Six months after the death of David Bowie, normal reality is collapsing at an ever-increasing rate.
Sure, that sounds like a spurious correlation, but given my understanding of David Bowie and his place in the universe, I’m inclined to believe this one.
So at 3:30 in the morning on July 12th, Rasa wakes me up to say “it really hurts” and we should probably go to the hospital. Granted, we were scheduled to be there at 7am anyway, so our 3:30 wake up call was only 90 minutes ahead of schedule. Turns out, we needed the extra time because when your wife is in labor, the movies just don’t do it justice. There’s no madcap dashing about trying to flag down cabs or traffic cops pulling you over only to turn on the sirens and lead you to the hospital once they’ve learned the full extent of your situation. Nope. It’s a lot of coaxing someone who can barely walk down three flights of stairs and calling a friend to come and make sure the dog gets taken out so you don’t come home to an “extra” surprise. Continue reading “The Monki Has Landed”
Okay, I admit it. I’m a sucker for underwater monsters. Give me a giant squid, a Kraken, an octopus of unusual size, hell, even an overgrown shark and I’m there. For me, America said it best – “The ocean is a desert with its life underground and the perfect disguise up above.” It’s that “perfect disguise” which makes it interesting. No matter how calm, there could be any number of unknown dangers lurking just out of sight.
This is why, despite being terrified of the water, I’ve been certified as a scuba diver, twice. In another reality, I’m a marine biologist, who spends his days as a dive instructor on a tropical island and doing research on the side. In this one, though, I’m just a writer who likes the monsters hidden beneath the sea
So one day my friend Ian Rowland directed me to the site of his friend Gianni Sarcone, a designer of optical illusions. Specifically, the post on How To Create Monsters & Mythological Creatures. That’s an example over there to the left.
Once you see the method, like a number of magic tricks, it is deceptively simple. And yet, the results are awe inspiring. As someone who has a penchant for the idea of urban fantasy (I’d love to write one, just don’t quite see it so instead, I read ’em) all I can see are a number of powerful beings trapped in static forms or natural figures waiting to make themselves known in that luminal time between dark and light.
Maybe you’ll be able to find inspiration here. Or maybe you’ll just enjoy some clever photography. Either way, it’s definitely worth a look.
There’s nothing like a good theatre experience. And if you can’t make it out to see something live, then a film is the next best thing.
And if you can watch a movie about the theatre? Heaven!
Source: The 30 Best Movies About The Theater « Taste of Cinema
Getting the Hang of Thursdays 