Superman Returns
6/30/2006
Superman Returns, and it's a let down for me.
I'm not surprised. Regardless of the hype and seemingly planted 10-star reviews on IMDB, I still have very little faith in Bryan Singer's ability to create substance and depth with his films. After the fantastic, gritty Batman Begins, I was expecting something a little meaty and poignant. What I witnessed tonight was a popcorn movie that I will forget in two or three days.
I loved Brandon Routh's performance, thought Lois Lane was cute but miscast, enjoyed Spacey as a somewhat darker Lex Luthor, loved Frank Langella as Perry. All the elements were there... expensive production, excellent SFX, good cast, but it doesn't hold up very well - it's all over the place with no solid center, exactly my impression with other Bryan Singer films.
Lex's evil plan is pretty dumb, though it does look cool with 3D glasses. I don't enjoy the messianic overtones to Superman's character as insinuated into this film. It lends Superman an arrogance and self-importance that doesn't become him. He's also portrayed as a peeping tom, which creeped me out a little. I know all of these things have been touched upon in the comics, but they are also the reasons Superman isn't my overall favorite Underwear Pervert.
Much like everthing else I've seen directed by Bryan Singer, there is a lot of eye candy without a lot of character substance. It fails as an homage to the original film. It's more of the same from Hollywood, a mind-numbing romp through familiar territory. If it could have been half as good as Batman Returns or Spider Man, I would have been satisfied.
Superman's Return could have been much better in the hands of a more creative and capable director. Unfortunatley, because of the apparent success of this film at the box office, we will probably be subjected to more of the same emptyheaded crap in the future. I'm crossing my fingers that Bryan Singer doesn't get his fingers on other comic characters I admire!
posted by Edward Svengali @ Friday, June 30, 2006,
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A Live Novachild Weekend
6/18/2006
Played a live set at 818 (a swanky Martini Bar)Friday night. What a great place! I loved the atmosphere, the sizable crowd, the free gin and also managed to put some faces to names I've met on myspace. Met DJ Nutter and DJ Astral Landscapes; both were extremely kind and 'in the zone,' if you will. The crowd was enthusiastic and warm, and the drinks were aplenty. Pauly Hart graced the stage with his wonderful didjeridoo, and DJ Astral Landscapes also put him in the mix!
Played Gypsy Saturday night - nearly 2 hours straight - againwith Pauly Hart on Didjeridoo, djembe and vocalisms, and Basira on djembe. Small, enthusiastic audience! I met some lovely people who discovered me on myspace; They took these pictures but they came out just a little blurry. Still, I have some nice photographic evidence of a wonderful weekend :)
If anybody has pics of FRIDAY NIGHT, please email them to me at maximumhong at gmail dot com. Thanks.
As you can see, no fancy lights this time. Just the glow of candles and the shine of my LCD monitor. LOL
L2R: Novachild, Pauly, BasiraI also sold a sizable number of my new CDs, so I'm quite happy about that. I'm eager to see what happens next. Play more shows. Make more new music :)
If you want one of my new CDs, the "Weary Demons EP,"you can purchase one online or you can meet me at any of my shows.
NEW TRACK: A brand new Novachild composition is now live on my profile. Check it out and spread the word.
Keep on the lookout (here and at myspace) for new shows, other projects, and special messages.
Over and out...
Novachild
posted by novachild @ Sunday, June 18, 2006,
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NEW EP: Weary Demons
6/15/2006
This EP is a collection of material from the years 2004-2006. It's the first official Novachild release since Traveller was issued in early 2004. The beats are subtle and the texture is moody, deconstructed and minimalistic, just what you would expect from Novachild. "Weary Demons" also contains the infamous Novachild soundtrack titled "Good Night Guyana," a 10-minute mood piece woven around an actual recording of the last minutes of Jim Jones and the People's Temple in Guyana (Jonestown). This is an early take of the 'soundtrack' and will not be available anywhere else in the future.I will be offering this at future Novachild live performances as well as my performances with Jonas Adrian. If you can't make it to a show, you can buy it online via PayPal using the link below. It's $6.66 + Shipping to the United States. If you are outside of the US, please contact me with your information at bruce at novachild dot com and I will calculate shipping.
The proceeds of this EP will go to founding my own malevolent religious cult. :)
BUY "WEARY DEMONS EP" ONLINE
posted by novachild @ Thursday, June 15, 2006,
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ValleySchwag 2
6/02/2006
Yes, I'm a collector of pointless things. To add to my obsession, I've subscribed to ValleySchwag, a service that sends random swag from Silicon Valley every month.
For $15 US, this is what my package contained:
- A hip little Rubyred Labs Tee Shirt
- Some Goatse stickers
- Feedburner Sticker
- EFF Sticker
- Abazab Temporary Tattoo
- PerplexCity Card Pack
- Riya Sticker
- Ventureblog Sticker
All neatly wrapped inside a piece of stenciled burlap. My wife didn't like the burlap; the particles kept falling into the air and getting into her eyes. I won't miss it, really, though it is rather charming.
While I'm somewhat disappointed that I didn't receive a second tee (as other members received), and I didn't get a hat or even a keychain, I'm still reasonably happy with what they sent and will continue to subscribe. The shirt and goatse stickers alone are worth the wait. And my wife is going to really dig PerplexCity. The stickers all went on my box, and when I can snap a picture of them I'll post them here (note to self: get a damn camera). I had a LOT of fun figuring out where the Goatse stickers would go.
Because I don't own a camera, you'll just have to look at the schwag others received to see the kinds of stuff they send out. If you're geeky and desperate enough for this kind of treasure, check out Valleyschwag.com.
Here are links to other's pics of VS2:
Some Flikr Photos
Sunfire.net
Hopefully they will now deputize me and send me cooler, better stuff in the future :) Hint hint nudge nudge wink wink.
Lastly, if anybody knows of any other services like this, let me know.
posted by Edward Svengali @ Friday, June 02, 2006,
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I'm Not Modest. I'll be 32 in 12 Days!
6/01/2006
I woke up this morning wondering if this year's birthday will be any less significant than last year. Then I remembered the party I'm having at Saffron on June 13. Live music. Silliness. All my friends and lots of family too.
Yeah, it's going to be fun. If you want to come, leave me a comment and I'll be sure to send invites (don't assume I have your email address).
I've been dealing with the whole modesty thing. 'Should I ask for gifts?' Historically, when I don't ask for presents, people show up with cards and cash or something relatively generic. They say things like "I wanted to get you something, but I don't know what you want!" So cash is given, and gift certificates, and strange things that I simply cannot confess to not really liking (though it's the thought that counts), or things that I really will never use.
Well, this year I say TO HELL with buying into the taboo. I do like receiving gifts on my birthday, and yes, I have suggestions for all of you who are interested in getting me something. Check out my Amazon Wish List on the bottom right of the links section of my journal. With so many things to pick from, it's doubtful I'll get the same thing twice.
So there. The cat's out of the bag. No sense in being modest about it. Everybody likes getting free stuff on their birthday. Including me.
If you're far away and want to mail something, send me an email to maximumhong at gmail dot com. I'll send you an address to ship it to.
Cheers!
posted by Edward Svengali @ Thursday, June 01, 2006,
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