Imaginary time capsule

I'm finally reading Justice League: Generation Lost (a.k.a. "oh God is there some way to salvage Infinite Crisis"). Yeah. Remember when I fell into the Infinite Crisis rabbit hole, desperately searching for some kind of in-universe fallout following the murder of Blue Beetle? Remember how there was none? That's what Generation Lost was for. Allegedly. I only started reading it today.

It's only five or so years old, which is shockingly current cape comic reading on my part. Of course, the storyline piggybacked on one of those huge unwieldy cross-title events I can't stand (Brightest Day). Basically a bunch of characters came back from the dead, including poor retconned Beetle-mudering Maxwell Lord. So Generation Lost is about getting the ol' Justice League International gang (well its few surviving members) back together to take him down again.


First issue was quite good in that kind of "whoa did shit hit the fan VERY FAST" kind of way, Lord broke both mine and Booster's hearts in one fell swoop. It's been going sort of downhill after that (both writing- and artwise) but luckily I get to read the concurrent Booster Gold issues (written by the original JLI creators) inbetween and it's fantastic so far. It deals with the fallout of the dramatic stuff happening in Generation Lost so well and asks all those questions I've been pondering about Infinite Crisis too:

How could Maxwell Lord go from morally grey but ultimately kind-hearted father figure to maniacal blood-thirsty supervillain overnight? If he was evil all along, why weren't there any signs?

There's also Booster passionately defending JLI as something more than a punchline. "We weren't a joke! We mattered!" I might have choked up a bit. Reading my garish super soap opera.

Still not dead! Life is admittedly a little extra shitty these days, which means my dumb goofy escapism is all the more important to me. Whaddyaknow, I'm still weirdly stuck on this one sleazy miniboss from this one goofy hack-and-slash video game.

All those years ago when I first got a tablet pen I would draw exclusively in Photoshop and it was fine by me because I didn't know any better. Then I discovered Paint Tool SAI and after a bit of a steep learning curve I fell completely in love with it and its multitude of brush settings. Now I have found something to surpass even my beloved SAI and it's called... Manga Studio. You can select and manipulate several layers at once oh my God! There are a ton of other features but that alone is, gosh, completely amazing.

So this was gonna be a quick doodle to figure out Manga Studio without fiddling with any of the brush settings, but it kept on going even though adding and expanding a drawing without a sketch underneath is not how I usually work at all. It was a fun experiment though.

( stop me if I ever imply I'm gonna draw another motorcycle )

I feel like nothing sums up where I'm at art-wise than me going "yes I'll meticulously recreate this RL polish logo" immediately followed by "ehh backgrounds, who needs'em".

I wore out my beloved running shoes, a pair of black Asics Gel-Kayano 20. It was a difficult concept for me to grasp, because to me "worn out shoes" means they're either coming apart or there are actual holes in the sole. These looked fine -- no bits flying off -- and when I put them on, they felt the same as they always had (I think). But I was suddenly injuring myself running in ways I recognized from the time before I got the Asics. I'd been using them for a year, which I later learned is pretty much the life expectancy of a pair of running shoes, particularly when you're not switching between several pairs.

I went to the super intimidating specialty running store, the one I usually feel too self-conscious to even browse in, because let's face it: I don't look like the people who are usually in there. I'm about twice as heavy as the other women in there, and probably most of the men as well. But I went in, I explained I needed a new pair of running shoes, and the clerk was helpful and supportive and professional. It was a great shopping experience! Fantastic, in fact -- she did a gait analysis of how I run, and I'm doing great! Keep in mind everything I know about running form I've only read about and then had to figure out how to implement... But apparently I've still managed to get rid of a ton of bad running habits even semi-professional runners might struggle with for years.

In the end I got a pair of blue (men's model, I'm SO SICK OF PINK RUNNING APPAREL for women) Saucony Omni 13. I'm still getting used to them -- I really loved my original Asics -- but my knee obviously appreciates running with fresh shoes again.

Remember when I had that idea of watching all the major Robin Hood movie adaptions chronologically? Well many, many months later I got around to rewatching the second one on my list, the definite article, The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938).


Admittedly as a film it doesn't offer a lot of nuance or character growth, but the thing that makes it so enjoyable I think is how it has a real sense of progression. It's not a collection of loosely connected episodes like most Robin Hood adaptions tend to be, instead plot point B follows plot point A in a fairly satisfying manner. And even before becoming an outlaw, Robin is unmistakably Robin (not the blushing flower of the Fairbanks version) -- even clad in green and a master archer. This movie knows what you're here for and it gives it to you right away.

It goes through most of the essential story beats you'd expect too, but with a few twists to keep it interesting. It dispenses with the Robin-in-the-Crusades origin altogether; Sir Guy of Gisbourne (played by Basil Rathbone and his amazing eyelashes) is the main villain -- the Sheriff seems to mysteriously disappear halfway through the film; Will Scarlet is, much more than Little John (played by the same guy as in the Fairbanks version, by the way), established as Robin's companion, even before they're outcast; And Much the miller's son is middle aged and has a fairly important part in the plot (and is probably the most underrated part of the movie).

Sure it's got its problems. As mentioned earlier, there's not much storytelling finesse or subtlety. There are some questionable acting choices here and there (like Claude Rains -- usually an AMAZING performer -- queer coding Prince John so hard it becomes a little embarrassing). I'm not crazy about the wigs (Flynn's pristine Marcel waves bother me) and there's something about those costumes, man. For such a lavish production I can't understand making fabric choices that make your costumes look this cheap (so much sheen and bunching, so little texture).

But in the end any Robin Hood movie stands or falls on its lead actor, and Errol Flynn, with his mischievous grin and muscular thighs, carries it pretty darn well.

So I got a PS3 for my birthday and finally played Metal Gear Solid 4. It was terrible. Nonetheless, it reminded me how much I love the non-terrible parts of the franchise, so now I'm back into MGS in a major way, apparently making up for my awful lack of obsessions this year.

I played Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance which was a lot of fun, and then I took a deep breath and watched all the trailers for MGSV in a single evening (I haven't played Ground Zeroes yet but I plan to very soon). So that's my excuse for this: I got so upset about Kaz Miller I felt a very real need to imagine him safe and warm and content and not being tortured and look he has all his limbs as well.

This is what these games reduce me to.

( Don't you hate it when you fall asleep with your glasses on )

The funny thing is Kaz is from Peace Walker, which after MGS4 is my least favourite game in the franchise. I've just really taken to the guy and realized I've always been more invested Big Boss' goings-on than Solid Snake's.

Last year I decided I should finish one drawing every month and it really helped me get back in the creative swing of things, but after a while it had me going "Ooh I have an idea for a drawing but I've already finished one this month, I better wait in case I'm at a loss for ideas next month" and it got silly so now I try to draw whenever the mood takes me.

So more Doctor Who -- I'm relistening to all my Eight audios (wow, The Stones of Venice and Minuet in Hell are even worse than I remember them) and in the future I'd like to make fanart of the stuff that happens in them, but first I wanted to see if I could draw the eighth Doctor at all. And I was frustrated with my inability to draw curly hair and decided I needed the practice.

( A hopeless romantic )

Now that I've been staring at a lot of pictures of McGann I'm a little bit surprised at, well, how good looking he is. I know, "duh", but like, individually his features aren't very striking, but they're put together in a very pleasing way. Even when I'm drawing him I get the urge to tidy up his eyebrows and soften those nasolabial folds but then it doesn't look like McGann anymore.

Whoa, two pieces of fan art in one month? This is unprecedented! It's all thanks to that Tumblr palette challenge making the rounds.

I've mentioned before I'm really bad at visualizing characters from non-visual media. It's only through drawing fan art I actually sit down and have a good think about how I'd like the characters to look. That said, I've adored Good Omens for nigh on a decade now and I have never ever tried drawing fan art of it before, go figure.

( Apocalypse boyfriends )

I thought working from a pre-chosen colour palette would make the drawing process easier, because I'm really bad at colours. But then turns out, I'm still really bad at colours and with a limited palette I suddenly have to think about readability and contrast and ugh. So it's not a very creative composition but I genuinely had a lot of fun making it.

I'd decided my life was lacking in cute Anthony Perkins comedies, so after a great deal of trouble I tracked down The Matchmaker. It was fun (turns out Hello Dolly! is just The Matchmaker with some songs added, no really, the scripts are identical, the jokes are word-by-word the same) and Anthony Perkins was adorable (I was amazed at seeing him in drag before I realized that's basically the premise of Psycho). My second favourite thing was the Barnaby Tucker to Perkins' Cornelius Hackl, played by Robert Morse.

I'm fairly certain I've come across Morse before, but I always wrote him off as "that guy who reminds me of Mickey Rooney" (I don't like Mickey Rooney) because he's short, impish and gap-toothed. But I liked him in The Matchmaker, and then tonight I watched How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.

I don't understand why I've heard so little about that musical. Sure it's got a washed-out beige colour scheme and some pretty sexist punchlines, but Morse is so charming as the lead you forget he plays a character who lies and manipulates his way to the top. All the while Morse got this infectious larger-than-life way of performing, very theatrical. The highlight of the movie is when he sings 'I Believe in You' to himself in the mirror. It starts off as a comedy number but gradually this great sense of earnestness and defiance creeps in; "I believe in you!"



Also yes I know Morse has been a big deal in Mad Men. I'm still not gonna watch Mad Men.

I went to a screening of Withnail and I at the Cinematheque in Oslo last night. I know I keep saying I'll stop going to screenings of films I own on DVD, but this was subtitled and there are parts of the film where the mumbling/accents/sound design makes the dialogue incomprehensible to me.

It's also been a few years since I saw the film in its entirety. When I saw the collection of "party hard" college boys who'd showed up to the screening I was thinking maybe I'd outgrown the film and would just find it childish and dumb. But no. It's still hilarious, and has so many laugh-out-loud moments for me you could hear me laughing over the din of the audience. The final sequence is equally heart-breaking, and every scene in the movie adds a facet to Withnail and Marwood's relationship. It's a great film.

Except for Monty.

God, that part has always bothered me intensely. When I first saw the movie as a teenager I felt really conflicted about liking the film at all. The "depraved homosexual" element is just so vile. These days I've come more to terms with how the majority of entertainment has more or less problematic elements, and I'm allowed to like things -- have guilty pleasures, even -- in spite of them, if I acknowledge that they're there. (No "But I like the film so it's not problematic!")

( stuff )

On a lighter note; I remember when as a teenager I was just dying about Paul McGann's long curly hair and Renaissance angel looks in W&I. Now at 27 I was thinking "He's good looking, but a very predictable kind of good looking. ...Did Richard E. Grant have that unusual and ethereal beauty the last time I watched this film?" (Seriously, what a fascinating face!)

Me and my friend Rune went to the Game of Thrones exhibition! (There are no spoilers in this entry, by the way).

It's one of the eternal mysteries of the world why on earth the GoT exhibition should stop in Oslo, in the only Scandinavian country on the tour. Oslo is small fry compared to Stockholm and Copenhagen, but nevertheless it was there, it was free, and me and Rune queued for two and a half hours in the freezing cold to get a peep at these things (Rune was appalled by the wait, me I was expecting it to take longer, like four hours or something).

The exhibition was great! Me, I'm a costume geek so I ran straight for the dresses (I have so little interest in dresses in my day-to-day life but make something for a TV show or movie and I'm there salivating) and armours and things. My favourite costume on the show (Daenerys' blue dress with the shawl) was there, and Brienne's costume was worn and weathered just right, Joffrey's embroidered tunic (I think from the wedding?) was so beautiful, and the detail in Tyrion's leather vest was so intricate! I'm a little sad it didn't have any of those beautiful costumes of Littlefinger's, and there was just one Cersei dress, but I had a ball staring at the craftsmanship of all of them.

There were weapons too -- the Mountain's sword was easily as tall as me, and I'm pretty tall! Joffrey's velvety crossbow was easily the most beautiful thing there. And there were banners, and jewelry, and plot items.

Rune hasn't yet begun watching the newest season, so I was really worried either the exhibition or one of the guests would spoil something for him. Innocence like that needs to be protected, sheltered -- he really hasn't a clue about the shit's that's gone down so far this season. ("Ugh, this character -- he's probably gonna live forever, isn't he?" SCREAMS INTERNALLY). But it was all safe -- even the SUPER IMPORTANT PLOT ITEMS from season four were labeled just as vaguely as other little knick-knacks. Rune is going to freak when he recognizes them on TV!

We'd heard SO LITTLE about this exhibition in the press (which focused mostly on how long the queues were) so we really didn't know what to expect. One thing we hadn't heard about at all was an Oculus Rift (Virtual Reality) experience of scaling the Wall. You stood alone in this phone-booth sort of room, with the little screen thing over your eyes, and headphones on, and the floor even rumbled as you were pulled up in the little lift. Rune complained about the resolution of the images, but I had to take off my glasses to experience it so it looked pretty good (a.k.a. blurry) to me.

Anyway, as you reach the top of the Wall and really feel like you're teetering on the edge of this impossibly tall structure, the technician (who kindly instructed you as you went in) ACTUALLY PUSHES YOU IN REAL LIFE. I screamed. I never scream when I get scared but I did this time. (The most sadistic of the technicians looked so much like Littlefinger it was a little eerie). I've never tried Oculus Rift before, it was really immersive and cool.

And that was my day out and I had a lot of fun , and afterwards I ate chocolate, it was also good.