It's now the end of a hectic Halloween weekend. I didn't really do much, but there was still plenty going on. I decided since it is Halloween that I wanted to watch some scary movies. As an adult, Halloween has been more about parties than anything else. So this year, partially due to how tired I am because of my busy schedule, I made my decision to only attend one party over the weekend. This made room for two nights of movies.
I first saw House at the Guild, a little independent theater in Albuquerque. They show a lot of independent, foreign and unusual films. It's really hard to describe House. The story is about seven schoolgirls who go to stay with one of the girls' Aunt for a vacation. What they don't know is that the Aunt is actually a monster that eats young girls, which makes her stronger. That is about the only thing straight forward that can be said. Everything else about the movie is so far out and wacky that you just have to see it to believe it. It is described as "fantasy horror," but it is nothing like a traditional horror film. Every camera trick imaginable is used for a series of crazy effects. The girls are named based on their personality traits (Gorgeous, Sweet, Fantasy, Melody, Kung Fu, Prof and Mac). There are dancing skeletons, furniture that eats people and a cat that seems to be responsible for everything. The film itself might not make a lot of sense, but it is great fun. If you appreciate original cinema (as opposed to all of the remakes and reimaginings and sequels these days), then do yourself a favor and experience House.
#4...1/3. Animate three Lumkins cartoons
The Lumkins is an orignal comic strip written by my good friend Matthew Kelly. I have been telling him I'd like to animate them as a little side project, and I have pretty much completed the first one. I have asked him to provide a score, and I will probably add a short title sequence and credits. For now I just want to share the animation. The Lumkins are aliens who have come to Earth in search of butter. Their mannerisms and understanding of life around them is very child like. Below is my first Lumkins animation, based on the comic strip Lumkins #3.
#15...Own a specialized camera
Last week I invested in something I've been wanting for a while, a fish eye camera from Lomography. Lomography is a company that specializes in unique and retro analog cameras. In a digital world, this has become something of a cult hobby. The world of Lomography customers is very diverse and interactive. People worldwide share the photos they capture with the Lomography community. My girlfriend is the reason I found out about Lomography and she has a few of their cameras. The fish eye is my first, and I look forward to experimenting with it. I just took my first roll of film (remember what that is?) over the Halloween weekend, and now I need to get it developed (that's right, I can't just plug it into my computer). The idea of Lomography cameras is to have fun and experiment, not about professional quality photographs. I look forward to sharing my fish eye photos with you in the future. The photos below were taken with my girlfriend's fish eye camera in the past.
As many of you probably know by now my kickball team, Team Zissou, competed in Vegas in the World Adult Kickball Association Kickball Games. The organization we play under, WAKA, challenged all teams to raise money for a charity known as Kick-It. Kick-It was created as a way to raise money to fight pediatric cancer. The organization sponsors kickball events that are used to raise money towards the cause. Our team didn't organize an event, but we were able to raise $430 in a week. It was a little impromptu for us, as we just went around asking friends and family. I hope to organize an event to raise money for a charity sometime in the near future, but for now I am pleased with my team for raising the money on short notice. Plus, all the teams at the tournament combined to raise around $7000!
#73...1/10. Take jumping pictures in ten new places
#74...1/5. Get jumping pictures with five people who have never done a jumping picture
Oh, and in case you were wondering about Halloween, I went as Nitro (with my partner Admiral Spaceship) from the SNL skit Laser Cats!