Dianne... The Black Lodge sucks

First, let me apologize for my absence from the blog; while I could go on making up excuses for why I've bailed when I explicitly said I wouldn't, I've decided to just start doing what I've come here to do, and that is to write about shit that most people probably don't even care about, and wait to see how many people read it, only to be disappointed by that low, low number. So, here we go. 

I've been in a heavy "Twin Peaks mood" lately, and while I'm tempted to watch the series for a 3rd time, the show carries something of a bitter sweet memory for me. Meeting Coop and the residents of Twin Peaks is something I wouldn't want to go through life without having done, and I recommend everyone watches the show at least once, but I cannot get over how it ended. Do you have to put a spoiler alert for a show that ended over 20 years ago?

*************SPOILER ALERT**************

I know, I know. People will try to act like they "understand" the reasoning behind the ending of the series, and that it's "better that way" with Cooper's uncertain fate, but those people can fuck off. Sure, a lot of stories got tied up by the end of the series, but what the hell happens to Cooper!? Then, that prick David Lynch makes a prequel/sequel movie, but does it clear up the ending at all? Nope. More ambiguity concerning Cooper's demise/triumph. That doesn't sit well with me. Well, Laura Palmer (her father killed her (I said spoilers)) said that Agent Dale Cooper would be stuck in The Black Lodge for "25 years," which should be coming up right around now. What a better time to start gearing up for a TV return to that wonderful little town that we (me and 4 other people) all love?

Well, about 6 months back, there were actually rumors that this would be the case. I was all set to throw on a fresh pot of coffee and book my room at the Great Northern, but I've just read that there will indeed be no proper ending to this story. In a day and age when we have about 6 different "Real Housewife" shows, Netflix exclusive series are booming, and shows that borrow directly from Twin Peaks are thriving, it makes no sense to me that there will be no third and final season. I guess I just don't get the entertainment business. 

It just doesn't seem fair; that's not regarding me (okay, it is; I'm selfish and I want my damn ending), it's for all of those people out there who have never experienced this wonderful show at all and probably never will, and for them, I feel truly sorry. They will never see Bobby Briggs go from a rebellious kid, to a young man who gains his fathers respect, or Ben Horne lose his mind and pretend his in the Civil War, or James and his terrible, terrible singing, or Audrey actually find love, or Norma turning into a silent drapes-superhero. Or Big Ed, Andy and Lucy, The Man From Another Place? Has anyone ever played a better cross-dresser than David Duchovny? How about that old guy who keeps giving Coop a thumbs-up? I nearly pissed myself. 

Well, that's all from me for tonight; it looks like I'm gonna watch some Twin Peaks after all... right after I get this damn fish out of the percolator. 

what's been keeping me from getting any work done

So, I've been distracted by various forms of media as of late, and since I've decided to be more consistently productive, I figured I'd make those distractions tonight's topic. 

First, since the world of mixed martial arts is so fast changing, I'd like to get that out of the way; how the hell have I not talked about the "punch heard 'round the world" as some martial arts reporters are calling it. Chris Weidman, who, I will admit, I said hadn't beaten nearly enough contenders on his way to the title, beat the champ, Anderson Silva. Looking back 2 Saturdays ago, it still doesn't seem believable. Not to rain on anyone's parade, but I can't help but think that Silva severely underestimated his opponent that night. Fortunately, a rematch has officially been set; December 28th, if I'm not mistaken. Even if Silva regains, I can't help but feel like such an unnecessary blemish was put on such an immaculate record. Also, I've since found this show, The Tommy Toe Hold Show, on YouTube, and I highly recommend it to anyone who follows MMA, especially if you're looking for a laugh.

I know it's been a good while since the game was released, but I've been playing Resident Evil 6 lately, and I'd like to rant about that for a bit. As everyone already knows for themselves, the game overall is extremely underwhelming. At times, it's a chore to play, but that's what's so upsetting to me about the game, because it isn't all that bad at its core. There are a few solid improvements made in the gameplay areas over its predecessors, and the story isn't all that terrible, but then you have these idiotic chase scenes, awful, wacky camera angles, and a terrible weapon control system. I'm not so hot on the "Skills" either. After playing through a bit, I find myself yearning for the days of being able to control and customize my own load out, upgrading and carrying whichever guns I felt like. Would that have been such a crazy thing to carry over? I've been able to overlook the glaring lack of alternate costumes, something that made replaying the game just a bit more fun, and something that seems like it could have been done, even with the damage progression throughout the game (see Tomb Raider). While most people are quick to discount the game in its entirety, I find myself more disappointed by those few missteps and wishing for what could have been. 

Onto something more positive; I was watching The Avengers this weekend, for the third or fourth time, and I find myself loving it just as much as the first time. It's undoubtedly a masterpiece, and it really is perfect in every single way; every line, every reference, every move, every scene. While I wasn't too familiar with Whedon's work before seeing The Avengers, it's safe to say I deeply admire his work now. After seeing Iron Man 3, I made the statement that I thought it might have actually been better than The Avengers, but now, I'm not so sure. IM3 is without a doubt a great film, easily the best of the year, but it's hard to top perfection. 

We've covered games, movies, sports (well, sport, since I only really care about one), so I guess it's onto television. 666 Park Avenue is a show that, despite having its flaws (not all too exciting from the start), I feel was wrongly canceled. Here, a show with such potential, something any Twin Peaks fans out there should definitely check out, has oddly suffered a similar fate. Am I that much in the minority of viewers that a show like that can't thrive? Are we really outnumbered by the folks that watch some of that garbage that spews through the tube and into their living rooms? Anyway, getting a bit off topic there. The season finale aired last night, and I can't help but feel that we were robbed out of a much better, proper ending, as the show was rewritten to give more closure to viewers. While I was doing a bit of reading up, I read that apparently, a deal with Hulu or Netflix to continue the series was proposed, but fell through, further pushing a proper ending out of our reach. What's a guy gotta do to get John Locke back on TV?

Also (music), the new Panic! At The Disco song sucks ass. 

BC

inconsistent

So, I've come to the realization that I've been growing more and more lazy with this blog, which is the exact opposite effect I wanted it to have. Instead of getting my ideas out, I've been keeping them in my head, hiding them from ever seeing the light of my computer screen. There are a lot of projects and ideas that I have in my head, but it seems like I just don't have enough time/energy/enthusiasm to tackle them all.

A few of scripts (one for a game, one for a movie, one for a short film), a bi-weekly (or is it bi-monthly? Does anyone know which means every two weeks?) story posted to relyonhorror.com, a novel I've been working on for a while but just haven't gotten around to finishing. Then there are other things going ideas going around in my head; reading more from House of Leaves (which is awesome, by the way), writing that survival horror comparison/review article about Tomb Raider, submitting that children's book entry for that contest. Then, not to mention the fact that I need to be filling out job applications, so I can find a way to start bringing in some real money again. All of that, and the only thing I've really managed to do in these past few weeks is take a nap. 

Sure, I can make the excuse that Steph is home for the summer and I'm spending as much time with her as I can, which is true, but there's something more to it. Part of me is afraid to start diving into these ideas, overwhelmed at the thought of the amount of work it's going to take to make them come to life, let alone the thought of any of them failing. So, I hide my anxiety in these excuses, but I'm tired of hiding. I'm tired of being inconsistent. Maybe updating this blog will be the first step. 

BC

venting frustration

I'm sure there's lots of times in life where people feel under appreciated. I've felt it before, but I'm not sure it's ever been to the degree that I feel it right now. I've taken time away from my other projects to volunteer for a site, wanting to make it better and help them succeed. For the third time now, I come across a conversation on our group page that's basically so obvious that they are complaining about me, that they might as well have tagged me in it. 

Here's the truth; instead of getting my own name out there, I figured my time would be better off spent correcting the vast amount of grammar and spelling mistakes that make the site come off as amateurish. Where =/= were, even if you spell it that way 6 times in one article. 

The fact of the matter is, they complain about not being able to get their stuff out to more people, but I'd be embarrassed to have someone read that. I'd be fucking embarrassed to put my name on that work and call it my own. There is no way in hell a few of them even give it a second read, and how can you have pride in your work when you're basically just regurgitating some information, not even able to be bothered to look over it before serving it up to your readers? So, my efforts to help make them look better, like professionals, is met with ungrateful whining about "some people" (obviously, me) not pulling their weight. I spend more time wading through the shit swamp that is their writing in one day than they spend writing articles all week... or at least, I'd hope so, considering how poorly written some of them are. 

On top of that, my new article goes up, and unlike every single other article that gets shared (some even get shared twice...) on our Facebook page, mine, and only mine, gets skipped completely. Not on Twitter, not on Facebook. It reminds me of that promo that CM Punk cut when his contract was expiring and he was giving his reason for leaving, which was, surprise surprise, BEING UNDER-APPRECIATED. He's not on the commercial, he's not on the opener, he's not on the program, he's not on your stupid 7/11 cups. I'm not on your Facebook or Twitter, even though I bust my ass as much as, or more than, anyone else. As I've mentioned before, instead of being selfish and getting my own name out there, I'm editing; when I post something, I'd like it to be given to the same audience that everyone else gets the privilege to have.

Anyway, it's too early to be this angry/frustrated/disappointed, so I will leave this now. Thanks for letting me vent, and hopefully, I won't have to deal with this same issue again, for one reason or another. 

BC

first mobile post

So, as the title indicates, this is my first post from my mobile device using the Blogger app. It's been over a week since my last post, and I must attribute that to spending all of my free time reading House of Leaves. 

It's truly an amazing book so far; Mark Danielewski has a brilliant mind. It's such a fascinating read, not to mention the ending of the fifth chapter is one of the very few times that I've gotten the chills from reading. The build up to that chapter was so well planned and led to such a perfect ending. At points, it had me wondering "okay, what the hell doesn't any of this matter?" only to make me eat my words at the end, when I realized it was all worth it. From that point on, I fully put my trust in this story. 

Unfortunately, I can't say that fully putting my trust in a story hasn't backfired on me before; the TV show, Dexter, for instance. While I will argue that the first few seasons were some of the best television you can find, these last three have been rather lackluster, and it kind of seems like the trend will continue with this eighth and final season. The twist at the end of the episode was compelling, sure, but for most of the episode, I was bored. Nothing felt new, and everything felt like a heavily diluted version of what it once was. I want to like this season, and this show deserves to go out with a bang, but I'm not entirely sure if I can put my trust in it again, and the premiere did little to ease my suspicions. 

I came across an interesting revelation today; as some people may know, I've been looking for a new job for some time, and I'm looking for something to do with writing. As fewer people know, my ultimate goal is to one day be able to make a living on writing video games. So, for shits and gigs, I went on indeed.com and searched for something along the lines of "video game writing." I was pretty shocked when I saw a listing for TellTale games (the makers of the 2012 Game of the Year, The Walking Dead), looking for storyline writers. I was absolutely stunned when I realized that a degree wasn't required. Instead, 2 samples of my writing, in script form, were required. That's it. But I don't have any scripts. I've never thought about writing anything in a script format. Sure, there was also the fact that the job was in California, but that's a minor detail to achieve one's dream. For once, I feel like I don't have time and the lack of money holding me back from reaching this. Just two damn scripts. Well, I guess you all know what I'll be doing for the next few weeks. 

BC