Winter Update

I really don't write in here enough.

Work and life (and sleeping and eating and laughing and learning and all other necessities) seems to get in the way at every turn.

I quickly glanced back at what I wrote back in August and the words have a strange new resonance after the events that followed. That day in Oakville, Ontario at the end of August when I was resting and reading the paper and catching my breath between two conventions feels a lot different now. As I wrote and passed the time that day my young cousin was upstairs, peacefully sleeping in until the late afternoon.

It's a teenager's right in the summer: to stay up all night and sleep in until the sun is well on its way past noon. I envied him that day; I used to love when the pressures of life weren't so heavy on my shoulders.

He's gone now though, my cousin James, taken away far too early by an incomprehensible infection that no one could see coming. I was lucky to have had time with him, though I didn't know how precious it was then. We watched Heroes and talked movies, and TV shows, and music, and all those comfortable conversation topics you cover when you think you'll see this person again and again throughout your life.

A lot of things are different now.

I'm single again, and I'm doing surprisingly alright. Devoting a lot more time to my endless watching of DVDs, you could even say I have a bit of an addiction. The DVD series of the moment is the Twin Peaks: Definitive Gold Box Edition, and it's amazing to have the whole series (Pilot included!) in one massive and beautiful set. I'm devouring it really, and it's even better than I remembered.

Twin Peaks is one of those shows that used to keep me up at night in my teenage years, in the summer. It used to come on A&E really REALLY late and the lateness combined with the odd nature of the show made it the ultimate guilty pleasure. It opened my mind to a lot of the strange and wonderful movies and shows that I live on today. I'd watch and laugh and get scared and marvel at all the twists and turns that the human mind could fathom. Most of all, I'd wonder what was going to happen next.

Then I'd go to bed and sleep in until the late afternoon.

End of Summer Musings

A Blog Post in 3 parts over multiple days probably defeats the purpose of a blog, but I've been traveling a LOT over the past 2 weeks, and my internet time has been limited at best.

From August 24-26 I was in Toronto working in a booth for AbbyShot at a convention called "Fan Expo". The weekend after that (August 31 - September 4) I was off to Atlanta for ANOTHER convention called "Dragon*Con" (which I fondly mentioned on this very blog last year).

I'll probably post soon with full reviews of both cons, but here are a few random thoughts from along the way.

Part 1 - Monday, August 27, 2007 - 10:00pm

Starting a new blog post, because Karen reminded me.

On the GO Train to Oakville now, after a crazy 4 (or was it 5?) days in Toronto. Karen's actually a good friend that I met 2 years ago during an amazing 4 months in France during an exchange term. It's cool that after all this time (2 years!), we're talking like that time in Rennes was only yesterday. We're both in agreement that it was one of the best times in both of our lives. I could say SO much about it all, but it's something you can only REALLY get if you were there. You know how it is.

It was funny, myself and Karen had a dinner of great pasta and went for a quick drink at a pub afterwards. Her boyfriend Mike (who she met during those 4 months in France) text messaged while we were at the bar, with an inside joke. Good times, the memories definitely live on. We discussed going back to Rennes, but we decided it would have to be a reunion trip. It wouldn't be the same place without the same people there. The people and the place have just been so intertwined in my mind that one without the other would feel not-quite-whole. Hard to explain, but true.


Part 2 - Tuesday, August 28, 2007 - 1:25pm

Quote of the day, from the Toronto Star:

"The original score is balls to the walls; it just doesn't stop as the orchestra is sawing away like they're clearing a forest. We're trying to let the film breathe a bit more."

- Andrew McPherson (of the band Eccodek) discusses his new score to Fritz Lang's 1927 science fiction classic 'Metropolis'

I'm gladly taking the day to relax and read the paper.


Part 3 - Sunday, September 2, 2007 - 8:30am

Wow, Atlanta is certainly a city of contradictions. Especially in Dragon*Con season. Yesterday we went from the aforementioned "con" (one of the biggest sci-fi / fantasy conventions in the USA, and probably THE best for costuming) to the Atlanta Underground area (which is known for its cheap market by day, and known for its layers of clubs by night). It's impossible to describe the difference between the two extremes, but interesting that everybody worships 'something' in their off-hours. Whether it's the movie "Evil Dead" or the latest rap tune, it's just good to get out there with a few like-minded people to enjoy it.

I'm beginning to think I've over-analyzed my night. Perhaps it's the beverages I was drinking.

Speaking of contradictions, I was talking to a girl at one of the bars we visited (an Irish pub playing ONLY rap music - go figure, it's Atlanta), and she was named "Portia" after the Shakespearean character. She thought her name was ghetto because everyone thinks she was named after the sports car. It's all about your perspective, isn't it?

Where Does the Summer Go?

Once again, it's been far too long since I've thrown my stream-of-consciousness onto this little blog. After a jog this morning (running always gets the thoughts going), I basically realized that summer is nearly over! With work and life and all that, I guess I didn't realize the very obvious.

So there's no better time to start blogging again!

So let's look at the state of the world in terms of entertainment. I'm not talking about which blonde starlet is going to prison this week (I honestly can't keep track). I'm talking music, books, and most importantly (for me): MOVIES!

Books

Actually, we can cross books off the list because I'm so out-of-touch with the recently published that it's appalling. My (literal) pile of "books to read" is so massive that I've had to self-enforce an embargo on buying new books until I pare at least half of the pile down.

The current book I'm taking on: Jonathan Strange and Mr Norell by Susanna Clarke. I bought this brick of a book when it was first published (back in '04!) and I think its 782 pages scared me off. Well, I'm 291 pages in and I must admit that I was scared over nothing. It's an incredibly well-written book that flows effortlessly from chapter to chapter. It's all about "English Magic" in the very early 1800's when the Napoleonic Wars raged on between Britain and France. Until 1807 (according to the book) magic was a forgotten art that was much discussed by stuffy gentleman scholars but heaven forbid it should ever be practiced!

All of this changes when a reclusive magician named Mr Norrell starts actually performing magical acts. He becomes a London sensation when he helps with the war effort, despite his anti-social tendencies and his extreme fear of other magicians.

Eventually he does get a pupil in the form of the talented and charming Jonathan Strange. Of course, he turns out to be everything Norrell is not: Strange is a very social person, attracted to the more showy and dangerous types of magic. A rivalry is certainly being set up for the next few hundred pages, and I'm looking forward to seeing how these complex characters progress. This is definitely not a novel for those low on patience as the plot points wander by at a comfortable pace; one review said that this is a book to be "lived in for a few weeks" and I really have to agree! It creates an entire world that I love coming back to again and again.

Music

Okay, I'm going to REALLY cross this one off. Me and Music are having some troubles lately. If I see one more emo, bangs-in-front-of-the-eyes, "guyliner" coated singer, I'm actually going to rip my radio out of the car. Next.

Movies

Even the movie scene has been rough over the past few months! Although, what can I expect? It's summer right? Most major blockbusters were entertaining and action-packed fluff-pieces (Transformers, Live Free or Die Hard and Harry Potter immediately come to mind) while some were just plain disappointing (I'm thinking Spider-Man 3 and Pirates of the Caribbean 3). The only "summer movie" that really blew me away was The Bourne Ultimatum, a slick, well-executed, and above-all SMART action film.

The good movies are all LONG out of the theatres by now, and just hitting the DVDs by this time of the year. There's a triad of Mexican directors that I'll talk about next time that are taking Hollywood directors to SCHOOL right now in terms of artistic vision in their films. All three of these films just came out on DVD recently and all are amazing. I'm talking about Pan's Labyrinth, Babel, and Children of Men. I don't know what they're putting in the water in Mexico (and I probably don't WANT to know), but apparently if you can survive it, then you're bound to make good movies!

There's a final note that I just have to mention here, as I continue to work for AbbyShot Clothiers and drool over their coats. They now offer what is quite possibly the best-looking leather coat EVER, based on the jacket that Wolverine wears in X-Men 3. Check out the AbbyShot version below!

Very nice! I tried it on and for a few fleeting moments I felt just as rugged and manly as Wolverine. If that's not worth the price tag, then I don't know what is! So if anyone you know needs a sweet leather jacket that just happens to be inspired by Wolverine, then you know what to tell them: check out AbbyShot! There's my shameless plug for today.

I must go and continue my Sunday activities of reading and lazing around. I'll be writing again soon. For real this time!

Mark Makes a Movie for AbbyShot!

I know it's been too long. I know I really should write in here more often. I will.

I had to post this up here because I'm proud. I shot and edited together a video for the release of a brand new AbbyShot coat called the Squall Jacket. Anyone who's played (or seen) Final Fantasy 8 should recognize it! We managed to find a model that looks EXACTLY like the character from the game, it was crazy.

If anything, it was well worth a (rudimentary) video. Hey, I'm still proud of my work! Please watch and let me know what you think. Could this be the start of a new career? Mark as a film director!

A guy can dream, can't he?