There was a hole here once ... but now it's gone ...

The other day, I was singing in my car and perfected my Violent Femmes impression.

So now I add the lead singer of the Violent Femmes to my Ian Curtis, Dennis DeYoung, Brandon Flowers, Morrissey, and Paul Banks impressions.

Woot for screwing around with my voice enough to sound like different people! Lol, yeesh.

I've always felt I would make a kick-ass front man for a band. I'd like to try that at some point. That should be a goal. To sing lead vocals in a band at least once in my life. Even karaoke would do, really, but only if it was a song I dig.

I should've gone into voice acting. All these accents and voice changing skills only lead to two avenues: International super spy or voice actor.

In closing, here is Mark Hamill and Kevin Conroy doing their Joker and Batman voices, respectively.

And there was a time and a place for things, and neither of which are now or here ...

I have recently begun playing this game. And I have also begun thinking about groups I would like to join.

I don't know where my obsession with the supernatural (not a real obsession, if I'm honest, more like a passing one that fuels my creativity in ways unimaginable) comes from these days. Sitting in my office, at night, listening to Akira Yamaoka's "Theme Of Laura" from Silent Hill 2: Restless Dreams (you really owe it to yourself to watch that trailer) always seems to wake up that creepy stirring in my heart.

I love horror. Good, old-fashioned, Victorian-era ghost stories, 70's-era slasher films, modern-day J-Horror, and of course, good, old-fashioned, American-style frightfests.

I remember reading a quote by Richard Matheson saying that though he didn't believe in the stuff himself, it never prevented him from writing about it. I guess horror and science fiction holds so many possibilities to expand on one's imagination and move out of a comfort zone that it's hard to not want to partake in the genre.

Scary stuff is good. Very good. The world is full of horrific violence and tragedies, yet, so many look to entertainment as a form of escapism, which is what entertainment, literature, film, whatever, that's what it's for. To provide an escape.

Horror movies and stories are always pooped on by everyone for being base and low-brow, however; I never felt that way. I always wore my badge of honor for horror flicks and stories.

Horror movies are blamed for violence every day in our society. I say boo to that. Unhinged individuals committing murders are no more influenced by pop culture than government officials influenced by classic war films.

The frustrations of game development, chapter 1: Knee Deep In Singapore ...

Just recently, a video game I worked on, Avalis Dungeon, was released on the XBOX 360. Gamers have given it a solid 4/5 rating, whereas on-line reviews and word has not been kind. Totally understandable, the game is interesting, has great artwork, but overall, it's the first entry to a larger story, so I fully understand why people may be frustrated by the lack of character and overall story development.

Or whatever.

That said, I receive the analytics from the dude who hired me, a very level-headed Frenchman named Louis. Every day, I pour over the sales results of the game I was lucky enough to work on, and while the game itself seems to be selling pretty well (priced at 240 Microsoft points, the equivelent of three actual dollars) with one notable country not purchasing more than one copy.

Singapore. How is this possible? Anime-inspired graphics, an over-the-top, highly sexualized story and characters not selling in a country known for cleanliness and censorship?

Certainly this is an abberation.

One sale in Singapore. I salute you, one man who plays Avalis Dungeon. I salute you, mightily. Thank you for buying our game. You may not even be a man. You may be a woman. Still, thank you for buying our game. Spread the word. I get ten percent of the game's sales.

The Internet is A Coal Mine And I Get Dirtier Every Day ...

Every day I scour the internet for writing jobs. Something. Anything that will help to pay the bills, for, mind you, I am an unemployed writer.

I'm actively seeking the following kind of job that may or may not exist:

Writed/Editor - Long Island Office


Requirements: Must know the words to "Baker Street" by Gerry Raferty, can recite every line of Ghostbusters, with proper inflection, must love David Fincher, must have a working knowledge of how the Flux Capacitor works ("It makes time travel possible ..." will suffice), must love animals, Bachelor's in English.

I've been writing every day for the various blogs and news sites I "work" for, but at the same time, I'm not really seeing any money, or, at least, I'm not seeing any money yet.

My fiance' laid down the law last night that if I don't get my shit together within four months, I may no longer have a fiance'.

Added pressure on top of pressure to lose weight (I've lost 24 or 25 pounds thus far, in about two weeks), bills, and pressure about moving into my future (potential) in-laws' apartment in their house, all makes me feel super-stressed and nervous and generally unsure about most things.

Except the fact that I can write. I write my ass off every day. For next to nothing. I have projects I know I'll see a payday from, but as of right now, I have nothing.

In the months to come, I may not even have a fiance'.

Daddy want sushi!

Me want sushi. Right now. Me demand sushi!

In all seriousness, this looks like a dream come true. I want a tower of sushi.

Look at this handsome chef. He's proud of his sushi art. If I was standing before him and this was presented to me, I would remove my monocle, smile, bow, and devour the entire plate.

This movie looks so perfect I may cry while watching it ...

Submarine

Directed By

Richard Ayoade, one of my heroes.

This must be seen! Now the quest to find a theatre showing it begins!

Inspiring Confidence ...

So the other day, my future bride and I were at a local Best Buy, and in the parking lot, I noticed this. A fire extinguisher placed on the passenger side windshield area.

Is this a normal thing?

Peeking into the car, I noticed there were some wires and whatnot hanging out of the stereo area, possibly NOS? Then again, why would it be in the stereo area?

Suffice to say, should you or a loved one find yourselves in the passenger-side seat of this car, I would heartily recommend gripping tightly to the fire extinguisher, as this does not inspire confidence in not blowing up.