I'm on fire.

I've finished The Fireman by Joe Hill. It's the second book of my 'no more buying books until I've finished these five' vow. It was great. I was so happy.

Then I remembered today is the day my dad died seven years ago.

Blogging about John and Harper and Nick and Allie and Renee and their struggles with fanatics, killers, and the government seems frivolous. But what can I say that hasn't been said? My pain remains, numbed by time. Tears still come, irregular as July rain. Not strong enough to douse the embers left from fictional death, not a hope of quenching real sorrow.

My lips are dry and my throat cracks. Still fighting my mundane illness, spitting up gobs of yellow-white chicken fat. Less glamorous than black and gold scales that ignite and smoke. I don't even have a fever. Just a few caterpillar green pills.  Back into the fray.

Tonight is Breaking Bad night. I'll be with my husband and a friend. Mom is house-sitting, so I'll avoid that drama. This is the only part of the day where I'll have solitude and time to reflect. But the pool is dry. All I see is cracked earth. Dust whirls and makes my eyes water.

So thirsty.

The IT spot: IT begins.

Production has begun! We even have our first production photos:

We've also got some Pennywise concept art.

Not sure how I feel about it. IT is my all-time favorite book, and I don't think it can be filmed and retain all of the meaning. The mini-series is proof of that. But I think a decent telling could be committed to another media. Much like the Ghostbuster's movie, I'm remaining cautiously optimistic. For now.

Ughhh....

For those of you who know me IRL, you know I've been sick for almost two weeks now.

I've been coughing, wheezing, and generally run down. Yes, I've been to a doctor, and yes I'm on steroids and prescription cough syrup. My chest burns when I hack due to the length of time I've had the cough. It is getting better, slowly.

I'm not looking for sympathy; my awesome hubby has provided that in spades, and even took a day off so I could go to the doctor. I'm kinda apologizing for not having the gumption to continue the 3rd part of my DHMIS series. Love will have to wait.

So, why not watch it now to catch up?

Sorry about that

That last (taken down) post was unfinished. Further bulletins as events warrant.

Don't Hug Me I'm Scared: THIS IS IT! Part 1

I've posted before about the DHMIS series. I also kickstarted it. The 6th and final episode just aired. Watch it. I'll wait.

It's about media, that much all the viewers agree on. But what does it all mean? Let's take a multi-part in depth look!

The first episode details how creativity is only encouraged to a point. Go, make stuff, but make sure it's inside the box, and doesn't do anything to challenge the corporate overlords. I.E.Yellow Guy stating "I might paint a picture of a clown" and the Notebook replying "Whoa there friend, you might need to slow down." and doing this:

Also Notebook telling Yellow Guy "Green is not a creative color."

 Yellow guy is the series designated Butt Monkey. It doesn't get better for him.

We also get the first hints of characterization from the  Red Guy declaring that using your hair to express yourself "...sounds really boring."

He's my favorite.

Bird guy just plays along. More on him later.

So, it's a basic message; the corporate overlords represented by the Notebook teacher want us to be creative, but only inside their preset parameters.A good way to establish the tone of the series, and a subtle message delivery. But it's not the end.

We'll discuss more next time.

The IT spot: BEVVVVVV

We have our Bevvie! Sophia Lillis, another who I've never seen in anything, will be young Bev Marsh.

Bev is the only girl in the Loser's club, and has a...controversial part to play near the end that I assume will be left out. She's pretty great, glad she has a face.

Look, a pic of the whole loser's club:

Can't wait to see them mentally scarred for life by a supernatural clown monster! Guess which one of them kills themselves as an adult rather than face IT again?!!

Hm.

I may be a terrible person.

I have a bad fin

I saw Finding Dory last night. I also got the worst calf cramp ever, and my usual 'point my toes upward' thing didn't help. I accidentally woke hubby with my pain noises.

So today I'm walking with a limp.

Remember the little flappy motion Nemo does when he swims? That would be dignified next to my klumping gait. But it's a temporary thing. I'm hydrating, and later I'll try and massage the area. I'm just here to complain.

On a pleasanter topic, Finding Dory was a fun movie, and a great step up from the cry-fest that was The Good Dinosaur. I only cried a little!

Screw you, Arlo.

I also saw The Nice Guys, a sadly overlooked Shane Black romp. It's got sex, drugs, action, humor, bees, and Keith David. What more could you need?

Awww yeah.

Now, off to 8.5 hours of limping and yelling.

Beyond

As you've probably hear, Anton Yelchin, the new Chekov, died in a freak accident.

I'm a Star Trek fan, as you know. I liked Yelchin in the role. Beyond that, I don't know what to say. It's tragic that another person has joined the 27 club. This wasn't due to a fan going nuts or drugs or anything but stupid, freak luck.

What a terrible time for the family. I can't do anything but extend my condolences along with the rest of the internet.

I wanted to close this with a pithy quote, but nothing felt right. Another unsatisfying end.

Dead Bart, Simpsonwave, and the lost generation

I recently stumbled across something called Simpsonwave. It's a sub-genera of punk (apparently) where you distort old footage of The Simpsons and put wavy music over it.

See this for further explanation.

This reminds me of another video that distorts old Simpson's footage, but for another purpose. There is a type of internet horror media called 'Creepy Pasta' It's short horror, mostly written, often using pop culture as the base.The "Dead Bart" story is one of the most widely spread, inspiring a wealth of 'lost episode' stories.

If you don't have time to read it, Dead Bart is an episode description, of, well, Bart getting killed, and the surrealist aftermath. It includes creepy descriptions of the funeral, weird animation, pretty typical of this sort of story.

Someone went to the trouble of re-creating as much of the 'episode' as they could with existing footage, and the story's narration.

Simpsonwave and the Creepypasta have VHS distortion. It's an integral part of the 'authenticity'. For the few generations  that grew up when VHS tapes were plentiful, before DVDs came along, we all know what those wavy lines mean. Kids today don't even know what a VHS is from firsthand experience. They won't understand the intrigue of finding an unlabeled tape; is it a Disney movie? Your mom's soaps? Something...dirty?

Let's see Indy snatch a piles of these from a cave.

Maybe it's because VHS tapes aren't easy to transfer to the internet, and are thus harder to share worldwide. You have to have a VHS play, hook it up special to a computer, convert it, all that jazz. There's an air of mystery in the blank black plastic.

That's not to say Simpsonwave or Dead Bart are necessarily good. They're interesting, but I wouldn't choose to listen to Simpsonwave. There are better Creepypastas than Dead Bart. Why pick The Simpsons as the focal point?

Maybe like the VHS tape the old Simpson episodes have an air of mystery. They're weird looking, the voices are off, and they're generally not rerun before season 3. Perfect fodder for 'artists' and trend hangers-on alike.

I know what DVDs I'll be breaking out tonight.

An open letter to Peter Jackson

(Yes, I am also sending this to Mr. Jackson via snail mail, at the insistence of my husband. See the footnote for that address, if you want to send a letter too.)

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 Dear Mr. Jackson,

      I could not be more excited that you own the movie rights for Temeraire. I loved your interpretation of Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. The Frighteners is comic gold. Nothing would be better than seeing you put those skills to work for Temeraire. I'm waiting for the last book to arrive; I haven't been so excited and saddened for a story's conclusion since Harry Potter.

     I've read that you're reluctant to start on the film because you're worried the first movie would fail and you wouldn't get to make the other books into their own films. I could argue for your star power drawing in fans, or point out that multiple movie stories are becoming more normalized with franchises like the Marvel Cinematic Universe and your own Hobbit. But I have another idea:

     Why not a mini-series?

     Game of Thrones has left a dragon-shaped hole in the public heart. What better way to fill it with an exciting epic of war, with talking dragons that are involved right from the start? I've every confidence that Weta could handle the Draconian effects needed to make this a reality. Please consider this. The fans are ready. The world is ready.

      I hope to see my favorite Celestial on the screen one day, large or small. It's all up to you, Mr. Jackson.

Best regards,
Shayna Shaw
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Peter Jackson
Weta Digital Ltd.
P.O. Box 15208
9-11 Manuka Street
Miramar
Wellington 6022
New Zealand