HBO Has Faith In Preacher. HUGE news this! ‘Preacher’ was one of my fave comic book series of all time. To say it was a brilliant story arc in the history of DC/Vertigo comics is an understatement. I hope they can pull this off with some success because if they do… it will truly blow people away. HBO! Preacher! WOOHOO!!!
Archive for November, 2006
If someone ever told you that Iron Maiden would release a classic slab of music in the year 2006, you would probably laugh in their face. And yet, Maiden’s latest opus ‘A Matter of Life & Death’ is as close to being a masterpiece as is humanly possible. In fact, this album is probably the band’s best work since the glory days of the mid-eighties and the ‘Powerslave’ era. Speaking of which, I got to see the band on their second tour of Australia in 1985 on the aforementioned ‘Powerslave’ tour. That was truly a magic day for this young metalhead as I got to spend the day with the guys as they were shooting a promo for music show Countdown. (I still have Nicko McBrain’s sweat-band and drum-sticks from that day and a slab of signed goodies that I treasure to this day! But that’s another story and another era all-together!) When the band reformed with vocalist Bruce Dickinson and guitarist Adrian Smith back in 2000, they released the brilliant ‘Brave New World’ album. They followed this up with the disappointing ‘Dance of Death’ album so I didn’t have high hopes for this new CD. Boy, was I wrong! This is really an incredible return to form by Maiden - particularly the second half of this album which is as majestic as it is astounding. Dickinson’s vocals are as amazing as ever and the melodic overtones that these guys manage to inject into their music is second to none. The intro to ‘The Reincarnation of Benjamin Breeg’ is so brilliantly dark and sombre and has ‘vintage’ Maiden stamped all over it. Same goes for my fave track on the album ‘Lord of Light’ in which Dickinson just blitzes on. Classic stuff.
Needing to get this project back on schedule, I spent some time last night working on the Hellfire logo. Conscious of the fact the band are after a “hellish” type of theme with aspects of fire/burning in the look. This is a little challenging as I can point you to some awfully cliched looking ‘fire’ logos which I am desperately trying to steer clear of. With this design, I am trying to illustrate ‘evil’ and ‘burning’. I’m pretty pleased with this one - I think it would look mighty nice on a tee but ultimately, the decision will be the band’s.
Yeah, that’s a pretty apt description of how I am feeling today and right now… lost. Lost in limbo. Thusfar, it has been an incredibly eventful year akin to riding a roller coaster. The highs have been thrilling and the lows leave me feeling… well, lost.
Earlier in the year I was feeling so incredibly uninspired and I had completely lost the passion for doing what I love. With the closure of my former company that my biz partner and I had fought so valiantly for over the course of three years - I felt as if I had hit rock bottom. But rather than dwell on its loss I found a new sense of invigoration and I felt inspired to create again. I was churning out work again and in the process setting up a new freelance company. I enveloped myself in the creative process and I truly felt born again doing what I love… designing and creating. It was important to not sulk on the loss of my company but to pick myself up from the depths I had fallen and start again. Fresh. New. Inspired.
And things were going well.
A couple of months ago, I was offered a full-time gig in a different field. The financial offer was good and hard for me to knock back. The said gig, kicked off at the beginning of November and ever since then - I’ve never felt more miserable in my entire life. I feel like a sell-out and I feel as if I have turned my back on doing what I truly love and what I am good at. I felt I could do both this new gig by day, and my freelance stuff by night. I was truly kidding myself because my creative muse has all but shut shop and left me hanging dry.
For the first time in my life, I really do not know what I want from myself. I really don’t know what tomorrow will bring. Deep down inside, I know full well that the gig I’m currently at - it ain’t for me. No siree. It ain’t for me. I need to be man enough to fully realize that within myself - and close that (brief) chapter. And I need to do it soon because my creative side has been truly forsaken and abandoned. And that - is not fair on me and it is not fair on the people who rely on me to create for them.
So right now, I am lost. Lost in this fuckn limbo state of mind that is surely gonna drive me crazy.
And dear Dogmatic readers, the few of you who visit here regularly - this post is about as personal as I am ever gonna get. I apologize in advance for this rant and I promise, we’ll be back to our regular dose of Dogmatic mayhem… tomorrow.
G’night fellow droogs!
The Deftones, whose brilliant new album ‘Saturday Night Wrist’ was reviewed here on Dogmatic recently, have just announced their forthcoming Australian tour with Thrice along as support.
Dates:
- Soundwave Festival: Brisbane - Feb 24, 2007
- Soundwave Festival: Sydney - Feb 25, 2007
- Soundwave Festival: Perth - Feb 26, 2007
- Festival Hall: Melbourne - Feb 28, 2007
- The Barton Theater: Adelaide - Mar 2, 2007
I’ll be seeing you at the Melbourne gig. This is one not to be missed folks, Deftones are an amazing live act. Can’t wait for this one!
Over at the official Spiderman 3 movie blog, everyone’s fave Spidey villain - Venom - makes an appearance.
The one sad aspect about Sacha Baron Cohen’s character Borat, is that now with his new found popularity and celebrity - every knows who and what he is which in effect - kills the character from any future misadventures. Spawned from a character from the hit UK comedy show “Da Ali-G Show”, Borat was always my fave from that show so it was with great anticipation that I waited to see this flick. The publicity campaign for the movie has been a resounding success with the movie generating millions on its opening weekend worldwide due to a meticulous promotional campaign that hyped this movie to fever pitch. I was curious to see how Cohen would translate his Borat creation onto the big screen as his previous cinema effort based on his Ali G persona was a diabolical disaster. Having been a big fan of the Ali G show (both UK and HBO versions) - I was counting down the days till I got to see this film. The movie’s vignettes are intertwined with a storyline of Borat heading to the USA to record a documentary. Seeing Borat interact with rednecks, Christian loonies, and upper class snobs who actually believe he is a foreign reporter - is damn funny. Cohen’s ability to go with the flow and create interesting and often ridiculous premises’ that his unsuspecting victims swallow hook, line and sinker is comedically brilliant. It’s all as lowbrow as you can get and there are some disturbing scenes featuring male nudity(!) that one will find hard to forget. It’s a fun flick and if you enjoy it - do check out some of the Ali G DVD’s as some of the material presented there is a little stronger than what is ultimately featured in the movie.
Christopher Walken to Play Ozzy Osbourne: Hide the Bats! Christopher Walken has agreed to play the ultimate bad-boy rocker — Ozzy Osbourne. This could be real interesting! I’ve heard Johnny Knoxville had been approached to play Nikki Sixx!
The Amateur Paparazzo: Citizen newshound snapping at the rich and famous.
You know for a skank, she doesn’t look half bad. Anyway, for anyone who still cares, Courtney Love bares all for British fashion magazine, Pop. Great rack!
Decided to go for an evening stroll along St.Kilda Pier last night to relax, unwind somewhat and spend some time taking some long-exposure shots with the Canon and tripod. I was pretty pleased with tonight’s results as I managed to capture some nice nightly colors. It was a little hard to frame my shots as the foreground was basically pitch-black which meant I was shooting blind for the most part. Anyway, the above shot was with the camera’s ISO at 100. There was a gentle breeze blowing against the docked boats moving them slightly, and creating a hazy, ghostly effect with the foreground. And the city of Melbourne looks positively resplendent in the background. A pleasant eve all round and a far cry from the mayhem of the protest on Saturday.
