greyduck.net

Looking For Quacks In The Pavement

Author: Karel Kerezman

  • Twelve Years Ago, Number Twelve

    The oldest “blog” entry in the system is actually from this site’s predecessor imported into greyduck.net shortly after its inception. As I have no older content saved from the old “Zero” site, that makes 26 June 2001 the earliest date at which I can say I’ve been posting journal entries since.

    Mind you, it’s a particularly gloomy entry.

    WordPress just celebrated ten years of existence so yes, there was another system before WP came along. (And I didn’t switch to WP right away.) I also used to tinker a whole lot more with the underlying code. Now I’m happy that plugin authors provide what I need so I don’t have to.

    At any rate, here’s to twelve years of occasional collections of words into a website posting.

  • Filter – The Sun Comes Out Tonight

    I decided not to write anything about the new Daft Punk record here because, wow, who didn’t have something to say about it? (Mostly unmitigated, unabashed praise… and I’m afraid I couldn’t have done that, as I found the album kind of dull in several ways. But we’re not here to talk about that…) However, I noted at the store recently that Filter have a new record out, The Sun Comes Out Tonight.

    I’m probably not the most representative Filter fan. Title Of Record is one of my favorite albums ever. There simply are no bad songs on it, and it’s one of the few albums not made by Genesis or Midnight Oil that I’ll listen to all the way through and not want to press the “skip” button. Conversely, I find most of the next album, The Amalgamut, to be some combination of annoying, offensive, and trite. (I’ve joked that the sole purpose of The Amalgamut is to give us the song “The Only Way (Is The Wrong Way)” which is an absolute gem.)

    The few reviews I could find for the new album indicated a return to early form, and I’m okay with that. Do what you wanna, as I’ve said about artists time and again. So I spent some of my precious monthly eMusic dollars and downloaded the new work.

    The Sun Comes Out Tonight leads off strong with two barn-burners (the excellently NSFW “We Hate It When You Get What You Want” and the snarkily-anthemic “What Do You Say”) and a solid ballad (“Surprise”) and if you’ve heard Filter on the radio you know what to expect. From there on it settles into a middle stretch of thoroughly passable loud-and-angry fare, then finishes with the romantic ballad “It’s Just You.” It’s the standard pop-record layout: Front-load the really good stuff and hope people stick around for the rest. Nothing here is going to revolutionize music. On the other hand, if you like the Filter songs you’ve heard on the radio before, then this is exactly the kind of thing you’ll like and I can recommend the purchase without reservation.

    Just… don’t play that first song while at the office. Trust me on this.

  • Recuperate, Rethink, Reflect

    I couldn’t very well leave that post as the last word on the journal for a week or more, now could I?

    So I’m feeling better today. Not 100%, but better. I still don’t think I’m tackling a big writing project any time soon, but I’m percolating on some possible creative outlets that might be better suited to what skills I have… and what skills I’m curious to learn. The webcomic, after all, mostly came about because my father gave me a very nice camera and I desired a fun way to learn to make the most of it. Most of the better things I’ve done in my life are because they were tied to discovering new toys and building a new skillset.

    Play to your strengths, they say. Well, I happen to be very good at learning-through-tinkering. Now I just need to find the best new choice of outlet for that combination.

    Watch this space, folks.

  • Well, now what?

    Let’s call it seven hours.

    That’s how much time I’ve spent in the last few weeks sitting at the computer, hands on the keyboard, trying to get words out of my head and into an outline, into a story. And nothing’s coming out. Nothing. Not a damned thing.

    Yesterday morning was a perfect opportunity: Quiet, alone, no chores, no work, just me and the word processor. I wasn’t even playing music. Nothing. Not a damned thing. From 9:30 to 12:00 I did nothing. And that was just yesterday.

    I can’t do it. All of this glorious “I’m going to write something!” and, no, apparently I am most assuredly not.

    So… now what? The comic’s over. I can’t write. I’m not actually a good photographer. I’m terrible at working with tools so building & crafting are right out.

    I guess I’m just a worker drone and passive consumer from here on out.

    Whee.

  • A Question About The (Hypothetical) Next Project

    Between the “radio play project” and the “serialized story posted online project” I’m leaning toward the latter for now, with the former project as something I’ll tackle once I feel certain I can tell a proper story during a set amount of installments. Or, put another way, I’m making sure I can walk before I attempt to run.

    With that stated for the record now, I am curious enough to ask: Would twenty-six weekly installments make for a satisfying story experience, or should I try for something shorter (thirteen installments), or would the same number of installments in a shorter time period be better (twice a week for thirteen weeks, for instance)? And, yes, I’m basing these numbers on the length of typical anime series runs. The other model I could’ve based this on is the BBC’s propensity for six-episode series runs which seems a bit tight for a writing project. (It’s just about perfect for a radio play project, though, AHEM.)

    What do you think, ladies and gentlemen?

  • Iron Man 3

    The lovely Kylanath and I went to see “Iron Man 3” yesterday afternoon. While I generally liked the overall effect of the movie and many bits thereof, I find myself with some serious thoughts that bear jotting down. The short version is: If you haven’t seen it, and you liked the first movie and/or the Avengers movie and/or the second movie (I rate them in about that order, yes) then it’s absolutely worth your time to see this third Iron Man installment. If you liked the first movie and thought the second was a huge let-down, then… you should probably still see this movie, as it is generally better than the previous. It’s funny, it’s explode-y, there’s great banter, and the good guys triumph over the bad guys. What more do you want?

    Well, I wanted a few things to be somewhat better, and that’s why I have thoughts and that’s why there’s a journal entry about it. So. That’s the teal dear summation. Henceforth, therefore, I shall dive into big spoiler-y spoilers. I’m not going to break this into two pieces like I did for “Skyfall.” Sorry.

    (more…)

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