A silver gull shortly before it takes to the air in order to head to a location that is not the on in which it was residing.
To me the gull appears both real and fake. I think I did a good job of capturing both stillness and motion in the gull’s form.
I like that there’s another gull watching the one about to take off.
I hope you enjoy.
This Review can also be found on Culture Eater.
My colleague and I are working on growing Culture Eater, so please check it out and see what other people are contributing.
Anyway, here’s the review.
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Peter Parker is Spider-Man, well-loved hero of New York City. He’s been fighting crime for a few years and has earned the respect of his city’s citizens. He’s done well and overall he’s seen much success.
It is Miles Morales’ first day attending a new school. Miles gets embarrassed by his dad, gets confused and expresses a clear desire to go back to his original school.
Later on in the day a spider bites Miles. Soon after this happens he switches from being the viewpoint character to the main. Both literally and metaphorically Peter Parker exits the film (although his presence does linger) as he gives the main task to Miles. However, soon Peter B. Parker shows up and… wait; another Peter Parker?
The way that Spider Man: Into The Spider-Verse delivers the origin story is both familiar and new. Spider-Man in this setting both exists and is yet to exist. Whilst the origin story is once more told throughout the entirety of the film, this time everything important gets established early. You learn the goal and the reason to stop it, why the Spider-people are appearing and why Miles wants to see the goal to the end.
The main villain’s impetus comes a little later into the film. In good application of “show, don’t tell”, Kingpins’ motivation become clear. There’s not many words spent on them after as there’s no need. Regardless of intentions, Kingpin is doing something dangerous and it needs to be prevented. Furthermore, the main characters don’t learn much about his motivations either. Just enough when required to give that bit of extra drive. Ultimately this version of Kingpin has understandable motivations, but he is no less antagonistic and no more tragic.
The origin stuff does feel a little slow, but we’re not spent waiting to find out what needs to be done. There’s no mystery surrounding that stuff and information is doled out at a decent pace. Furthermore, making the end goal known early is less insulting to the audience’s intelligence. There are more important things to worry about and the film doesn’t pretend otherwise.
I could be off the mark, but a lot of the film seems to be based around how loss affects people. The secondary Spider-Man is broken due to the loss of family (both willingly and otherwise). Spider-Woman is driven by guilt over the death of her best friend. Miles Morales deals with the belief of failure on his part. Kingpin fails to accept the responsibility of his actions and in turn cannot accept loss. And so on.
What …Spider-Verse does well over many other of the Marvel films is pacing. This is a slickly-edited film. Although some of the discovery stuff lags ever-so-slightly, most bits get in and out and give as much as strictly necessary. The film’s pace is really quick, humour is used well and mostly appropriately, and anything saddening is earned.
Speaking of which, the more emotional parts really have the ability to hit hard.
…Spider-Verse is not a film that beats you over the head in an attempt to make you like the characters. Many of them are relateable in some sense and in their own way, charming. There’s little new when it comes to the archetypes, but they’re handled well enough so that they don’t wear on you. Whilst some of this has a bit to do with the art style, a lot of it has to do with the actors.
Each actor puts in a fine performance. Often it sounds as though they were told that all that there would be was the voice to make the characters believable, as there is a lot of passion in the deliveries. There’s pull back and force when necessary. The actors embody their characters really well and do a fine job of bringing them to life.
Due to the way the characters are presented, when something emotive happens it tends to be more impacting. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is a stylised film, but the characters and a number of events are strongly based on some very real situations. Certain things are presented as pretty sudden which is generally how they’d happen in real life, and as such there’s more of a pull.
The chemistry between the characters isn’t the strongest, but it helps sell the characters better. The Spider-people are in a sense familiar strangers. Given the short amount of time the characters have to know each other, it’s understandable that they wouldn’t have the ability to bounce off of each other well (although that is kind of half-crossed). It’s not so much that by the end of the film strong bonds are developed, but more of a growing respect and appreciation for each other.
Of course the animation helps quite a fair bit. Each of the Spider-people has a slightly different style which helps reinforce their origins and personality. It helps them feel a bit more unique and different from each other in a good way. I won’t say much about the animation style itself, but even if you aren’t a fan it is still appreciable. It does a lot to make the characters feel more vibrant.
The animation also helps make New York City feel more alive. Much of it seems to stand out really well, the colouring is really strong (and really comes through to help “paint” the scenes when necessary).
Outside of that, the music’s a bit of a mix. Some of it works well, some of it doesn’t. It’s there more for atmosphere than it is mood. Still, a good number of the songs picked work decently with the setting and they’re not unwelcome.
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is much like a well-made pop song. It’s tightly edited, knows when to rise and fall and all the right notes are hit. It’s a very slick and well-crafted movie that knows when to deliver and when to hold off. The crew behind this film can stand proudly with this film. Aside from its technical achievements, what they’ve done best is deliver a film with heart.
Some of it can be a bit on the nose and it isn’t perfect, but Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse nonetheless is a film that delivers, and then some.
Kind of a comparative shot in conjunction with the last one.
A busy day as seen on New Year’s Day at Bondi Beach.
I think that this shot gives a much better idea of the crowd than the one of Coogee Beach.
I also think that it’s much better colour and light balanced than the Coogee shot.
Oh well.
Whilst I’m not sure as to why so many people make the journey to the beach on New Year’s Day, I still find it interesting. A lot of people will travel a great distance to get to the beach on that one particular day.
I’m sharing this photo as part of The Lens-Artists Photo Challenge.
The theme this week is “My Travels“. In a sense this photo is suited as I was walking and walking is a form of travelling, but I think that it also fits the theme due to all the people travelling to get to the beach.
This challenge is hosted by four people and cycles weekly:
Week 1 – Patti
Week 2 – Ann-Christine aka Leya
Week 3 – Amy
Week 4 – Tina
This week is hosted by Amy and next week’s will be hosted by Tina.
I hope you enjoy.
As per the title.
I’m not sure as to how well this shot captures the crowd.
I think it does a good job of displaying the crowd, but it doesn’t quiet capture the feel.
It’s not often that I get to see this many people at a beach, but that is usually due to going early in the morning.
Seeing this many people out was kind of surprising.
All have come for the same thing, which seems to be a tradition of going to the beach on New Year’s Day.
I hope you enjoy.
The last few days have already been far more stressful than they need to be and I’m not feeling much like writing at the moment, so I’m going to try and keep this brief and succinct.
Just because you’re a parent does not mean that you have the right to bully and belittle your children, or your significant other.
Just because you’re a parent does not mean that you’re free of criticism.
Just because you’re a parent does not mean that in being called out on your vile, shitty behaviour you get to say things such as “How dare you judge me?”, “You’re a liar”, and essentially do the things that you’re being called out on doing whilst saying that you don’t do them.
You also don’t get to act surprised when one of your children tells you the same thing whilst also pointing out that it’s not the first time that they’ve told you about this stuff.
There is no justification for yelling, bullying and belittling your children. There is no justification for doing this stuff to one of your children who is autistic. There is no justification to defend your doing this when you get told why it’s bad.
You don’t get to say it’s none of someone’s business when you yell loud enough for the whole household to hear how you’re carrying on.
Not everyone is perfect, but this still doesn’t justify your shitty behaviour.
You don’t get to say someone is being disrespectful when you’re yelling at them, you’re telling them to shut up, leaving the room, then coming back to yell at them more. You don’t get to claim disrespect when you try your best to verbally abuse someone into submission. You don’t get to claim disrespect when someone is calmly talking to you and you’re talking over them constantly.
You don’t get to claim that someone is hard to approach and you’re uncomfortable approaching them because they politely declined offers of tea. You don’t have the fucking right to use that as justification to tell one of your daughters about issues you perceive with someone and then yell at your daughter when they forget to tell said someone.
I’m more than aware that parenting can be a difficult thing. I am also more than aware that I’m not a parent and there are usually a lot of sacrifices you have to make; especially when one of your children is autistic.
I’m aware that I’m not a parent, but I’m also aware that treating your two children in a shitty way is not acceptable. It wasn’t acceptable when they were young and it’s not acceptable now that they’re well into adulthood.
Everyone has problems. It doesn’t justify abusing people.
It also doesn’t justify a strict refusal to acknowledge the shitty behaviour when it’s brought up, even if it takes a few days to accept. It doesn’t justify not working on changing the behaviour around.
If you think this behaviour is okay, then don’t be surprised if your children cut off contact.
End rant.
So here we are. Once more at the end of another year. All this stuff and other stuff and you get the idea.
I feel as though I’ve lived one of the longest years I’ve ever lived. I think back at some of the review I wrote this year and, whilst I don’t quite find it strange that I wrote them a few months , still have an odd feeling. They feel like something quite a distance away.
I played my first proper gig this year. It was something that I want to do again.
Upgraded my camera, wrote a lot.
Sadly saw the end of one website I wrote for but that lead to the opening of one that I get to co-run and write for.
There was plenty of odd and shocking things that happened throughout the year in the world, but it was probably no more or less than usual.
Moving from a house to an attic and then a small room in my partner’s parents place wasn’t ideal. Still isn’t ideal, but I’ve a roof over my head.
Temporarily dropping uni was one of the better things I’ve done in my life. It happened at a time when I was about to snap and so not having it be a part of my life has been really good.
This year has seen friends exit my life and that has been hard.
I’ve also had some pretty good people come into my life.
I’m at an age now where I feel I should be reflecting on my life up to this point. Even though it’s kind of pointless and I did most of that last year, I still feel that I should be doing it now as well. Oh well.
When I finished work this afternoon, I walked to the train station with a colleague and friend. We talked about next year and how it is going to be a good year. I corrected the train of thought and said that we don’t know if it will be good, but we’re still going to work hard.
Next year is so close, but the measurement of time as a passage can be a meaningless thing from a certain point of view. After all, next year is tomorrow. It’s another day.
Still going to work hard.
2019? Bring it on.
Another photo taken during Sculpture by the Sea.
This one I’m putting up as part of The Lens-Artists Photo Challenge.
The theme is “Photographic Review of 2018” and the timing worked out well, so here’s this photo.
I should probably have more, but I’d prefer to have the focus on this one shot. It covers some of what I’ve enjoyed this year.
The thing in this photo that I predominantly like is the ocean. It’s a powerful thing that deserves respect.
I like the shape of the coastline here and the varying textures in each element of the scene.
I also like the way the sunlight is cast upon the coast.
This challenge is hosted by four people and cycles weekly:
Week 1 – Patti
Week 2 – Ann-Christine aka Leya
Week 3 – Amy
Week 4 – Tina
This week is hosted by Leya and next week’s will be hosted by Amy.
I hope you enjoy.
ast,
And thus it was and here we were, looking for another way out once more, at the end of it all and looking for a new beginning, but the only beginning that could be found was the one that required waiting. There was waiting and in that waiting there was a new beginning.
Silent shuffling and the occasional coughing was something that could be heard, but all of those that were there were there, waiting. No one wanted to break the silence as no one had anything worth breaking the silence for.
The day was there and it was strong, beating down upon the surrounding area. They were in the shade, under shelter and waiting, waiting for the change. Waiting for the exit and the being born into a new world, a new way, a new ideal and so on and so forth.
There was no sense of anticipation. Instead, a sense of inevitability and fear of the unknown had washed over the people as they waited. They knew not what was going to happen, or if anything at all was going to happen. For all they knew, there was going to be nothing. There could have been something far beyond comprehension. There was just no way of knowing. All they knew was that they were, as per instructed, in the right place at the right time.
They knew not who provided the instructions, or if anyone did indeed. There was a strong feeling that someone must have said something at some point, but then again this could have entirely been a false set of instructions that just so happened to come about.
Still, like most things that catch on, many became aware and many came to believe in the words. After all, they couldn’t just be meaningless, could they? There had to be something behind them that allowed them to spread as efficiently as they did.
And so the group of people waited and waited in silence they did. They waited for the sun to die out for the day and watched as shadows crept to claim the scraps of what remained. They waited in their shelter, watching and waiting as the heat receded, if only slightly, and they waited and hoped that something would happen. They hoped that something would happen that would signify something. There was an anxiety and a fear that was gripping those that were waiting, but they just wanted it to all happen and be over. Their new path, their new entrance. They wanted this old one to divert away from them, but of course there was no real telling as to how much longer they would have to go on like this.
And thus, it seemed as though something was to happen.
A low, extended rumbling could be heard and felt, and even though it was dark, the heavens opened up and unleashed the rains.
There was no change, no new entrance. But it was raining heavily, and the people had their shelter.
The time it took to write five-hundred words: 06:17:55
This isn’t as strong as I had hoped.
Still, it’s something. I think I was trying to express some sort of tension but I don’t think I got it across.
Written at work.
A sculpture created by Gillie and Marc.
Another photo from Sculpture by the Sea.
Easily one of my favourite sculptures.
I find it to be striking and in a sense powerful.
This is my submission into Leanne Cole‘s photo challenge.
This one is more of a crossover with TPM photos, which is another thing that she runs.
This week’s theme is “Your Favourite Photo for 2018”.
This is one of my favourites of the year by far, but it’s mostly due to the sculpture rather than anything else.
I suggest checking out Leanne’s photography, as well as checking out what other people submit into the challenge.
You can find the challenges here.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy.
A Cool Try review from earlier this year and one that I firmly stand by.
I probably could have expressed what I was saying better.
However, I do think that I got what I was saying across pretty well.
I hope you enjoy.
—–
The Voidz are now onto their 2nd album. The album is called Virtue. Here’s a review of Virtue.
There’s a playfulness to Virtue that probably is common in most of the things that Julian Casablancas has been involved with, but is probably emphasised here by the decision to lean more toward synth-based forms of music over guitar-based forms.
Some of the lyrics seem to lean more toward the political than they do otherwise, but it’s not something that’s obvious due to how the vocals are usually buried by vocal processing, as well as how distracting the melodies are at times.
“All Wordz Are Made Up” stands out quite a bit due to how joyous it sounds without sounding forced. It’s just a really happy-sounding song that, whilst veering a bit into cheese, is balanced quite well and flows really nicely.
“My Friend The Walls” also stands out, with a driving sound and tense feeling that runs throughout the whole song.
Otherwise the songs border on the mildly interesting and are fairly consistent, but not much else stands out. A few too many times the songs delve into the self-indulgent (“Leave It In My Dreams” and “Think Before You Drink”, among others are prime examples), and the whole affair sounds really flat as though it was mastered to be as such and not recorded in that manner. There’s impressions of where there should be more dynamic stuff going on (such as in “Pink Ocean” and “QYURRYUS”) but it doesn’t go beyond impressions.
This would be okay but this isn’t the biggest issue with the album.
The biggest issue is Julian Casablancas. He doesn’t sound as though he cares for far too much of the album and the end result is, when not vocoded, mostly lazy. Perhaps it was the intention, but all it ends up doing is dragging a bunch of songs that could have worked much better down. “ALieNNatioN” has a solid beat and something that’s kind of funky going on with it and it’s only hampered when Julian Casablancas’ half-assed off-key warble comes in whilst at the same time seemingly trying to sound like it’s the coolest thing in the world.
It’s not even so much that it drags the songs down that’s the problem as much as it is disappointing to hear how Julian Casablancas delivers his lines. He has a strong set of pipes and when he uses them he really delivers. It comes through well, even when the vocals are processed, such as the chorus sections of “All Wordz Are Made Up”. At other moments during (comparatively) subdued vocal sections (various parts of “QYURRYUS”), Julian Casablancas is able to still get that delivery across whilst adding a bit more tension as well as a playfulness.
However, too often he sounds like he’s mumbling, slurring and going off-key and too often he relies on vocal processing. Despite the “experimental” nature of the record, it works less than it could.
On Virtue, The Voidz certainly sound like they’re having fun, but it feels like there’s a wall that’s intentionally been put between the band and the listener. There’s some interesting songs, but playing around with electronic music an experimental album does not make, unless you consider it as experimental for those with an exceptionally narrow frame of reference.
Devo were and somehow still remain a subversive, satirical artistic endeavour. It’s arguable that they’ve had far more misses than they had hits when it comes to balancing their elements, but overall they left a body of work that is more experimental and influential (for both the wrong and right reasons) than most people would like to admit.
What’s more important is that their stuff puts you into a position where you can think about what you were hearing and not have the meaning drowned out. Sometimes it’s a little too on the nose and some of the message loses its impact, but Devo understood finesse.
I could list a number of other bands that worked with electronic music that were forward-thinking, whether intentional or otherwise, but that might be considered unfair. Considering the amount of time that the members of The Voidz have been working in music and their sound on this album seemingly dripping in nostalgia more often than it is looking forward, I don’t consider it unfair to compare them to artists that were around in eras that are being referenced.
There’s nothing wrong with the past and it’s something that should be looked upon. However, music needs to look at least just as much toward something other than the past. Too much of Virtue looks to the past. Combined with the vocal performance, and the flat-sounding mix, the album suffers more than it should.
Virtue is not necessarily bad. The musicianship is decent and there’s some songs that really stand out in quality, but overall there’s not much that can be said beyond it being interesting. The Voidz is a group that is better than this, but there’s some issues that are letting them down.
Stupidity Hole 