The Self-Educated Cinéaste

End of Time betting action

2009-12-27T06:14:05Z

Ten bucks says that Timothy Dalton is the Valeyard.

And now the rest of the End of Time response

2009-12-26T05:08:56Z

OMGWTFGallifrey

Reaction to the Midway Point of "The End of Time Part 1"

2009-12-26T04:40:23Z

OMGWTFTIMOTHYDALTON

Sweet!

2009-12-23T19:48:01Z

As I've mentioned more than a few times here, I've been having a hell of a time getting my movie-reviewing groove back on. The last time I successfully completed a review was in August, which is simply ages in Internet-time. My total review output for 2009 was seven reviews (six for Classic-Horror.com and one for SciFiBlock.com), about one-third my average. I didn't write anything for C-H's annual Shocktober event, typically my writing high-tide.

So it's totally appropriate that when I finally got back on the horse, it was for a movie with a title like Black Dynamite. I went to see this at MADCAP with the visiting coltsbane and it was (mostly) awesome. My review is over at Cinema-Geek (and yes, this makes eight reviews in 2009).

Can you dig it?

Married Now

2009-12-15T16:55:39Z

And it's awesome! True story.

"The Vor Game" - Random Thought

2009-12-09T23:09:29Z

Just finished Chapter 11. I was ready to give up on this book, honestly. The crazy bouncing between Miles's unfortunate deployment, his mutiny, his semi-imprisonment, and his first ImpSec assignment frankly lacked the clean narrative thrust of "The Warrior's Apprentice." Then Gregor showed up, which lead me to stroke my goatee and say, "Iiiinteresting." And then Metzov captured Miles and Gregor and I went, "Brilliant!"

Miles reminds me of the Marvel superhero Longshot. He's blessed with good luck until he attempts to act purely in his own interest -- and then his luck goes amazingly sour.

I wonder if Lois McMaster Bujold believes in karma.

The 2000s Bookended Meme

2009-12-09T20:25:02Z

*Think back to ten years ago on this month.
*Write truthful answers and ELABORATE. This makes it more interesting!
*It's about personal changes. Have fun with it!

Then: December 1999

1. Age: 16

2. Romantic Status: Dating a girl because she wanted to date me.

3. Occupation: High school junior.

4. Fun night out: Dragging my girlfriend to a horror film so I could write about it on my website.

5. My BFFs: Margo Gray, the Speech team.

6. I spent way too much time: Slavishly updating my website.

7. I spent not enough time: Learning social graces.

8. I wanted to be when I grew up: an actor or a novelist.

9. Biggest concern: Why didn't people like me more?

10. What my biggest concern should have been: Liking myself.

11. Where did I live: The attic bedroom in a three-story mansion in Davenport, IA. I had a great view of the Mississippi river. The house was in a constant state of remodeling.

12. Dumbest thing I did that year: They all kind of blend together.

13. If I could go back now and talk to myself I would say: "You're way more awesome than you think."

14. Picture of me then:

No power on Earth. However, you can have a picture of me from roughly 3.5 years later (which is the earliest I can find from the Internets):

Now: December 2009

1. Age: 26

2. Romantic Status: Getting married on Sunday to echan

3. Occupation: Systems Maintenance Engineer at a major web hosting provider.

4. Fun night out: Staying home with a good movie.

5. My BFFs: echan, the Socks, midnightfae, ConHQ.

6. I spend way too much time: Tinkering with my website (some things never change)

7. I spend not enough time: Writing

8. I want to be when I grow up: Anything that pays me to be involved with cinema.

9. Biggest concern: Being respected.

10. What my biggest concern should be: Not overstretching myself.

11. Where do I live: An apartment in downtown Phoenix

12. Dumbest thing I have done this year: Mishandled a personal situation.

13. What I think I would say to myself in 10 years: "Dude, we invented TIME TRAVEL."

14. Picture of me now:

Summary:

1. What do I miss most from 1999: Performing for Speech team.

2. What do I miss least from 1999: Feeling isolated.

3. What have I accomplished in 10 years that I am most proud of: I like myself most of the time. Also, I kept up with Classic-Horror this whole time.

4. What have I NOT accomplished in 10 years that I wish I had: Didn't finish college.

It's For the Br... Okay, it's for the Groom

2009-12-07T22:40:24Z

Does anybody know of good fanvids or fannish music videos set to either Elton John's "Your Song" or the standard "They Can't Take That Away from Me"? Edit: Or a similar jazz standard.

Let me 'splain. No, there is too much. Let me sum up:

Late last night while putting the finishing touches on the reception playlist (well, the content, not the actual order), I discovered that there's very little in the way of songs that lend themselves to slow dancing or even slow-to-moderate dancing (except the First Dance which is kind of restricted to echan and I). Given that wedding receptions are great for making people feel all romantic and whatnot, this seems wrong to me.

However, my search for another song is somewhat complicated by the fact that we're doing a video reception -- that is, there will be a fanvid, music video, or other visual element for every song (this also means that Blister in the Sun is cut ridiculously short, much to my chagrin). The two songs above seem the best picks. Worst case scenario, I can cull the related musical numbers from Moulin Rouge and Shall We Dance? but I'd prefer something a bit more fannish.

Brief Thought on "The Warrior's Apprentice"

2009-12-01T19:52:33Z

Note to self: never, ever let Miles Vorkosigan plan my family reunion.

Also, the second that Miles ever thinks anything along the lines of "no harm, no foul," he should run screaming. For a man so damned good at putting together a mercenary fleet by accident, he does seem to have massive fail whenever he does the active plotting thing.

New Vid: Boris Karloff - Frontier Psychiatrist

2009-11-30T20:32:46Z

Title: Boris Karloff: Frontier Psychiatrist
Author: Jetpack Monkey
Song: The Avalanches - Frontier Psychatrist
Fandom: Classic horror movies

Summary: Starting with The Man They Could Not Hang, Columbia released four mad scientist films starring Boris Karloff in an eighteen-month period between 1939 and 1941. The other films in the series were The Man with Nine Lives, Before I Hang, and The Devil Commands. As a tribute, I created a short video to illustrate the general shared tone of the films and their similarities in structure, casting, theme, and direction.

The song I chose, The Avalanches' Frontier Psychiatrist, is constructed from audio clips and samples from previously recorded materials. I picked this song in particular because it calls attention to the fact that the Columbia Mad Scientist series was itself constructed from "used" parts, taking elements from Karloff's past successes in films like The Man Who Changed His Mind, The Invisible Ray, and even The Walking Dead.

Direct Youtube Link

Notes: This vid was created as Classic-Horror.com's contribution to the Boris Karloff Blogathon over at Frankensteinia, which is why my real name appears in the vid's opening credits.

Took Long Enough...

2009-11-13T20:01:23Z

I've finally had a Glee vidbunny. Not my usual style, either. *ponders*

In other news, I still need Glee icons.

To Answer the Question

2009-11-03T02:45:50Z

Been getting poked a bit about where Erin & I are registered, so here it is:

http://www.amazon.com/wedding

Fun!

Amusing Distraction

2009-10-27T05:37:59Z

Comment with a song, a fandom, or both. From the comments, I will take the song and fandom combination that amuses/inspires me the most (providing I have the source, obv.) and make a quickie vid.

Go.

mysterious

2009-10-17T08:05:44Z

Huge news. HUGE. Massive. Hugely massive.

Which I can't tell you about now.

But it's awesome.

I will reveal all soon. Later.

CAR! ... GAME ON!

2009-10-14T00:41:06Z

I'll make a more comprehensive post on the State of the Nate soon (tonight, probably, while avoiding doing my Shocktober reviews), but I have some very good news.

I have a car

Or, more accurately, I will have a car starting Thursday. You see, my mom enters this raffle every year where the tickets are $100 each and the prizes are insanely cool. Last week she found out that, for the first time ever, she actually won something -- a new car. What kind of car doesn't matter, because she's trading it in for two used ones (one for her and one for her husband). The upshot for me is that I get her old 1999 Chevy Cavalier, which is in pretty good condition and should serve me well enough for tooling around town.

This is a great increase over my previous situation of not having a car and bumming a ride or asking people to pick me up from the light rail station every time I went to Tempe or Mesa.

Short version: Woot! CAR!

What the EFF, Dreamhost?

2009-10-06T21:18:14Z

My dad's website (which I designed and do some admin work on) has been going up and down, up and down all day. The Dreamhost control panel tells me that the site's directory doesn't exist, nor does its Apache configuration, which I could buy if the site wasn't working half the time. Also (this is a Drupal site), when you go to any of the "hard-coded" pages ("admin", "blog", etc.), you get a 404 error. Makes no flipping sense.

Also, it keeps rejecting my FTP password.

No idea what's going on, but I am not pleased.

iPod Touch

2009-09-29T19:39:58Z

My new iPod Touch is completely awesome. I can use it as a remote control for iTunes on my MacBook Pro. I can keep track of my calendar. I can browse the web. I can check my email. I finally found a use for those silly Digital Copy discs that come with my Blu-rays. I can find discounts and coupons close to me using Greg Grunberg's Yowza!!

It apparently plays music as well.

The only real downside is that, not being an iPhone, all the 'net functionality is dependent on being in range of a wifi hub.

I Have Arrived!

2009-09-22T18:13:32Z

A non-roommate, non-vidder has requested a vid from me. A classic movies vid.

It's official. I am an awesome vidder.

Senator Al Franken Draws the United States from Memory

2009-09-20T17:28:37Z

This is the Coolest Thing Ever (For Today, Anyway):

grumble

2009-09-16T00:18:56Z

Apparently, my life is a big snob. When it is made of fail, it must be made of 24-karat fail.

*headdesk* *repeatedly*

o_O

2009-09-15T07:17:43Z

I don't know which is the more traumatizing event of my evening: going to the emergency room for stitches on my finger or seeing my stepfather's naked ass.

Feeling a Bit Bored

2009-09-14T22:03:30Z

Not that I don't have a lot to do, but it's not exactly taking up a load of brainspace.

So, I give you the opportunity to know more about the weirdness that is me. Ask any question about me or my opinions (fannish, silly, personal) in the comments and I will answer.

To-Doom

2009-09-02T19:23:36Z

I am moving in less than a week and while I started the packing process early, I feel like I am hopelessly behind. Good thing there's a three-day weekend.

Sort through the mess of my office. Separate into "pack", "toss" and "donate" piles (some stuff going to Goodwill, other stuff to the THEM Library).
Do the same for the bedroom and living room.
Take down the rest of the posters.
Do the dishes.
Do a massive laundry run.
Pack kitchen.
Pack clothes/linens/towels.
Pack the junk drawer.
Pack the "pack" pile in my office, bedroom, and living room.
Get the items I'm donating to their proper recipients.
Take out the garbage several times over.
Try to remain functional at work. Try.
Pack remaining DVDs.
Pack bathroom.

I'm probably forgetting something. Oh well.

I Have Too Much Stuff

2009-09-01T06:56:36Z

That is all.

*collapses from packing*

So This is Me

2009-08-19T18:04:45Z

So this post is largely for Vividcon folks who may be thinking to themselves, "Who was that exceptionally tall man with the vague resemblance to David Tennant?" Here's the facts:

Me. Hi.

My name is Nate. As of this last weekend, because fandom is like that, I can be called "Jetpack" with no ill effects. I blame jarrow. I'm a member of Apocalypse West. My girlfriend, echan, vids with the House of Torres. I made my first vid (a Angel & Spike crack!vid set to Wonder Boy by Tenacious D) in a demo version of Sony Vegas all the way back in 2004. Then I stopped for four years until I made the leap to a Macbook Pro in 2008. At that point I started vidding like a madperson. Everything except my VVC premieres can be found at MonkeysWithJetpacks.com.

I consider myself a student of film, although it's largely a self-education. I adore horror movies and musicals, science fiction novels, Doctor Who, Monty Python, monkeys with jetpacks (duh), great cinema, lord king bad movies, pointless banter about non-essential topics, PHP, Drupal, Gregory Peck's left eyebrow, and McFarland Books. I firmly believe that the real hero of the Evil Dead movies is the Chin and that After Hours and Josie and the Pussycats are highly underrated films. My slash goggles are set to high but I have no specific interest in slash -- I prefer gen or friendship. I don't have a lot of patience for the willfully ignorant. As a librarian's son, I have a tendency to exist in the extremes of massively organized and completely disarrayed, with very few in-betweens.

I'm learning that the most selfish thing I can do is fail to put my own needs first. I suffer from an inferiority complex about my superiority complex. I have the best friends in the world. No, better.

I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up.