Upcoming STS Film: Ashes of Man

I just finished the script to my third movie! It's called Ashes of Man.  Now the fun begins: picking out a cast and crew.

Ashes of Man is intended to be Stranger Things Studios’ third movie. However, it is quite an undertaking.  I’m estimating it at 8-12 minutes when all is said and done.  It’ll be shot in roughly 11 outdoors locations, 4 indoor locations, plus dozens of setting shots throughout the cities. 

Smurf 'Srooms

Who remembers the Smurfs?!  Little blue guys.  Lived in a mushroom village?  Sang that “La. La. La la. La. La. / La. la La. La la…” song.

What was that show even about? 

I’ve thought about it for awhile now, and it doesn’t make sense.  The Smurfs live in their little grove, rarely branching out, just minding their own business.  Meanwhile, in a nearby castle is an evil man named Gargamel, who’s sole purpose in life seems to be to capture, cook, and kill the Smurfs… 

And that’s it.

Dark Santa

*NOT FOR KIDS*

It is often thought that when a vampire is slain, its minions perish as well.  That is why the Prince of Darkness, the father vampire, the first of its kind, is both feared and hunted.  Should he be slain, the world would be free of their menace.

Yet, Dracula is dead.  Abraham Van Helsing intercepted his coffin on its way back to Transylvania, opened it, and drove a stake through the creature’s heart. Why then are vampires still feared?  They cannot exist without  the father vampire still roaming the earth.

Unless Dracula was not the first of the vampires…

Glass at Half

Half empty or half full?  That’s the question, right?

It’s half empty. 

I’m glad I could clear that up for everyone. I hope we can all move on now.

Chicken or Egg?.... What?  Oh, you want me to defend myself.

Fine.  You’re at a restaurant.  Does your drink ever show up half full?  No.  Does it show up half empty?  No.  It shows up full, and you drink it until it’s gone.  At some point, it’s half empty. 

Its all about direction.  If you’re filling the glass up, then sure, there is a moment in which it is half full.  But by the time you’re staring at the glass, pondering the question, you’ve already finished half of it.  It was full.  It’s on its way down because you’re drinking it.  So halfway is half empty.

Monthly Scoop: December 2011

It snowed the night before last, and it doesn’t look like it’s going to melt this time.  It’s also December.  I would say that makes it officially winter.  I would also say that makes it time for the Monthly Scoop!

Really, the only thing that has been on the radar all last month, and has become my focus going into this month is Stranger Things Studios.

If you haven’t gotten a chance to watch it yet, the Extra Life 2011 video is up on YouTube.  It’s not technically a Stranger Things production, but seeing how STS is me, and I did it, it kind of landed in that gray area.  Anyways, it’s a documentary of a 24-hour video game marathon that my charity team, the Fat Chance Heroes, did.

When A Little Bit of Muscle made it onto YouTube, it was banned in Germany due to copyright material - namely, because I used part of “American Woman” by the Guess Who. 

So, when I first uploaded Extra Life 2011, I fully expected a banned list because I used a Daft Punk song.  I was actually kind of excited to see what countries were going to pop up this time.  I don’t know, there’s something about being banned that feels a little prestigious… well, that’s what I thought before I looked at the list:

Welcome to Online Gamer: 101

I’ve only been to one foreign country, and if you’re over 25, you’ll understand exactly what I mean.  I’m talking about the on-line video game world - that place filled with the disembodied consciousness of minds ranging from age 7 to 87. 

If you’re looking for a good anthropological study,  immersing yourself in their world is the perfect social experience.  The ability to unplug from the matrix at any point, mixed with the high degree of anonymity, allows everybody the ability to become an entirely different person.  I know most of the gamers are from the same physical country as I am, and more often than not speak the same language, but their culture is as foreign to a newcomer as I imagine landing in Russia would be.

That’s not to say that there isn’t order.   There is certainly a social etiquette, as well as things considered taboo, all of which vary depending on the type of game you’re playing.  

In general, I find you are judged by both your behavior and your skill; and when you are judged, it is to the extreme.  There is very little middle ground.  Every time you sign in, you are with new people, and they will judge you.  Every few games, the player base rotates, and you are again with new people, and they will judged all over again.