which is all about Batman going to the circus and that was meant to have been a painted book with Simon Bisley many, many years ago. Whether it will happen or not I don't know, but it would be a lovely story to do.


On Coraline:
I can tell you I've seen animatics of pretty-much the whole movie; the animated storyboards. I've seen test; actual animation of about four minutes which is gorgeous and glorious and I'm just hoping they don't clean it up too much. I think they've learned a lesson from the people who did The Corpse Bride, where they cleaned it up so much that it might as well have all been CG. What's lovely about this is that it looks like it was done by people and the characters are amazingly expressive. French and Saunders are hilarious; the They Might Be Giants songs are really good. I'm really excited.

MCA CD Sale

Start:     Oct 18, '07 09:00a
End:     Oct 20, '07 9:00p
MCA is holding a CD sales where one can choose from thousands of titles at as much as 80% off. All CDs are original. Come early as stocks are limited.

Oct 18 to 20
9am to pm
Room 604
Sixth Floor
Raffles Corporate Center
Emerald Avenue
Ortigas Center
Pasig City

For details, call Mylene at 916-2483.

Stardust



Rating:★★★★★
Category:Movies
Genre: Science Fiction & Fantasy


Originally posted on Oct 8, '07, at slangards.multiply.com

Stardust is another one of those movies that is destined for my all-time favorites list. I literally couldn't take my eyes off the screen. Like Labyrinth, Sunshine and Before Sunrise, it's one of those movies that had me leaving the theater with a sense of wonder of what MIGHT be out there.

I haven't read Gaiman's graphic novel, but I've been told it reads like an adult fairytale. The movie is much the same. Stardust evokes the same kind of awe and wonder I got as a kid listening to the Brother's Grimm or Hans Christian Anderson, staring intently at my mom as she read, imagining mermaids and fairies and pirates and neer-do-wells and thieves and princes. Heroes with swords and evil witches with magic spells glowing with green malice.

This is the film I was hoping for when I first saw Shymalan's trailer for Lady in the Water. What I wanted from Adamson's The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Those films just didn't engage my imagination at all. Lady was so pretentious that it collapsed under it's own weight and Lion's director just didn't have the technical know how to really get that epic feel of adventure that a journey through Narnia should have had.

Stardust comes very close to that other great fantasy adventure, Jackson's Lord of the Rings, though it's tone is very different. It's more like a light-hearted comedy, full of high adventure and whirlwind romance. Pirates, Witches, Princes, and Rouges. When you're there in your seat, you feel like part of the world of Stormhold and you don't want to go back to your dreary life in wall either.

Like Aronofsky's The Fountain, this film really made me want to go out and find the graphic novel. I'm definitely going to watch it again. A lot of people will tell you not to see it because Claire Danes is in it, but you tell 'em to fuck off and see it anyway.




5th Manila Comics Creation Seminar 2007

Start:     Oct 27, '07 10:00a
End:     Oct 28, '07 8:00p



October 27-28, 2007, 10am-8pm
Megatrade Conference Hall, Function Room B
SM Megamall, Mandaluyong City

P1000 per ticket.
* Good for 2 days with free meal and drinks, free drawing materials, limited ashcan memorabilia and lots of giveaways. Personal one-on-one portfolio review by the professionals.

CLICK HERE TO ORDER TICKET AND DELIVERED IT TO YOUR HOME http://manilacomicsseminar.googlepages.com/contact_blog.htm

for ticket inquiries email : azrael@glasshousegraphics.com


I went to the 2nd or 3rd Comics seminar. If you're a comics geek, and are thinking about a career in comics, this is a great way to get started. If you can hack it, you can make lots and lots of moolah. Dave Campiti and friends will take a look at your stuff and tell you flat out if you can or can't. It's best that you have real finished pencils, sequential comic pages would be best.

They have some sample scripts you can follow here:
www.glasshousegraphics.com

Even if you're just interested in how comics are made, this is still a good thing to attend

Strings

Rating:★★★★★
Category:Movies
Genre: Science Fiction & Fantasy



Aside from the obvious, there is another reason I love shopping for DVDs in dark little corners of the metropolis rather than in the cool comfort of the record bars inside the malls. Every now and then you'll run into a little known gem of a film that hasn't gotten any hype and isn't likely to make any of the bestsellers lists. You'll look over the cover, likely say something along the lines of, "hmm... this looks interesting..." and fork over the 60-70 bucks without the apprehension you might suffer from if you were buying an original.

That's exactly what happened when I picked up Anders Rønnow Klarlund's "Strings". I'd never heard of the film, (though it was released back in 2005 apparently) but it was one of those packages that just caught my attention and begged me to pick it up. According to the card, this is the"world's first fully integrated puppet feature film". In layman's terms, that means the principles are all marionettes; the same creepy puppets they used to have in shows like Thunderbirds. Karlund was said to have wanted to come up with a commentary on 9/11 and the US views on terrorism. What we got was an amazing deep fantasy film that reminds me of nothing less than Henson's The Dark Crystal.

Klarlund and his team of puppeteers, designers, and voice actors have come up with a world so rich in detail that it's rife with it's own mythology and feels as real as anything life-sized. It's a world where even a king can die if his headstring is cut. A world where puppets are made, not born, carved of wood by their fathers' hand, and connected to heaven by parts of their mother's lifelines. A world of castes, where slaves are kept to supply the royals with spare parts.

The expert handling of the marrionettes lends the characters an eerie reflection of life, while the excellent voice work by the English cast (including Children of Dune's James McAvoy and Catherine McCormack) gives them a humanity you begin to believe in as the film goes on. By the end, you may actually find yourself rooting for Hal Kara and loathing Nezo and Ghrak as if you were a loyal subject of the dead Kharo yourself.

As I watched Strings, I felt it would have been an amazing live show, staged with live actors playing living puppets. It would have been an amazing thing to watch this classic story play out with life size strings coming from the top of actors heads leading to heaven. I'd gladly pay for a ticket to a play like that.







Powerbooks Warehouse Sale!

Start:     Oct 5, '07 10:00a
End:     Oct 14, '07 7:00p
Location: #25 Brixton St., Capitol Subd., Pasig City / 490-1158

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