So here we are and yet another Strange Log, however, this will be a bit of an odd one as I'll include a semi-small article in this one. Usually, I write Strange Logs to discuss what I'm doing, what I'm looking forward to, and address a few things that aren't worth full and complete articles. Full and complete articles are becoming scarce in my world anyway as by the type I get to share my opinion on the various on-goings of my teeny tiny corner of our little blue sphere it's all chewed meat and everything that needs to be said has been said...more or less. But the point is my time is becoming very limited, and as such I'm focusing on the things that really matter, mostly my wife (whenever we get time together...which is rare) and my son (who mostly just wants me to watch him play and stand in his closet with the light off...my son's weird.) The Blight that has cursed our land has made certain things impossible for me and I'll discuss all that and more below, join me, won't you?
Let's start with the blight as that is the biggest thing sticking in my craw. You all don't know me personally but it's been a long road to get to where I am now. I am currently in the best financial position I have ever been in and the best personal position I've ever been in. I have been talking about shooting a short film for a LONG time amongst my own circles but transportation and time have always been a factor, such is no longer the case EXCEPT the Blight has thrown a monkey wrench into all my plans. You see I NEED actors, I'm not interested in playing any roles myself and I want ACTUAL actors, and given the current situation, I'd much rather work with actors in a full capacity rather than to have them be hindered by wearing masks and gloves and needing to distance. So while my brain is buxom with ideas for short films my ability to do them is hindered to a degree that I must wait for an indefinite time and this upsets me greatly.
Since we're on the topic of short films, I am still nonetheless interested in ARGs and have been browsing the various ins and outs and such things mostly by watching Nightmind (a Youtuber I hope to interview on this blog one day) and this handy little documentary and I think I might have something to contribute to this genre of gaming. The only issue would be taking the time to set it up and once again while the blight is providing me quite a bit of time to set it up the main issue of figuring out how many people I need, the mechanics, how to end it, and what exactly the endgame is. ARGs, I discovered work better when they're in tandem with something else, like to promote a TV show, an album, a movie, or some continuous material that players can still engage with long after, basically, it works better as a promotional tool and that's what I'd like to use mine as, should I ever make one (but again time is a factor). And while I'm no stranger to making a web series (I have 5 seasons to prove that), an ARG requires (depending on how intricate you plan on making it) multiple avenues for player interaction all of which require the 4th tracks on the A Side of Pink Floyd's "The Dark Side Of The Moon" ("Time").
That being said I have an idea and something of a plan and maybe by later next year I can start moving forward on this once things normalize, but we'll see. As my first outing, this will, unfortunately, have to be a local ARG (isolated to my corner of the world) but we'll see where we go from here. In the meantime, I'll continue to absorb knowledge from the greats that came before me and learn as much as I can so that when I do get started on this I can really do some impressive work.
Speaking of impressive work, let's talk about Disney Plus as that is quickly becoming a contender for the next great streaming service, HBO Max following in a close 3rd but we'll see how The Snyder Cut fares out first. I'm still no interested in purchasing Disney Plus BUT after the trailers dropped for "Wandavision" and "Loki" and hearing all the praise "The Mandalorian" is getting I am more than a little interested in checking those out. The MCU continues to expand on the Marvel universe in ways I couldn't have imagined, and "Loki" is now featuring the obscure group The TVA (The Time Variance Authority) more or less an inside joke at Marvel since everyone present at the agency were clones of Marvel continuity editor at the time Mark Gruenwald, now they're a shadowy organization that as taken Loki prisoner? Whatever the case I'm VERY interested in this series as the production values look AMAZING.
"Wandavision" continues to baffle me as I have NO clue what it's about and still can't pinpoint just how exactly Vision is even alive or how any of this, "Loki" and "Wandavision" will play into "Doctor Strange And The Multiverse Of Madness", not to mention MCU's 3rd movie "Spider-Man" will feature multiverse aspect to it that will also tie into the "Doctor Strange" sequel. Marvel is proving themselves to be in complete control of the long game form of storytelling and the actualization of the universe they put forward setting themselves up to continue to tell stories down the line while having told one continuous story. I am impressed and as a comic book fan, I am thrilled. However, whether or not I'll be getting Disney Plus remains to be seen. though the projects are intriguing I'm not sure. Since we're on the topic of Marvel, Marvel's First Family The Fantastic Four has been announced as officially joining The MCU, no word on when their movie is coming out but I'm excited to see the cast and who they'll get for Doctor Doom. No word on the new "Blade" movie yet but I'll be keeping my eyes peeled for that.
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| Say what you want but Julian McMahon wasn't terrible as Doom, had the look and the attitude, he just wasn't Doctor Doom. |
In regards to anime, I haven't been watching much but I have made a few purchases. I got to check out "Shimoneta" and if you're unfamiliar with that, that's cool but if you're an awful weeb like yours truly than you've more than likely come across the infamous cookie scene. I've watched animes based on single scenes before, one of my animes I started watching based on a single scene, and while "A Sister Is All You Need" not as disturbing as the opening scene suggests it is, "Shimoneta" is one of those "I'm surprised this isn't hentai" kinda series. I don't even think you can classify it as ecchi since it doesn't really fall in that line, it's mostly just vulgar. Vulgarity is something I can tolerate if there's genuine humor and I was expecting this series to be funny and sadly it's not. The only saving grace of the series in my opinion is Fuwa, a female scientist who's obsessed with trying to figure out how babies are made, her aesthetics are great and her character is just very deadpan and funny, but sadly the series doesn't have much to offer.
I purchased "Fire Force", an anime for the creator of "Soul Eater" an anime my wife enjoyed ( I haven't watched "Soul Eater" but I do enjoy Tsubaki...she's a hottie). I only saw one ad for "Fire Force" so I have a vague idea of what the series is about but as of yet my wife and I have yet to watch it. I'm hoping it's good. Speaking of good I just completed "One Punch Man" season 2 and WOW! The series continues to prove that Saitama despite being the titular character is not the main character of the series and is rather an event, this season Garou is the main character and good gravy is this man a beast. I was curious how they'd follow up Boros, as undeniably Boros is probably the strongest being (next to Saitama) in the series (I doubt Monster King Orochi can even come close) but Garou as being merely a physical threat is downright scary. Not to mention Bang looks like he might be able to have gone a couple rounds with Goku in The Cell Saga. "One Punch Man" continues to impress me and I'm eagerly awaiting the 3rd season.
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| MAKE THIS HAPPEN! Although Garou would win...no question. |
How To Beat "The Room"
And now for a mini-article. Never has the premise of a film been more interesting than the film itself, at least in my opinion but Shudder's "The Room" is a movie that I just cannot help but think about. "The Room," tells the story of the titular which grants wishes simply by speaking out loud what it is you desire, "Man, I could really use a drink" and presto a fresh drink appears in the room, and apparently the room is intuitive enough to understand what drink it is you're referring. The catch to all of this is that objects created by The Room are unable to leave the house, once they leave the house they age themselves to dust and vanish. Now the movie itself starts off fun once the couple discovers the power of The Room but afterward it turns into a boring monster movie. But The Room does have a way to make its creations permanent, and that's only if the wish maker dies.
Now the couple stupidly wished for a baby without wishing for a full staff to take care of him and never asked The Room how it functions but based on what we know about The Room, we know it can create people and completely external areas, ergo it can become an alien geometry due to the fact it's not confined to the limits of the area it's enclosed in. That being said beating "The Room" is BEYOND simple. For starters wish for a completely obedient person who will do as you say, simply write down what you wish, order the person to say it, kill that person and order The Room to clean up the mess, pure and simple. There doesn't seem to be a limit on the number of wishes and wishes can make wishes themselves and again as long as the wish maker dies the wish becomes permanent.
The untapped potential of this premise makes me sad and the easy solution behind beating The Room just frustrates me. It's no small wonder why The Wish Genre always seems to devolve into horror, but I guess there's no other way to get around it. What would I do if I had The Room? Never you mind but I'll tell you what, I wouldn't be in need of actors or a studio, I'd have all the actors and set crew you could ask for willing to do whatever I ask of them and that's just one wish, hell, who needs money when you don't need to buy anything? You want food, just wish for it, Hell wish for a world-class chef to cook you amazing meals every day. "The Room" is an enjoyable movie for the opening half but afterward the character's choices just get dumber and dumber. If you wish for a baby, wish for someone to take care of the baby, it's what I'd do. If I could wish for a playmate for my son and a personal guardian who'd keep him safe while my wife and I were away, I would. Not that I don't like spending time with my son but if I could have my own Alfred, BOY, WOULD I EVER!
Anyway, that's my time, for now, I have yet to get to a lot of articles I wanted to get to on my Upcoming Articles docket but they're all being worked on. Here's a GIF of some truly remarkable special effects, why? Because my son is laughing at something for some reason.
UPCOMING ARTICLES:
The Write Stuff: Narrative Tension
A Critique On an upcoming DC Comics release
and more...
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