Thursday, June 21, 2012

Siegfried Line

I'm not dead! Just hella busy. Last weekend I went with some relatives to meet my grandparents for a couple days. I, of course, am a bit of a solitary beast, so going a whole weekend without some alone time was pretty rough. But all in all, it was a good trip, and I need to drive that route again.

As little of it wound up here, I've been doing a lot of writing. I've spent a large time on the road over the last weekend, and it's given me far too much time to think about too many things. And there've been some... Less than awesome epiphanies along the way. One minute I was taking a break from writing in my journal to watch some scenery float by, and the next something had kinda hit me like a brick in the side of the head. So jarring and surreal.

I guess that what happens when you take a moment to sort out what's going on in your head just enough to form them into recordable words. Things add up, and eventually you have a bigger picture staring you in the face.



Sketch059


And off I go tomorrow for even more driving. I guess that's good. There's a lot to think about. Unfortunately.
-Cril

We're going to hang out the washing on the Siegfried Line
Have you any dirty washing Mother dear?
We're going to hang out the washing on the Siegfried Line
For the washing day is here



Whether the weather may be wet or fine
We'll just rub along without a care
We're gonna hang out the washing on the Siegfried Line
If the Siegfried Line's still there


Vera Lynn - Hang Out the Laundry on the Siegfried Line

Sunday, June 10, 2012

Black and White Flavoured Serendipity

I made two wonderful discoveries this past week, pretty much by following a random whim.

First off is Twelve O'Clock High. It's a WWII film from 1949 starring Gregory Peck about a General that is put in charge of reinvigorating an American bomber squadron to get better results. The first thing that struck me that I haven't quite appreciated before... Is how gorgeous black and white film is. There's always such rich values being used, because rather than relying on colour, they must use straight greyscale tones to achieve contrast to separate elements. It's beautiful. The second thing about this movie was the story itself. [Spoiler alert. That's right - spoilers on a 60+ year old film] Basically, this General relieves the old commander because he was growing too close to his men, and restructures the squadron to make all the pilots and crew push through their combat fatigue and deliver results. He goes in and is hated by the men, but things start turning around. Eventually, though, after a while and some casualties, the General starts to fall into the same rut as the old commander. And eventually he himself, the icon of capability and perseverance, falls to combat fatigue, and he breaks down, not being physically or mentally able to get into his bomber to lead his men into battle on an important mission. And while his men are gone without him, he sat in frozen silence, not doing anything. When they returned, he went to bed. And that's pretty much where the movie ends. It was so wonderfully depressing, and not the type of 'yee-haw Americans win the war and are totally capable of anything' that I expected from an old war movie. Instead, it was about a General who cared about the effort and his men becoming so overworked and exposed to stress that he lost his ability to function. So incredibly sad. I loved it. It's the kind of movie you just wouldn't see today, at all. There was no focus on combat or hardcore personal drama. It was a story about a man and those he led, and how war doesn't take any prisoners. Like a lot of movies, it wore its heart on its sleeve, and had an earnest and honest approach. It was a breath of fresh air.



Gregory Peck Photoshop Portrait


The best part? I watched this movie on a complete whim. Two years ago, I came on a picture of Gregory Peck in costume for the role, and made the above drawing for it (speaking of which, I need to try that style out again - I like how it looks). I later found out what movie it was from, downloaded it, and... Promptly sat on it until the other night where I figured I'd watch something short and brainless. It was completely the opposite, and I was so pleasantly surprised.

Over the last couple few days, I played through Limbo. It's a sidescroller/platformer, that's presented in this wonderful black-and-white aesthetic where your character is always silhouetted with the rest of the plane it's present it, perfectly blending in with the ground and other objects. Blurring and other tones of grey add some more visual depth (foregrounds/mid-grounds/backgrounds) that your character doesn't really interact with, but is used to an alarming effect. The game just oozes atmosphere. Visually of course, but also the sound is so crisp and adds such a fantastic layer of depth to the environments. Gameplay wise, you have left, right, jump, and push/pull. That's it. There's no real combat - it's all using these few simple gameplay mechanics to solve puzzles. Some wonderfully brain-twisting ones, too, where you really have to pay close attention to your surroundings and think about things in a non-standard way than how you'd normally perceive puzzle platforming. There's no solid story, really - and the way it ended kind of left me puzzled, because it felt like there was so little context. But the presentation and environments, combined with how your character appears and the settings he finds himself in... Is enough to keep your brain ticking a bit. Maybe not in terms of plot or character development, but more along conceptual terms. "Who is this boy?" "Why a boy?" "Where do these big structures and contraptions come from?" "Where am I going?" Etc, etc. Yeah, on one hand it feels like "I'm TOTALLY clueless about what's going on here", but on the other hand, it feels like you're meant to fill in that gap by yourself, and there's some satisfaction in that uncertainty.

If anyone ever says that games are not/can not be art, show them Limbo. Because it certainly has that feel, where it has something to say and it's presenting it in a way that... The video game is the right medium to do it in. Like choosing sculpture or painting to communicate - it's what works best to deliver the creative expression of the craftsman. And above all... It makes you feel, and it makes you think. It fills you with a sense of awe and investment in the piece. It's an incredible experience.
-Cril

I don't ever care to rise to power
I would rather be with you an hour
For the things that one can buy
Are not worth a lover's sigh

I don't want to set the world on fire

I just want to start a flame in your heart
In my heart I have but one desire
And that one is you, no other will do

I've lost all ambition for worldly acclaim

I just want to be the one you love
And with your admission that you feel the same
I'll have reached the goal I'm dreaming of, believe me

I don't want to set the world on fire

I just want to start a flame in your heart


Vera Lynn - I Don't Want to Set the World on Fire

Monday, June 04, 2012

Melodica'n

I now seem to own... Far too many instruments. Eight, to be precise. And at this rate, that's eight more instruments than I'll ever learn to play decently. But really, that's okay. Because once you learn how to passably play those two or three songs you got the instrument for, it kinda pays for itself in a way. Yesterday a friend and I went and pick melodicas. It's basically a small, two-octave piano that is powered by blowing. It sounds like an accordion. Anyways, we got these back two his apartment and... Within about 10 minutes of cracking them open, we were playing a melancholy tune. He knows some basic piano chords, and I just kind of stumbled on some notes that worked as a melody. And we sat there, and played and played this sorrowful song. No planning, no rehearsing. It just happened, as if it was meant to. Something like that has got to be one of the greatest feelings you can have.



Sketch054

In other news, I need to stop slacking off. I've had a month to take it easy and now I need to step up my game. I just discovered that some university classes from a few years ago will count as credit for the required fourth year academic course I need to take, so I won't have to enroll in anything over the summer. So I need to get off my ass and make this summer count. I'm in the middle of a bajillion things, and I want to get on top of them before these sunny days evaporate on me. Like I know they will.

SO!

This week, I will get the following done:
  • Book a dentist appointment. Mah teeth - they are teh suck. I need to get as much work done before I graduate and I'm insurance-less.
  • Get an oil change. Seriously, my car's health is precarious as is, so let's try and stay on top of things, shall we?
  • Finish my current drawing/illustration. I actually have three of these on the go, one of which is a challenge I need to get cracking on. But I need to get this one out of the way first.
  • BONUS: Learn 7 chords for piano/melodica (C, D, A, G, F, Am, Em - one a day)
With the exception of the bonus challenge, I should be able to knock all these off within a single evening. And after that... Just gotta keep on keepin' on.

On another note... Steven Page has a song called Leave Her Alone, which has a big band-feel with a horn section, and is all-around damn catchy. When I saw him live performing all his songs acoustically with Craig Northey, he did this song and played the horn's main riff on a melodica. Took me a half-hour or so, but I finally figured out those dozen or so notes. I think that little ditty was actually what turned me onto the instrument in the first place, and what I was particularly dying to use it to play. Even though it's just a short filler phrase. And you know what? It feels good.
-Cril

When I was at sea
I crossed the equator and later rephrasing the hazing amazed at how cruel men could be,
I saw they were no different from me
An oasis
Of boredom
In a desert of pain
All the places you once dreamed of
Only dreams remain


In London
Not Paris, not Rome
But it's home


She's never going to leave again


No, leave her alone
She's doing just fine, she's living at home
And losing her mind
She's learning to drive,
She's riding the couch
And from time to time, she'll open her mouth
And once in a while, she'll look in our eyes and let us inside, and murmur the words
What more do you need? I concede my defeat
I went out in the world, it was a mistake
I came home to stay, I'd rather be safe
The rest of my days
With people I hate.

Steven Page & Craig Northey - Leave Her Alone