(Car has יאַרמלקע)
District 9
Went to the movies with my friend Chris Smith and his fianceé Sarah this morning. Tamika and I haven’t been out on a date in ages, so it was nice to get out. We hired a babysitter and caught the matinee.
The movie was very well done. The storyline was incredible, with actors that made the documentary style very believable.
We all walked out.
The reason? It was disgusting.
The aliens were cool looking, but followed the same tired old alien character style that has been the norm for the past 10 years. Every since the Aliens series, extra terrestrials have been typically modeled after insects… Except slimy.
Alien herself?
Black, slimy, exoskeleton with sharp angular protrusions.
Starship Troopers:
Yellow Black, slimy, exoskeleton with sharp angular protrusions.
Star trek’s ice monster:
Red, slimy, exoskeleton with sharp angular protrusions.
And now District 9? C’mon, be inventive!
Not only that, but they all seem to have the same language too, growls & clicks through a telephone voice distorted.
But back to the disgusting part. Once he movie got going, every scene. EVERY scene had some kind of swelling, oozing, snotty, slimy bodily discharge. It was like watching a miscoloured Discovery Health with an actual plot.
Which is a shame, because like I said, the plot is really good.
Now, I understand the market… There is a large audience of young men who thrive on slimy disgusting things on screen. The more gory, the better they like it.
This same audience typically buys first-person shooter games with the same level of gore.
But at some point, perhaps we might just take a step back. With movies like these, we not different from Romans watching bears maul Christians at the colloseum and then lighting them as torches along their highways, or Mayans watching the winners of a ball game decapitate their opponents on field.
Sure, we’re separated by a silver screen. But with movies like this becoming so commonplace… How long will it last?
Up late
Stayed up until 4 last night… Was trying to get some artwork uploaded to a printer. Turns out my file wasn’t flattened. Once flattened, it went up in 30 minutes….zzzzzzzzz
Bourbon, Club Reality, & Harry Potter
Sitting waiting for Tamika’s show with The 83 South Project (her band).
Today was a bit hectic, I was dog tired from last night, and Arion & Nya never sleep in. 🙂
Tamika’s Mom came down for the weekend, and so Tamika went to pick her up from the Greyhound.
Her mom made us breakfast and we headed down to DC.
Bourbon Coffee was having a family and friends get together, and invited us down. It was good to see everything together, and though there are still things to be done, the shop looks good. My friend Setti Solomon, who is handling the project management for Bourbon, Saleem Khaja (who handles legal matters and budget) and I got to talk and work out the next phases. They’re now opening up a shop in Boston too, and I’m really hoping I’ll be able to have Zerflin work on that too. There have been some mix ups on design approval that we’ve been ironing out, but I really enjoy working with them.
Setti had on a very pretty black dress, which inspired Tamika to try and find something at Macy’s for her show tonight.
Traffic was pretty bad on the way home (when is it not in DC) which made us pretty late for her show. Tamika’s mom made us spaghetti to go, and we rushed off.
Club Reality is a small, unassuming place, and it’s only about 10 minutes from our house. From the outside, it looks pretty run down, but I was impressed with how nice and spacious it was on the inside.
Our friend Twi Jackson has now joined the band, and I have to say, this was one of their best shows. Twi sang “what you would do for love” and blew it away. Tamika sang Marvin Gaye’s “I want you” and blew it away. She’s been working hard on her stage presence, and she really entertained the crowd.
Afterwards, we went out to see Harry Potter. Good movie. Tamika knows the storyline better than I, but I enjoyed myself.
2am? Time for an early bedtime…
Fatigue
So sleepy… It is now 4am, and I’m just getting to bed.
Tamika kept me company, and made me Chysanthemum tea with honey (so good).
I was working on magazine style excerpts for Heidi Durrow’s New book “The Girl Who Fell From The Sky”.
And I think, for the first time in my life, I got designer’s block.
Not because the client or subject was difficult to design for, but because my brain just decided to shut down after less than 4 hours of sleep a night…
Thanks to Tamika, I got my second wind and built a really nice layout.
Must. Have. Sleep…
Pete & Repeat
So, now Nya says everything we say. Everything.
Last week, I read a book with a kitchen scene to her, and pointed out each object.
(me pointing to the book) “Apple. This is an apple. Apple. You say; apple.” (and then I point to her lips)
“Abu.”
“Good! Book. This is a book. You say; book.”
“Bût.”
“Good. Girl. This is a girl. You say.”
“Gur.”
“Good. Frying pan. This is a frying pan. You say.”
“Fynpan.”
And so on.
SINCE then, she just says everything we say, without prompting.
Everything.
So needless to say, we’ve been editing out words like “jerk”, “douche-bag”, “punk” and “moron”.
Now, dinner conversations go like this:
Tamika: So, did that big project get done?
Benjamin: No. They decided to be Elmos and ask for revisions.
Nya: Ewmo!
Tamika: That stinks.
Benjamin: Yeah, they were a bunch of Big Birds. The completely Dora-ed the whole process, and sent it back for 6 Snufalumpagus revisions. I’m so sick of this Telly Monster project.
Nya: Dooo-wah! (Dora)
Tamika: I’m tired of them treating you like Ernie. How much more do you have to do with them?
Nya: Eehnie!
Benjamin: Not too much, this is the last project. It’s not the AE’s fault, the client is on it’s way out and it’s being a Backpack.
Nya: Bah-pat, BAH-PAT!
Physics
Just because I’m a graphic designer, doesn’t mean I can’t still love physics.
If you do to, you’re going to enjoy these. The explanation is pretty simple, if you don’t get it from the first video, you’ll understand by the last one.
Tamika has a Show: Stacey Carver at La Quinta Inn
Tamika’s band, called 83 South Project, has a show this Saturday, May 30th.
It’s going to be held at La Quinta Inn in Glen Burnie, MD.
There are 2 shows, one at 8:30pm, and one at 10:30.
Comedian Stacey Carver is going to be headlining the event.
If you can come, please contact Tamika! The band has to sell some tickets for their spot in the lineup, and if you order them through her, you only have to pay $15 (they’re $20 at the door).
Why I love Tamika: she gives me hugs
Lately, I’ve been pulling 19-20 hour days, just trying to get everything done.
Last night, I got home late from a meeting with Bourbon Coffee, which was further exacerbated by a Mercedes doing an oscillatory dance between a 3-ton truck and a Kia right at the I-95 Northbound exit off of 459.
Tamika just needed to talk, because the kids had been driving her up a wall all day long. I listened quietly, and then our conversation spilled into finances. With a lot of help; we’ve been slowly digging ourselves out of our financial difficulties by surviving on a shoestring budget. But that has been taking it’s toll. Tamika wished we could afford a babysitter, and wondered about what our future was.
After a while, the conversation subsided. I glanced at the clock. It was 11:30.
I got up silently and went downstairs.
Tamika followed me, and quietly sat in the chair next to my desk.
“Why are you working?” she asked softly.
I stared at the screens for a moment while programs fluttered open. “It’s all I know how to do.” I replied, “It’s all I can think of to help out.”
Tamika got up, and took my head in her hands and held me close. We must have stayed like that for a half an hour. She just held my tight, played with my hair, rubbed my back, and smoothed out the lines of worry on my head.
She kissed me, then headed upstairs. A little while later, she came back down with a cup of hot chocolate with marshmallows and vanilla ice cream in it.
“Don’t stay up too late.” she smiled.
I love my wife.
Violas, Violins, and Anne Ristorcelli
So, I’m working on a website design at Merrick Towle, and my friend Matt Watier comes up to me.
Matt: What’s that for?
Me: I’m designing something for Anne Ristorcelli.
Matt: Who is she?
Me: A Violist.
Matt: A Violinist?
Me: No, a Violist. A Violin is smaller than a Viola.
Matt: Oh. So she’s small?
Me: <laughs> Yes, she’s the jockey of the Chamber Music World.