JOURNAL: iserlohn

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  • A walk-on role in the script to your long, long grift... 2003-03-15 22:30:48 Slept until noon. Sleeping late is good. Not feeling tired for the rest of the day would be better, though. Methinks I'll go to bed right after Dr. Who tonight...hell, I've already SEEN tonight's Dr. Who and have it on tape, but it's the first appearance of one of my favorite companions (Turlough) so it's worth a watch.

    Otakon prereg is up to 7 people, need three more to get the group rate. Come on people, where are you?

    Saw my sister today. Helped her do some baking, got to take a part of it home as a result. Also saw just how far TLC has fallen from the days of being The LEARNING Channel and is now the True Life Channel or some other BS of nothing but reality shows dealing with pretending to be a cheerleader or doing house repaiers behind peoples' backs. Makes me veeerry glad not to be watching TV very much.

    Got home and got stood up. Mikhail was supposed to come get copies of Puchi Puri Yuushi and did his usual no-show. I even worried about getting home in time and stuff...all for naught. I really need to start telling people to fuck off when they ask for favors like this - gets me nothing other than an extra "sucker" tag. This, folks, is the difference between being nice and letting people walk all over you.

    So anyways, I promised everyone a VCA rant. It'll probably be short and semi-incoherent, but here goes:

    Thank the lords of AMV that this years' went by quieter than last year's. For all the newbies out there, there was a huge-ass storm of protest because Odorikuruu (aka "The All-Purpose-works-with-every-song-ever AMV") swept a huge assload of awards and a lot of people felt it wasn't worthy. This year, the big winner was Shameless Rock Video.

    What do I think about this? I'm kinda disappointed. I thought it was pretty dull, and while it shows AD's skills with his software, I don't even have a copy of it. I saw it at AnimeUSA a couple times and moved on with my life. Maybe the reason there's less outcry this year is because AD's hanging out a lot more and isn't the aloof figure Aokakesu was: he's around, he seems like a nice guy, he won helping hand, all's cool. Bleh, this sound like a nasty attack. It's really not.

    As far as Most Innovative, I'm going to have to disagree outright. Three of the vids up for Best Innovative were either effects over-kills or photoshop showoffs. The videos I voted for didn't even make the second round.

    Best Helping Hand: eh, I'll give this one to Ian. Even though his guide is greatly responsible for the shift to engineering AMVs rather than creating them, it IS a good introduction to the basics of non-linear editing/encoding, and AD is willing to stand behind it and help people who have their issues on the board. I do not begrudge him this award.

    DokiDoki said the best thing about the Best Fun and Best Comedy categories: Why did a sizable proportion have to be adult videos? While I like hentai as much as anyone else (I've managed to truly shock people with my hardcore Cool Devices video), make that its own area (or notice that Phade nixed the category) and keep it out of the main categories.

    Best Dance: I voted for Fritz. Partly because of the politics of DDR Project 2, partly because, well, it was the only video I really *LIKED* out of the choices. That said, it took me a few viewings to like this video, going to multiple Otakon prescreenings paid off.

    Lessee, what else is worth commenting on...

    Most Improved Creator. I'm not familiar with Flux, so no comment, and AD got enough awards to not need this one. Vic...oboy. Vic doesn't read this, so I can bash on him as much as I want, Vic's vids have gotten boring. His tech's still great, but his last two vids have been empty sellouts, and his Otakon vid is looking to do the same (of course, DDE and When Worlds Collide were also designed to pander to the crowd as well...). This leaves MJ who I voted for without seeing most of his stuff purely on faith.

    Vlad. Sorry, I don't buy Transcending Love as Best Artistic/Original Concept. I -1 or -2'ed it when prejudging Otakon because it's the same thing as his Ghibli Tribute which did it a lot better. Yes, it was a lot of tech work, but in the end it's just another romance video. Best Artistic should be something that's art for the sake of art or something that would appease a film snob attending Sundance or Cannes or something. I can't remember who I voted for in that category, but it wasn't this or either of AD's...voted for an underdog.

    As for Best Concept...I may give that one over (grudgingly), but it's really a pity that again the nominees had four of the same damn videos as every other category. I almost want to get people together and form a Golden VHS committe or something and do awards that way just so some of the other good stuff (A Midwinter Night's Dream anyone?) gets the recognition it deserves...

    The truth is, though, the VCA is just that - the viewers' choice, and people view what they see won the con awards, what the people on the forums pimp, what looks the prettiest, what's easiest to download, etc. Maybe AMV Digest should let people take out full HTML page ads like they have in Variety where you can make a nice photoshopped "For Your Consideration" and get some attention for yourself in a constructive way. Maybe I should admit that I am a little bitter that one of the view vids I'm proud of got completely passed over and get over it (which, really, I am).

    Or I can set my email box to set a new folder + filter for the flames this is going to get me. I was (mostly) sober when I wrote this and stand by my opinions. If you feel the need to object, do so but do it to my face and not in your LJ or on someone else's board, because where's the fun or fairness or, dare I say it, point in that? If you're going to get pissed at me, do it where I know you're pissed so that meaningful discussion can occur as a result.

    Anyhow, the Nestle Fudge Filled cookie dough is calling to me (as is thirst for more water, not beer, had the only one in the apartment 3.5 hours ago) so off I go to attempt to drown depression and frustration in the self-abuse of compulsive overeating. Until next time, keep reading and THINK! 
  • A reason to smile 2003-03-14 12:20:20 The following IRC log is between me (exedore) and a friend who's a native German speaker who just saw scans of two of my not-so-well-written quizzes:

    <Worfgang> hi du
    <exedore> nabend
    <Worfgang> is your German teacher a native German or an American
    <exedore> Ami
    <exedore> but with a PhD this time
    <Worfgang> mhm.. you said the English of my Austrian Accounting teacher sucked.. ^^;
    * exedore has had...american with PhD (good instructor), estonian grad student (2 semesters), african grad student (damn good)..
    <exedore> yes, I know how bad that is.
    <Worfgang> your teachers German also sucks ^_-
    <exedore> (both her English and my German)
    <exedore> WHAT?!
    <exedore> figures.
    <Worfgang> hehe ^^;
    <Worfgang> okay.. theres not that much wrong
    <Worfgang> but some things sound weird ^^
    <exedore> wow...makes me wonder what it means when she says MY stuff sounds weird...

    Those who know my great dislike of Dr. Moyer's in-class style should know just how much I laughed when he said that. 
  • Fear the US Military 2003-03-13 23:22:38 Today's ROTC Midterm showed something damn interesting.

    There was only one person to get a perfect score on the exam.

    It was not a cadet.

    It was me, the fat otaku theatre geek. And these are the people who will be leading your relatives into combat for the next few years.

    I've got a whiny "why do I do this when I'm going nowhere and not getting any artistic respect in the community while people who do nothing more than drive themselves blind in photoshop win the awards" rant in me, but nobody really wants to hear it. I sure as hell wouldn't.

    That said, if anyone knows how I could get Alanis Morissette to come to College Park to help me work on my video, I would be greatly appreciative. 
  • Tired. 2003-03-12 22:41:30 I've got a lot of work to get going on now.

    Tomorrow (Thursday) is my ROTC midterm. Afterwards I have to go to the PO, find out if the Study Abroad office got my recommendation, and get right to work. Bigass German assignment due Friday, and then I've got to finish making my spreadsheet and start doing my incident counts for my AMST paper, and then do 60 pages of reading for 619. Lots of work. I should also do something on my videos, but I'm still not sure what to do on my competing entry...waiting for one or two more people to finish getting back to me on stuff. Ooh, one of them has an LJ. Maybe I really should make the jump...

    Other than work, I'm tired. Weird sleep schedule and other stuff getting in the way. Long class day today, too. I may stop sitting in on 225, just because it's eating up hours that could be used either for invigorating afternoon naps or practical things (like getting scanning or reading done). Except for one lecture I've already got comprehensive notes for the course.

    Friday is UAS scheduled night up at UMBC, which means watching everyone else watch Earth Defense Family (yay!) and Sunday is Afro-ken and possibly Macross Zero at TAS. Good anime weekend. Maybe it'll be good for AMV work as well.

    I'm also in a bit of a jam...May 18 is kind of a collision day. It could be the last TAS of the semester (and hence the last TAS of my undergraduate career), but it also looks like Blue Man Group will be doing a concert on the Complex Tour that night. Oh, and I've got my German final at 8AM on the 19th and I really want to be able to show up Moyer for it. Fortunately I've got no other finals during finals - ROTC is way early because everyone has to prepare for getting commissioned, 619 is a takehome due the last first day of finals, and AMST is my final paper on the 21st. If I'm really lucky I'll have a lease on an apartment by then (and an idea of where I'm going to grad school/working) and can move without stress. Stranger things HAVE happened, after all.

    And as my winamp playlist comes to an end, so does this entry. I'll editorialize on the VCA's and other stuff when I'm not this wiped out. 
  • und für mich weint... 2003-03-10 22:44:09 Today was a long day.

    Woke up at 9 after too little sleep to be out the door at 10. Got my recommendation request in at the career center and left off my application, statement of purpose, and transcript at the Study Abroad office with the hopes of going to Vienna for the next academic year. Whether or not it happens (that C- from last semester) is now out of my hands, but I'm still slightly optimistic.

    Between running those errands, depositing Chris's $27 for his RahXephon box, and the beginning of German, I was able to read 3 chapters out of Berserk 15. Mmmm, <spoiler>. It's nice being able to read enough German to follow the manga fine, although I wonder why they used the term "Elfe" when Puck and co. really resemble Faeries more...but I am not John S. and I do not work for Painini Comics/Planet Manga, and they're already on who knows what printing and it's not going to change now.

    German class sucked today. I'm starting to wish I didn't have to go and seem to have hit a wall in performance level and grading. I got another Check-Minus (lowest grade possible) on the workbook this week, and the only comment she wrote was "This is hard" to my big red "ARGH!" after a bad section...so why the fuck won't you answer my real questions you dumb cunt, huh? I feel so incredibly stupid in her class, it makes me want to run as fast as I can and slam my head into the wall with the hopes of her having to help clean up the ensuing mess.

    Ditched 224 lecture, was tired and irritated. Passed notes corresponding to the extra lecture to people who requested them and went to the post office. What did I get? A big envelope from GW...


    ...containing an application for a Stafford Loan and a note saying that I should apply even though I may still be rejected for study. WTF.

    After I got home and had lunch, I finished Six Galleons and took a nice 90 minute nap. It was meant to be a 30 min. nap, but I slept until the 60 min. point...and felt too nice to want to get up. Getting up at 90 min. was hard, another half hour would have been great, but I had to make dinner, do some other reading, answer emails, etc...in other words I wasted the time anyways.

    619 wasn't as bad as it could've been, the prof. did most of the talking, which is good, and I got off pretty easily on my questions, even got some of them right. I can see what he was talking about with the book, and maybe after I've had some time away from it, I can return to this book and have a new appreciation for it. We shall see.

    Got home to some quality feedback on the rough cut of my Otakon video. It needs a lot of work (something I know), and I'm thinking that I may have taken on more than I bargained for with this project. To do it right means possibly holding it off AGAIN to rethink large parts of it and going beyond where I think I am as an editor...then again there's usually nothing wrong with moving up in the world, but if something goes wrong it could mean falling flat on my face...again. Hopefully my trailer won't be this hard...in fact, I'm counting on that being pretty easy by comparison.

    That all said, I wonder if anybody could do this video better than I could. It would be pretty egotistical to say no, but I've got the feeling that when all is said and done, this is going to be my creation, and, with some quality time and a lot of luck and hopefully a lack of a breakdown, it's going to be something beautiful. At least I can hope. 
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