Paper vs. Pixels

I recently watched two films via DVD based on comic books, Ghostrider and Electra. Although they were beautifully done, they seemed to be missing something. What was it? I don't know but I think it has to do with the imagination. We all know that story telling, especially in print, feeds the imagination. When we read those words in print we interpret them into visual images. When you first read Tom Clancy, did Jack Ryan look like Harrison Ford? Probably not. I think that the same is true when making the transition form comic book or graphic novel to movie. Regardless of how the artist has depicted the events, the images remain static. For that reason the movies take away that bit of the imagination used to animate. And , besides, you miss the great pictorial layouts in film.

By the way I liked both movies, but the comics appeal more to me.

The drawing below was done during vewing the films....

Just a Building

I've just finished reading these two books. I first read Ken Follett's The Pillars of the Earth and found it fascinating. Although the excess of 900 pages almost did me in. I'm not a very patient guy. I applaud the writer for keeping my interest. Pillars is about the construction of a cathedral during the Middle Ages and the people involved in that monumental endeavour. Although the writer offers much architectural detail there are some gaps that must be filled in by the imagination. Enter David Macauley. His book, Cathedral, fills in the blanks with beautiful drawings. I was familiar with Macauley's work from a previous book.

I had recently visited cathedrals in the British isles which piqued my interest.

Recent films watched, DVD and otherwise:

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

Hostel

Cannery Row

Jacket

Gotta Play

Now there was a little time to play. I wanted to throw some of my favorite images into a mix with a little animation. Of course there's Marilyn and me. The premier issue of Vampirella cover by Frank Frazetta. There is something about fish I like for moving objects. The use of found images...it sounds almost ecological. I used Photoshop and Ulead for software.

...it's good to be back home again

Somehow those words from the John Denver song seemed to fit this post. We had left the Creek on Friday for some R and R. Retired people need R & R too! We visited some friends in the Greenville area. We ate at some new restaurants and I got the sights fixed on the cowboy gun.

Our real goal was the campground at Table Rock State Park in Pickens county. The temperature was in the 80's when we checked in on Sunday afternoon. There weren't many campers and we discovered that we had forgotten the tent. We rigged the dining fly for shelter. We got camp set up and I cooked some brats for supper. My camping partner is a fishing fanatic so we went fishing. But we caught only bug bites. The best thing about fishing was the great panoramic view of Table Rock reflected in the lake.We kicked back by the campsite to catch up on some reading. I was reading Ken Follett's Pillars of the Earth and Claudette was reading the latest Jason Bourne novel.

The next morning it was bacon and eggs for breakfast, a menu that would be repeated. We fished some more and it rained in the afternoon and there was a thunderstorm that night. It was real relaxing as we read , played Scrabble and gin rummy. Of course there was a campfire for roasting marshmallows. One day we went out for lunch to Aunt Sue's on Highway 11. Near the restaurant is Victoria Valley Winery. We did the wine tasting thing and bought a couple of bottles.

We met a friend in Greenwood for lunch and then on to Mom's in Bradley before going on the Athens to visit Claudette's daughter. We visited Dahlonega, the gold capital of Georgia. It's a real tourist's trap but was fun and we enjoyed some home grown music while there. That night In Athens' Forty Watt Club we saw Better Than Ezra perform. It was a great show. Sunday after lunch we came home and it looked good!

Cross training

Recently, I've cut back the number of paintings I've been doing and worked on other creative stuff. Also, we've been doing a bit traveling as well. Frequently, I do a bit of sketching while traveling and maybe some small watercolors. But there is one thing I always do. I take a lot of photographs. Although the premise is usually a "reference " photo, as in reference material for a painting. So, I have a lot of photos which are never used as reference. But invariably while viewing some of the reference photos I would see subjects that I thought could have been better photographed. I'm not a photographer, but a fairly good weekend painter. So, I'm thinking that I can use some picture making principles and photo editing software to improve the pix. Look at these photos. The one of the left is the original and the other is the edited version. This what I changed using Photoshop. I thought the dancing girl was the center of interest.

• I cropped the photo to put the center of interest, the girls face, in upper 1/3 of the left side.





• I gave her a darker value.





• I lightened, reduced the value of the foreground.





• I blurred everything except the center of interest.

P-s-s-t, pass the popcorn!

Just recently watched some good and one not-so-good films. From bad to good.

• My New Gun (2002) R When Gerald Bender (Stephen Collins) buys his dutiful wife, Debbie (Diane Lane), a gun for her protection, she hesitantly accepts the gift, but has no idea how much trouble it's about to cause. Gerald's plan to protect his wife fails when their handsome but zany neighbor Skippy (James LeGros) swipes the weapon. Before long, chaos ensues as strange people start showing up without warning and bullets begin to fly. (from Netflix) This movie never seems to get going. There is the lacking of a plot, although movies don't necessarily need a plot, they need something to keep the viewer interested. We don't even have dazzling special effects to keep us entertained. The laughs aren't there either.
• Lost in Translation(2003) R Set in Tokyo, this subtle, nuanced film played Bill Murray against type and earned director Sofia Coppola an Original Screenplay Oscar. Two lost souls -- the young, neglected wife (Scarlett Johansson) of a photographer and a washed-up movie star (Murray, in an Oscar-nominated performance) shooting a TV commercial --find an odd solace and pensive freedom to be real in each other's company and away from their lives in America. (from Netflix) This is a character piece. At some point you think maybe writer/director Sofia Coppola is day-dreaming. I felt that the characters could have been developed a little better. However, the story of ships that pass in the night is well told. The location shots were great as well as how modern Japanese culture was depicted.
• Body Heat(1981) R In a sizzling-hot Florida coastal town, attorney Ned Racine (William Hurt) becomes involved with the sultry Matty Walker (Kathleen Turner) -- and schemes a way to get her wealthy, much-older husband (Richard Crenna) out of the picture. Ned's knowledge of legal matters may enable both conspirators to escape scot-free -- and Matty is craftier than anyone ever dreamed. Lawrence Kasdan directs this throwback to the early days of film noir. Ted Danson and Mickey Rourke co-star. (from Netflix) I had not seen this hot drama from the 80's. I was good to see Hurt with hair. I really liked this movie--I'm a sucker for a surprise ending. I think I'm losing my taste for sex and violence. ...maybe not!
• Moonlight Mile(2002) PG-13 Moonlight Mile is the story of a young man (Jake Gyllenhaal) who's taken in by the mother (Susan Sarandon) and father (Dustin Hoffman) of his recently deceased fiancée, as he's the only living connection to their daughter. Even as they're all still grieving, Gyllenhaal begins to fall in love with a woman (Ellen Pompeo) whose boyfriend has gone missing. But will Gyllenhaal's former in-laws-to-be accept the new girlfriend? (from Netflix) I really liked this character piece. There are some great subtle effects such as using the seasons in parallel with the story. And extremely well dome film with a great cast. This is a relationship film for everyone.

Continueing...

Pursuant to yesterday's thoughts of the decline of America, I thought it would be a good time to consider succession again. But what to name our republic? I took a note of the folks in the Florida Keys. They wanted to call their country the "Conch Republic". I would suggest the new republic the "Donut Republic". This is partly to insure adequate law enforcement for the lack of laws. Or maybe all this verbal garbage is just an excuse to design a flag.

Where will it end?

Recently I met a man who worked on Wall Street. He is a fourteen year veteran of one of the biggest firms receiving bale-out money from the government. Although he is thankful to still have a job he is critical of some of the corporations operating procedures. For instance, his boss, a lady, still receives fresh flowers for her desk daily. If he has an appointment over two blocks from the office there is a car service to transport him there. Isn't it good to know that our tax dollars are still delivering the flowers and providing limo service?