Three-Movie Weekend

From the archive of unfinished posts:

The Wrath of the Titans, directed by Jonathon Liebesman and starring Sam Worthington, was, I think, actually better than its predecessor. Clash of the Titans was decent, in a b-movie kind of way, but it had one problem: it tried to tell the story of a classic myth and failed to do so. Wrath broke with every mythic convention I can name, and was better for it. Because it hardly acknowledged myth, it didn't really have expectations to fill. I'd watch it again.

The Raven was shockingly well done. When I first saw the trailer, all I could think about was how badly this movie wanted to be Sherlock Holmes, but it turned out to be more than that. Cusack played a shockingly convincing Poe, the circumstances/traps were appropriately squirm-worthy and awful, and the mystery was downright decent. I would be willing to own this movie.

The thing you've got to understand is that The Three Musketeers is ridiculous, hands down. The Musketeers are primarily in tight leather, one of them is practically a ninja, they uncover DaVinci plans for steampunk airships and build them, and Orlando Bloom has a pompadour. In summation? It's awesome. One for all and all for one!

Cheers!

The Clockwork Man 2: The Hidden World

For those of you who have [Frodo voice] BEEN HERE BEFORE (we're going in circles!!) [/Frodo voice], you might remember how much I griped about The Clockwork Man. (If you don't and you, for whatever reason, need a dose of over-critical assessment, it's right here.) Well. Let's just say there'll be a lot less griping this time around. The Clockwork Man 2: The Hidden World was much, much better than its predecessor in many respects.

To start with, the puzzles actually had some merit to them. Not only were they more numerous, they required more thought, intuition, and data gathering to complete. In fact, they were so much more involved that the structure of the game changed. Our heroine, Miranda Calomy, still with her sidekick Sprocket, keeps a journal a la Myst in this installment of her story. She records not only the plot we as gameplayers move through in greater detail, she sketches things out and takes note of handy dandy items, codes, and various other miscellany which become useful as the game progresses. In addition, she keeps a "task list" of goals to keep the player on track, as there is much greater freedom to move about the map in this game. Both were excellent additions.

Just to give it a passing mention before returning to the good news, there are a few things which, apparently, never change. The representations of the characters still look a bit like they are out of an online doll generator and the voice acting is still pretty ridiculous to put it lightly (the word 'horrendous' also comes to mind). The voices and treatment of "native" characters in the game was borderline offensive. (A noble try, though, as I honestly believe there is really no good way to portray a tribal culture, even a fictionalized one, without stepping on someone's toes.) On the other hand, the cutscenes seem to have improved. While on some level I missed the charcoal-on-parchment feel of the first game's cutscenes, I appreciated the move towards fully animated scenes that Clockwork Man 2 took. It was a baby step, but one in the right direction.

Another thing that didn't change - but for the better - was the background and item art. Both were executed even more gracefully than before: the scenes looked less cluttered, unless they had cause dictated by the plot to be so - who would have thought?! And one last thing which didn't change was the quality of the game which held me to it. I could not stop playing it. And when absolutely I had to set it aside in order to get some actual sleep (this game took more than one sitting to finish!) I had dreams of steampunk submarines and curious puzzles.

Now I'm just hoping that they'll come out with a third one.

So go, steamy explorers! Get thee to Amazon, download it here or hit up your nearest electronics store and discover The Hidden World!

Steam on!

Steamcon II: Weird Weird West

What an event! And now it's so long ago that I am having trouble remembering every breathless, gushing ounce of praise I was going to level at the internet in Steamcon's favor...

The über highlights!

1. It was the best dressed convention I have ever attended. I have shamelessly 'jacked that sentiment from a good friend of mine who was also in attendance. She's a fashion designer, if that adds the gravid tone I am looking for when I say (write?) so. IT WAS SO WELL DRESSED.

2. It included a badass expo hall full of delicious things to buy. None of which I had money for, but I hovered over things a LOT. Alright, that's a lie. I did buy some home-concocted tea from the wonderful B. Fuller's Mortar & Pestle, based locally in Burien, WA. Mmm, gotta love that home brew.

3. There were many booths for many things, like the bands performing that night, as well as the beloved Dr. Steel.

4. There was an art gallery entirely for Steampunk art and it was also a silent auction! More hovering ensued.

5. One of the panels was Steampunk Ghost Hunting, a tag team between the League of S.T.E.A.M. (who also make a huge cameo in Panic! At the Disco's new single, Ballad of Mona Lisa, available on the excellent album Vices & Virtues) and a....legitimate....Steampunk....Ghosthunting team which I can't recall the name of because I am a DESPICABLE human being!!

6. It included Outlaw Night, which, as I have previously reviewed, featured my personal favorite Steamy band, ABNEY PARK!! HUZZAH!!! Airship pirates, Victorian wenches, and Long Islands were had by all. (except me, I was driving. duh :P)

Now for round two this coming October - Steamcon III: 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea!!

Abney Park

LIVE AND IN CONCERT AT STEAMCON II, WEIRD WEIRD WEST, IN SEATTLE, WASHINGTON!!!

What an experience, ladies and gentlemen. What a FREAKIN' AMAZING EXPERIENCE.
There's so much to tell and so little time to do it in. To begin, they were headed by two bands, Bakelite 78 and Ghoultown.

Bakelite 78, another Seattle-native band, is composed of a host of members including (but not limited to) Robert Rial, Ariel Bolles, Jason Grey, Bob Kessler and Rich Unetich on a host of instruments including (but not limited to) guitar, upright bass, accordion, harmonica, trumpet, and the good ol' vocal cords. My personal favorite jam of theirs is called The World's Fair Hotel. For you dark-humored listeners and readers out there, you will know exactly why I enjoy this song so much. I am also a fan of the way this band sounds overall - it's a very singing-through-a-megaphone, or maybe a tin can, sound, and it's wonderfully grungy.

Ghoultown is what has been dubbed "hellbilly." As I have very little experience with psychobilly, I honestly can't compare them, sorry about that one. What I can tell you is that they are from Texas and proud to be "the most talented band of deviants this side of hell" (see their bio). Though I think former Texas Ranger Cole McGee might have something to say about that, Count Lyle, Jake Middlefinger, Lizard Lazario, Santi, Dalton Black, and Randy Grimm are goin' to hell in wild style.

The main event, Abney Park, while a tad late due to the over-zealotry of Ghoultown, was rarin' and ready to go. There were some bumpy moments along the way (example: Captain Robert looks over his oversized microphone to menace the floundering techies in the back: "Is it possible that we cannot hear the keyboard because it is on mute? Is it possible we can't go on with this song because it isn't turned on?" [/scaryman]) they were wonderful, funny, enthusiastic, and cursed a f***ton. Headed by the aforementioned captain, the other members - Nathaniel Johnstone, Kristina Erickson, Dan Cedarman, and Jody Ellen - were joined by dancers, stiltwalkers, and FIREBREATHERS. I was beside myself with joy. And, of course, it was just in time for us to hear songs from their two latest and greatest albums, Æther Shanties and The End of Days, both of which I HIGHLY recommend.

They were a hoot, the night was a blast, I hope they come back next year!

PS - Visit the Abney Park Steampunk Market. You know you want to.

Catherinette Rings - Steampunk Jewelry Wizard!

THIS IS A PROMO!!!

One of my favorite jewelery artists of all time, forever known to me as CatherinetteRings, is holding a giveaway! His work is absolutely exquisite. I admire his attention to detail most of all, and I honestly feel that his creativity shines through bright and clear in every single one of his creations. If any of you - Steampunk'r or no - want to enter his contest, all you have to do is pay a visit to his blog and leave a comment! Your name will be included in a drawing to win a whopping $215 worth of his work and there will be FOUR NAMES DRAWN!

Get 'em while they're hot, people. Seriously. Don't miss this.

Visit this page for more information, and don't forget to check his work out on etsy!

The Clockwork Man

That’s right, ladies and gentlemen, I have purchased and played a computer game. Get your shocked and potentially appalled reactions out now.

The Clockwork Man, courtesy of Total Eclipse games, is what is called a “Hidden Object” or “Seek and Find” game. Basically, you are presented with a room full of objects. Usually entirely spontaneous objects. You are also presented with a list for every room of things you are to find amongst the mess presented you. You click on each object to collect it, and then you move on. In some cases there are other puzzles, like solving a combination box, fixing a boiler, using multiple items to patch a pipe, things like that. In short, gameplay is very basic.

I will own that I have never played a “seek and find” game before, and that it came off as rather childish to me in the realm of gameplay. I finished the entire adventure in a single sitting. Perhaps I am just used to things like The Legend of Zelda, but I honestly hoped the game would be longer. I even could have dealt with the endless screens of “find these random things even when it doesn’t make much sense to” if only the story kept going. My hopes were raised about mid-game with the advent of the puzzle-box. The idea was that every line of tiles you were presented had a kind of “key” – and you had to transform the symbols not to match, but to match with a rotation or change made to it presented in a single static tile. That may have been a terrible description on what the puzzle calls for as far as nonsensicality, but it was the first – and last – puzzle that actually had me going. I was excited after that, anticipating other more difficult puzzles, but the rest were simply not up to snuff. I also held out for the bonus “free play” option, hoping that there would be puzzles to be had there, as well, that something would be different. Instead what I found was more cluttered rooms and lists. To be fair I haven’t yet re-played the adventure, which, according to a message at the end of the first play through, is entirely different. I would hope that means the puzzles as well, but what with how the game played out, I doubt it.

On another note, what was up to snuff was the design. The characters, while expressively and proportionally appearing straight out of an online fashion doll generator, had great concepts. I liked the costumes especially. It was the backgrounds and objects themselves where the artistry showed. Even amongst the clutter the gameplay called for, the rooms and backgrounds were beautifully rendered. My other favorite part art-wise was the cut scenes. They had an old charcoal-on-teastained-parchment look, and the characters looked more natural.

The writing itself was passing fair, but, sadly, the voice acting completely destroyed its potential nuances and intricacies. The largest complaint I had was that the text presented in the dialog boxes didn’t match the audio, but only for one single character. As for the rest, they matched, but half the accents attempted were grating. The main character’s British drifted in and out of badness and the only French character, well...he wasn’t quite French. However, while the voice acting left something to be desired, I enjoyed the plot itself. While simple and short, Miranda Calomy and her eccentric yet well-known inventor Grandfather were endearing. The concept for The Clockwork Man himself was excellent – he was arguably the prettiest part of the game – and the use of the Mayan temple buried in the jungle added some nice spice to it. I had hoped the game would continue after the jungle adventure with the concept put forth in the prologue, of Miranda attending University, but alas, the story ended there. Or did it?

The Clockwork Man already has a sequel, which can be purchased via download here, or, you know, snail mail for half price here. It appears to be a straight-up sequel, but judging by the video, the interface and puzzle-play have both improved, the backgrounds are less insanely cluttered, AND (WHAAT?) the characters look to have improved design-wise! [Hooray for ladies in trousers!] The voices appear to be the same. Damn.

However, my dearest ladies and gentlemen, the point remains thus: even though I complained about this game up and down the town, I simply could not stop playing it. For a glorious three (maybe four) hours, it consumed my life. I only wish the gloriousness had lasted longer.

The Clockwork Man: The Hidden World, Here I Come!

Steam on.

Links
Official Clockwork Man Website

KOOZA

Public Service Announcement: the following review was written obscenely early in the morning, so circuitousness and general incompetence may ensue. We sincerely apologize for this inconvenience, and see that the author promptly gets to bed.
-The Management

Cirque du Soleil's latest Portland-faring show is the jovial, terrifying, truly awe-inspiring Kooza! This show made me laugh, nearly cry, scream profusely in recognition and support, and scream once from sheer disbelief and fright.

To begin, one of the things that I love about every Cirque show - Kooza included - is how visually appealing they are. Every single one has themes, repetition and association, and also contradictions which help to tie the show together as a whole. The performers play just as much a role as the lighting, costuming, and set do. In every Cirque show I have ever seen, I find myself fixating on one to a few characters. I sadly don't have much recollection of Saltimbanco or Alegria, but in Varekai I remember the "twin birds," (as I referred to them), the contortionist caterpillar-turned-butterfly, the lizard who prowled the stage, and, of course, Icarus. In Corteo I couldn't get away from the white clown for his demeanor and grace, and I equally couldn't get my eyes off the singer, having both respect for his voice and his physicality as he sang. In Kooza, my eyes were glued to Trickster. The performer I saw for this role was clearly an understudy - it was a lady, rather than a man, as in all the advertisements and programs - and I would credit her, but my program, shockingly, does not list her at all. Not only was her costume fun, the persona she took on with her motions was amazing. I don't think I have ever seen that much presence in a role that never once speaks. In fact, I think the only sound she made was fabulously evil laughter right before the lights blacked out for intermission. Anyway, the point of this tangent is that Cirque performers continue to amaze me for their presence on stage as characters, not just as incredible feats of balance, strength, flexibility and coordination.

But they never cease to amaze for those reasons, as well. The double high-wire act was performed without the use of safety cables and without a net until the very last stunt. The chairs that were used for the high-balance did not appear to latch together like the ones in La Nouba clearly did. And the wheel of death? Gracious. This was the act that made me scream once with fright. Not only did the performers appear to attain zero-gravity while working this terrifying apparatus both on the interior and exterior of the circles, they jumped rope on them. It was madness, and possibly the most impressive thing I've ever seen. It's noted in the program that Cirque has never before used the wheel of death. It was well worth it.

Of course there's always the clowning factor. While the routines on stage were much more crude than any Cirque clowns that I have ever witnessed, the audience interaction was fantastic as always with shenanigans aplenty, including a clown dubbed The Pickpocket constantly being chased by "The Police." In the middle of the first act he went running through the crowd while onstage the performers lined up a confetti cannon. I was in the blast radius once, which was awesome, but in the end my best story of the night is that I got what one might call "popcorned." Twice. In Cirque there seems to be a tradition of having the clowns throw popcorn on the audience. I got popcorned before the show even started by a planted clown dressed like a tourist, and then later as well when the Pickpocket was running about. One might this this would be troublesome, but in the end, it's a part of the Cirque experience - almost a Cirque tradition - and I count myself fortunate to have gotten hit at Kooza.

I could go on for hours and hours about the set, the music, the costumes (some of which sported cogs - shoutout to all you fellow Steamheads out there), the acts, the control, the atmosphere in general, but it really is quite late where I am (or should I say early?) and so, I fear, I must bid you bon soir.

Cirque du Soleil Official site, including trailers, upcoming shows, and more!

[EDIT] A Side Note.
The packaging for the soundtrack is just about the coolest treatment of a CD case I've ever seen. Not only does the CD itself pop up upon opening the case - like a pop-up book - if you invert the first layer of this (entirely paper) case, it transforms into the box which appeared onstage, the box delivered to Innocent in the beginning of the show, that very same box which Trickster emerged from in all her splendor. I approve of this. Very much indeed.
Also the music is fabulous. Check it out.

Steampunk: Manimatron by...

...Chris Bachalo, Joe Kelly, and Richard Friend.
This first volume of collected comics comes to our world via Cliffhanger and DC Comics, and is truly a wonderful thing to behold.

One of the things I enjoy the most about this comic is that you have to realign your brain in order to understand everything that's going on in even one panel. It's an insanely detailed world they've woven, one in which it is quite easy to miss things. In interest of that I can't wait to read it again.

Another feature I enjoy greatly is the rather insane use of typography for the arch-villain, Dr. Mortimer Absinthe. Rather than the usual typographical emphasis one would find in a comic book - bold, italics, both at the same time, the occasional switch of color - his typeface is an appropriate patchwork of fonts, sizes, and colors which mirrors both his twisted mind and disturbing, altered frame quite nicely. It's difficult to describe without the use of crazy fonts and colors, so you're just going to have to trust me that when Absinthe scoffs at a French prisoner via referencing Frère Jacques and 'Frère Jacques' appears in a huge, bold font with colors to look like the French flag, it's awesome.

Overall the writing is fabulous, but Absinthe also happens to have some of the best lines. One of my favorite exchanges goes a little like this:
Absinthe: "God is the ultimate scientist. He's just not as good at design as I am."
Iron Monk: "Blasphemy and sarcasm are the tools of Satan."
Absinthe: "Satan and I were roommates at University. You have the information I seek?"
and the conversation continues nonchalantly.
Absinthe, for this reason, is one of my favorite characters: his writing is superb! So are all of the concepts put forth in this world, and the innovations only become wilder and more interesting in book two, Drama Obscura.

It's been a while since I've read Drama Obscura, but as I recall it only gets better. The visuals, in keeping with Manimatron, are stunning, my favorite visual effect being the ability to track one of the character's movements through the various panels by the continuous stream of union-jacks left behind by his scarf of the same pattern as he bounds in Gypsy-parkour style.

This is only a taste of the world of Steampunk!, but I'm afraid this is all we'll get for a while. Though I haven't confirmed it, I heard through the grapevine that book three is no longer in production: funding got yanked because of lack of readership. Rats. And on a cliffhanger true to the company's name.

On a side-note, I happened to read these in reverse order (Drama Obscura before Manimatron), and somehow I think it was even more fantastic than reading it in the correct order! Going back to book one was like being presented with a huge flashback episode, and as one of the plot twists is contained in book one, my mind was blown. I'm going to go back and read it in the right order this summer (when I have slightly less of a life and slightly more time on my hands), but something tells me I'd recommend reading the second book first.

Due to the aforementioned cancellation, I am sorry to say that these might begin going scarce: I don't know if they're still being printed or not, but I know that you can find both books on Amazon, though the prices aren't exactly the best: Manimatron, Drama Obscura

Happy Journeys, fellow adventures, and for you enthusiasts, steam on!

A Gentlemen's Duel

This, my friends, is one of the most fabulously funny animated shorts I have ever seen. Produced by Blur Studio and written and directed by Sean McNally and Francisco Ruiz Velasco, A Gentlemen's Duel is amusing in the way that only animated shorts can be. From over-exaggerated violence to the kind of stereotype that one can just barely get away with (I sincerely apologize to both the English and the French, respectively), it's at least a romp of a good time.

Yet again, I marvel at the fact that it took me so long to come across this piece (credit goes to Ryan). It was released in 2006, and appeared on the scene in 2008 when it paid a visit to the RiverRun International Film Festival. Now it graces viewers with its presence via the youtubes.

Be warned: this duel is not as it seems. But in the interest of not spoiling anything, I shall say no more.

The Mysterious Geographic Explorations of Jasper Morello

For a rollicking good romp in Steampunk lands comes the Australian short, The Mysterious Geographic Explorations of Jasper Morello!

I am not entirely sure how even to begin with this piece. It's beautifully done. Simple, but elegant. It recalls a combination of Tim Burton's aesthetic for The Nightmare Before Christmas or Corpse Bride and paper cutouts. Needless to say, I'm a huge fan.

Once again, I am shocked to find that this has existed for quite some time and it didn't trickle down the grapevine to find me until now. Released in 2005 and directed by Anthony Lucas, it has won the AFI award twice and was nominated for an academy award in 2006. Kudos to my friend here in college-land Taylor for showing it to me.

Fortunately it appears to be out on DVD, available through Madman. Unfortunately it also appears to only be available to order in Australia, but who knows - perhaps it will make its way overseas before long. However, to make up for this minor setback, it appears that Jasper will not be confined to simply one voyage, ladies and gentlemen! According to The Gothia Gazette (Jasper's official website), he will embark on not one, but four voyages! I eagerly await their arrival.

Once again, thank you Taylor for the link!
For the rest of you, I hope you enjoy.

Pay Jasper a visit on the Youtubes!

The Clockwork Cabaret!

With the Darling Davenport Sisters!

The more I listen to this delightful podcast, the more I like it. A wonderous romp in the land of steampunk, these sisters take over their airwaves and oh to do they defend it with pride, infestation of koalas and all. But this is no ordinary podcast, oh no. It provides listeners with music, yes, but it also provides everything from poetry readings to book reviews. And best of all, listeners get a glimpse of life on the Calpurnia, the airship the Davenports use to sail the high skies searching for adventure (boldly going where no man has gone before!) and, of course, attempting to outrun their terrifying pursuers, the CLANNG.

So if you have any inclination toward the quirky, eccentric, the creative, the neo-Victorian and the steam-powered, this is the show for you. Episode 108 en counting.

Thank you so much, Davenports!

Pay them a visit here:

http://www.clockworkcabaret.com/