Mesmene Traufalau

Haven't been in a writing mood recently so well there we go. I would today however like to introduce one of the characters from mine and Alex's upcoming film project, Mesmene Traufalau. During the filming of the film we would take copious pictures of all the characters to allow the actors to sink into the characters a little more before playing the roles. The results were some pretty cool photos in their own right. I am sure this picture can tell you alot about the character, played by Alex's sister Daphne. I have been thnking about producing a comic book for a while now. However due to my lack of suitably good drawing skills photoshop may hold the answer. I am sure if I could make all the images therein look as good as this then it would be absolutely superb. The problem seems to be maintaining any consistency of style throughout, the process seems to be very hit and miss. Sometimes even the best original images just don't transform well but other extremely boring pictures just buzz after a small fiddle. Maybe I will do a comic of this film. I had intended to create a comic of the 'Black Dog' film but this has really gone nowhere as there were just endless pictures but no real way of telling the story easily. This new film contains far more dialogue and monologue so should fit the comic genre much better.

I think that I have finished the cover for the Soundtrack album, just needs confirming with Alex and then I will release it on the world.

Ok, so I posted this picture with all the comments above but I think I will have to add some more because upon having posted this picture it just looks ace, don't you agree! Sometimes this presentation does wonders for the images. I think the thing that makes the picture is the background. All those converging stark lines really pull you in. Black and white comics always look so much cooler than their colour counterparts especially the murky colours of such otherwise briliant works like 'Watchmen', never really liked that whole look. I am sure a huge part of the appeal as to be the subject. Sexy looking girl staring right down the lens at you. But I'm sure most girls would agree it's still a cool image. The funny thing is that the hair seems to be one of the highlights, a very wild unkempt look. In reality the wig looked pretty cheap and slightly ridiculous in my opinion. I think this one rivals if not surpasses Ben Haggar with guitar for favourite recent picture. Don't expect another post for a while as I will be reluctant to knock this off the top spot.

Homecoming

So I'm back in the U.K. What a relief that is! (He said in a sarcastic tone). So during my time in Greece I and my partner in crime were unusually productive. We made a short film which I will tell you all about some other time. May run to about 10-15 mins in length. We also recorded an original score. I am sure I will get round to distributing this EP length recording once I have devised the cover and such. Not bad going really, especially seeing as how we conceived all this and made it happen in my 10 days there. Including many location shoots across the city and use of actors other than solely ourselves.

So, I took this picture while attempting to photograph the pretentious facial hair I had carved out from a full on beard sprouted during my shave free time abroad. It's always great fun shaving and leaving strange clumps of hair in the most intriguing of places. Obviously none of these creations tend to make it past the bathroom door and simply serve to add more amusment to the myriad of goateed idiots. It's is really amazing that anybody would even dream of sporting a simple moustache unless unforunate enough to have some facial disfigurement to cover. I say beard or nothing. You may reserve the right to slap me if I ever break this rule. I must also add that big sideburns do not equal facial hair in my book.

Also in other good news, my nigh on plundering of the Illiakis record collection has left me with a complete wealth of new fabulous records to plow through so expect to see my earphones to be thourghly planted in my ears. I will finish on the mention that one of the said records by Explosions In The Sky is winding its way out of my speakers as we speak.............wow this is really great................

And The Skies Will Burn..

So here was the colour of the sky as
Wolverhampton
was raised to the ground. Vast fires broke out, spreading across the city destroying the entire city centre. One witness said "now we can build something decent".

This morning the sky attempted to bring about these scenes single handedly perhaps pointing the way to the other forces of nature. If the sky was on fire the earth was not a willing partner. Vulcan was trapped in the hemispheres barred from wrecking havoc on us mortals. But what a scene it did distill.

I have a theory that talking about an event occurring makes it less likely to happen. In this instance I am talking about plane crashes. Now I am not really scared of flying but I thought at least if it happens then I will have at least passed some comment with time to ponder rather than just something fatuous like "bugger" or whatever springs to mind in the spiraling wreckage. Also if something does happen then I will be seen as some sort of neo-nostradamus, with the added ability to write in a coherent manner. I am sure we would all be lying if we did not think about such events when participating in such apparently dangerous activities and that is part of the attraction. So does my writing about possible disaster ward off any possible mishap? Can it be that I will be one of the unlucky few and make those statistics tables. If so, how much less likely will it be having written about it prior to the event. Could I move in to some super category of self-prophesists. Maybe a trip to Delphi to speak with Apollo himself is in order? Do you think he still frequents the area. So these could be my final words. Maybe I should have taken more time over them. Thought a little and turned them into a more coherent strand. Is this a sign to start writing my death bed speak. A long soliloquy meant for the ears of others. Maybe I shouldn't have used the word bugger. Will I have anything to say, I sure as hell don't have anything earth-shattering to say now. When is that inspiration going to come. One day it could knock we out with its obviousness. Unlikely you think.



By the way I here by give permission to one and all to edit my words into something more coherent and eminently more publishable upon my demise. Just erect a statue in my honor I ask.

So, off to Greece we go.....

A History Of Conjuctivitis

I'm still here. Just don't have much to say at the moment. Last post must have taken it out of me. I will be going to Greece next Tuesday so don't expect much correspondence for the next 2 weeks or so. Although hopefully I will have some cool new stuff to show on my return.

This here image is another photoshop special. Very different from the usual block colour individuals that normally come out the other end. The original image was a picture of my eye from when I had conjuctivitis upon return from Mexico, blood shot eye pictured. This is the sort of image I would really like to make an A1 print out of or really large and put on my wall to really freak people out when seeing my room for the first time. The collage I have up at the moment gets the odd odd glance.

I went to see the latest Cronenburg film today. Very dissappointing! As I am sure you have all read in the reviews the main character foils a robbery and supposedly unveils a deep hidden ponchnace for violence. Cue some cool Cronenburg type weirdness hopefully avoiding all likeness to "The Long Kiss Goodnight" in which the secret identity of the protagonist is unveiled as much as anything is really revealed in Cronenburg films. Or so you would think. Sadly the alter ego is all too predictable and I sat waiting for something of interest to happen, to veer of and make this something other than another hollywood schlock production. However no, it just ended. Ed Harris turns up and does his impression of Tommy Lee Jones in Men In Black, shades and all. On the good side the very necessary long beginning of familial bliss was unusually schmaltz free and even the inevitable wimp trod upon son at his wise cracking best fails to make the teeth grind. Viggo "did anybody watch Hidalgo, Lord of the Oscars" Mortenson starred and managed to make me dislike him as much as before, so well done to him. Shame about the story. After the pretty bad Existenz, where for art thou Cronenburg?

Scrawely Voice

You will all have to imagine that I am narrating this post in a low drawl. The reason being that I have been, it seems, recovering from some illlness for a week now and have a rough throat, deepening one's tones. It hasn't led to any bedrest, just constant coughing in various public places. I suppose smokey bars aren't the best recuperative scene and so have probably brought it on myself. I would never make a jazz pioneer. Probably more because my facial hair won't do the necessary soul patch but who's arguing?
So, as I pointed out in my last post it has indeed been some time since the last post. The length of time was however not intended to be so long. (Keeping with the drawley jazz scheme I would probably throw in a Duke Ellington influenced line or two of scat here... do do da da baba di)
Today's image is a new addition to the repertoire of faces. The young Seb Carley. This picture was taken in that obviously photographic hotspot of St.Andrews. We were in the house of a friend of Joe's, a girl named Catherine. We had some bangers and mash to eat and I was wasting some film. The story is not very interesting I know. However when I developed the roll I discovered that a whole bunch of the prints had these big scratch marks across them. Looking at the negative they had also been scratched producing the resultant images. Logical answers abound, linking camera mechanisms and wheels. I however prefer a more Omen type explanation such as that the devil himself took offence to pictures of coffee cups and people at sinks or maybe it was our visiting of an old pagan ceremony centre? Anyway he took enough offence to personally rough up my negatives, not very sportsmanlike if you ask me. Perhaps we had summoned up some demon with the grilling of said bangers and mashing of corresponding potatos. I didn't notice any strange pentagram shaped plate arrangements. However my suspicions were mostly definitely solidified by the news on my return to St.Andrews that the girl had had to move out of the house due to flooding of the basement situated kitchen. Apparently water had been lying there for months. A biblical scene may indeed have arisen if not for crusading plumbers. So in this picture I may have captured something more than just a face but a warning to all eaters of English cuisine. Sha la la di.
The image looks cool with the marks on it but I would have much preferred to have the pristine image and been able to fiddle with it from there. All attempts so far ( = 1) have failed to give a satisfactory repair of the devil's claw. I hope he broke a nail!
Seb looks to me like an academic here. Especially fitting in the university town of St.Andrews. Scarf and specs in clear view. Once again shadows play a big part in adding intrigue. I suppose one of the reasons that these images stand out from your everyday snapshots is because they know what there subjuect is. So many photographs taken just include too much stuff, too much extrenuous bobbins. The trick is to focus the attention and show the viewer what you are looking at, make it obvious. I am sure that is why I can't take landscapes.


The Project

So I also mentioned in my next to last post how I would tell you about how to help in the creation of a new musical phenomenon. Well here goes.... During my last trip to Leicester the usual ramblings and meanderings on song titles and lyrics by myself and Ben Haggar lead to a fabulous idea. I think we should call it hot chocolate musical socialism or such. I was quizing Ben on the rehearsal space which he rents for his own band's meetings. He described the usual space with a set of beat up drums, amplifiers and microphones available at no extra cost. I am always up for recording some unrehearsed piece of musical mayhem so I suggested getting together in this space to record something with Ben. Some how this idea expanded and expanded until the final thought. Why not rent this space for a whole day or like 12 hours and just record a whole album in one day? Our idea of a double concept album is the target, telling the story of a lumberjack's eventual descent to hell through log jams and the river styx. More info will follow on this subject. However the key idea is that we will try and get as many contributions to this project as possible, musically or lyrically or how to develop the story basically anything. Then when the rough idea is sketched out we will all go down to the recording studio (i.e. using computers and 4 tracks etc) to bring the whole thing to reality. I suspect that the major players such as myself and Ben will be there for the whole 12 hours and that other contributors will drop in for sort of cameo appearances and to help record their own contribution. I think that another blog will be necessary to deal seperately with this project so start thinking about ideas and I will let you know what to do with the in the future. Even those people who just want to come along and play the triangle or xylophone will be welcome. I imagine a gigantic percussion section propelling the whole thing! Bong! The sound of Big Ben (no Haggar references meant).
So lyrics, stories, melodies, chord sequences. Go!