Archive for the 'pontification' Category

Cranking up

Published on December 13, 2006 in All and pontification. 0 Comments

Updates may become more sporadic, because work’s just gotten a whole lot more interesting, and by interesting I mean really freaking busy.

The contract with the TV station has finally been signed, so now we need to produce the first episode of the show by next Friday with an intended airing date of Boxing day. This also means the website should be up by then, so the next few weeks will be a mad dash of filming, editing and web-nerding. We’ll do a little filming this Friday, with any luck. The rest of the filming for the first episode will be done on Sunday and Monday, with the remaninder of that week for editing. Last night we had our Mongol National TV counterpart around to sort out details of the first episode and other things. Dave spent today writing the script and I’m sure whatever it was I did all day was useful in some way. I do know what I was doing, but the details would bore.

So, wish us luck and I’ll be keeping in touch as much as possible.

Should be uploading some pics of random events courtesy of Dave in the next few days. I kept forgetting that I had them. Oops.

Craziness

Published on November 12, 2006 in All and pontification. 1 Comment

The weekend leading up to the start of work has been a great one. As previously stated (or aluded to, or not), the overnight stay in Terelj was magic. As you can see from the dumping on my flickr page, the scenery was spectacular.

The two boys of the family who ran the place were crazy, energetic little scamps who took us sledding down a nearby slope on pieces of masonite. They were always keen for a bit of wrestling too, even having a war sitting on myself and Dave’s shoulders while we ran them around.

I went on a couple of solo walks, climbing up and over rocks and boulders. When I say solo, I actually mean accompanied by one or more of the dogs that the family keep around, who would appear out of nowhere about 10 minutes into a walk/climb and provided great company.

The horse ride was great and I didn’t fall off and injure myself like I was half expecting to. I do have a sore arse, but I’m not sure if that’s form the horses, going over bumps while sledding, wrestling with the kids (they don’t hold back*), or a combination of the above.

Last night was Playtime, a huge Mongolain alternative rock concert. It was insane. There were supposedly about 30 bands playing, of which I saw maybe 15-20. The event ran differently to any other concert I’ve been to. It was all in one hall on one stage and the bands played a maximum of 3 songs each. It was weird at first because you’d want to hear more of the same bands, but in a way it worked, because everyone came on with full energy and pumped out their top tracks.

I was mightily impressed all round. Most bands were either metal or punk and they all played hard. There were some really young bands too; high-schoolers up there thrashing about. I’ll find out some names and get some CDs soon, maybe even put some samples up here. The music scene is intense.

Walking Partner crazy kid and crazy Dave Facerock

*I got strangled with my own scarf and kicked in the nuts lightly.

An excercise in stupidity

Published on October 5, 2006 in All and pontification. 2 Comments

So here’s my random stupidity for the week. I had this idea ages ago, but between having a job in hospitality and not wanting to frighten the ladies, I never had the chance to grow enough facial hair to try it. In retrospect I should’ve let it grow for at least another week or so before trying this stunt, but you live and learn. So now I present to you 1/2 beard 1/2 moustache man:

an excercise in stupidity

If only I was drunk I would’ve gone out in public like this. The pics didn’t turn out quite as well as I’d hoped, even with malicious enhancing.

In other news, I have a brand spanking new laptop I just bought for my trip/work. I like it very much.
I leave in just over a week, so updates will be sporadic. I have some drawings to scan, a cartoon I want to finish, and probably some pics on the way, so I’ll put what I can up when I have the time.

Cheers.

Guest Art

Published on September 30, 2006 in All, drawings and pontification. 1 Comment

Here’s an idea for the next time you have people over. Leave a big (A3) pad and a pen or pencil around. Maybe start something yourself. I did this last night, not necessarily out of foresight, but because I felt like drawing while I was waiting for people to arrive.

Guest art mainly by Patrick, who did the majority, and Ross. You can probably guess what’s mine. There may have other contributors I don’t know about.

Click to enlarge.

party page

This is the best recipe/tirade I’ve ever read. How to make Irish stew by a belligerent Irishman. I’ve never laughed so hard while reading a recipe.
Courtesy of the Engine, by a bizarre stroke of luck.

Lastly, this would’ve made my day, had it not already been pretty good.

Here is a man…*

Published on September 29, 2006 in All and pontification. 0 Comments

Probably posted everywhere, and so it should be. This is the most impressive thing I’ve seen all year (barring the old dude busking with bagpipes made from a goon bag, but I digress). A textbook definition of balls.
Keith Olbermann comments on Bush/Fox/the Clinton interview in true Good Night & Good Luck fashion. I challenge you not to be impressed.

There will be more pics and drawings in the next few days. They will be cool. There may even be guest art.

*Taxi Driver quote, you know the rest (if you don’t, a strong language warning).

Soreness abounds

Published on September 26, 2006 in All and pontification. 0 Comments

Playing one game of footy a year hurts, and I like to think I’m reasonably fit. Drinking afterwards and walking a few kilometers in the cold probably doesn’t help either.
Generally my contribution to the game was to run around a lot and get in people’s way. I still say it was worth it, if only for the catching up, the drinking afterwards, the hilarious outfits and the reminder that I’m not tough.
Slightly hungover and sore pretty much everywhere today. Yesterday was great.

Big Pimpin’

Published on September 22, 2006 in All, drawings and pontification. 3 Comments

Haven’t done this before, but I’m feeling inspired.
The new Australian version of Macbeth opened last night. Directed by Geoffrey Wright (Romper Stomper) and set in modern-day gangland Melbourne.
Best Australian film since The Proposition in my opinion. Looks great, the sound design’s great and the violence is intense. The thick Aussie accents doing Shakespeare’s dialogue and all the use of technology is a bit jarring at first, but that passes. Wright clearly doesn’t give a crap if he alienates people, which I admire. Some good cameos by local comedians and the leads are great. Powerful stuff and well worth seeing. I predict a cult hit.

I read a lot of web-comics, and there’s some very talented people making great stuff for free, so here’s some deserving of your love:

Elizabeth Genko and Adam Boorman’s Scheherazade, over at the Chemistry Set is outstanding. Great storytelling and great art. I’m also a sucker for a pirate story, so Neil Kleid and Kevin Colden’s Todt Hill is another standout from that crew.
The group over at ACT-I-VATE have ramped it up again with Wave 3, and they’re continuing to impress. Good to see the return of Dean Haspiel’s noir-romance Immortal, Leland Purvis’ mesmerising Vulcan & Vishnu and Dan Goldman’s Kelly. Kelly was on hiatus while he and writer Anthony Lappé produced the powerful Shooting War, a futuristic political thriller that requires your attention and will be completed in print form.
Jeffrey Rowland’s Overcompensating always makes me laugh.
Chip Zdarsky is pant-wettingly funny. His old strip, Prison Funnies. His contribution to act-i-cate, Zdarskyverse. His more serious, though still amusing Comics Trip.
This guy does some of the most bizarre sketches you’ve ever seen. Lewd warning for the timid.
And of course my attempts reside here, in the comics page and category.

Naturally there’s more, but that’ll do for now. I shall leave with some recent sketches. Enjoy!

Cheeky sneaking cute girl too much deadwood

He returns.

Published on September 15, 2006 in All and pontification. 0 Comments

Canberra was nuts, that’s all I have to say for now. My camera died after the first day, so I’ve got nothing to show but doodles from the… less engaging sessions*, and a boring sunset.
Farewell to Jesse, the classiest bum I know. Good luck in Perth and cheers for letting me crash on the beanbag.
More when I’ve caught up on sleep.

*Canberra taught me diplomacy.

I bring colourful robot doom now.

Published on September 8, 2006 in All, comics and pontification. 3 Comments

I had one go at colouring this a few days ago and it was awful, so I gave up and posted the black & white. Gave it another crack tonight and I was much more pleased with the outcome. Enjoy.

Today was great. Amongst other things, I picked up an Ennio Morricone double CD. He did the soundtracks for a lot of Sergio Leone films; the Good, the Bad and the Ugly, Once Upon a Time in the West (apparently the inspiration for the Star Wars music, with a theme for each main character) and several others.
I also saw Stranger Than Paradise, one of the few Jim Jarmush films I hadn’t yet seen. Well worth seeing. SBS comes good once again.

I bring de robots, de robots bring doom

Published on September 5, 2006 in All, comics and pontification. 2 Comments

If/when robots and computers take over the world, what will they do with us obsolete piles of flesh?

In other news, I had a great birthday on Sunday and raucus* drinks on Saturday night.

Went cheap suit shopping today, so I can look all spiffy when I go to Canberra and hob-nob with dignitaries. Also for when I have real job, which, depending on your definition of ‘real job’, is either very soon or a long way off. I now have a dark suit, a cool tie with elephants on it, a black shirt (for looking badass) and, what every wardrobe needs; black velvet jeans.

*Slight exaggeration. We weren’t kicked out of anywhere, weren’t asked to stop shouting and didn’t get into any fights. Never do, but hey. The point is that fun was had.

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