Style over Substance: The Movie Epidemic

I don't understand why people love the film Hostel. I remember hearing all the hype about it, and I was naturally interested to see what it was all about. The first half of the film was rampant coed nudity, and the second half was a bloody mess of bad script and poor acting.
It seems that in the modern cinema culture, fans are constantly valuing the content of a movie, I.E. how much gore and sexuality is present in the film, rather than the story itself. It came as no surprise to me therefore, when Film4 dubbed films like Hostel, The Devils Rejects, House of 1000 Corpses and various others as "Splatter Porn".

So why do modern audiences seem more concerned with the amount of bloody fun than the content and quality of the actual film itself? One could rightly say it's a direct product of modern capitalist society. Let us first of all look at the most obvious reason. The majority of mainstream audiences today are within the 13-20something age boundary. They're the iGeneration (to quote MC Lars), and they come to the cinema not to think, but to simply be entertained. Therefore, they do no desire to have a complex, gripping storyline that forces the viewer to make connections in his/her head. They rely completely on the visual speech that the camera provides. Any conversation that does go on is simplified, for example "We've got to get out of here" or "Oh god! He's coming!".
One could argue that the cinema has become the proverbial bedroom for modern society. Behind these closed double doors we all gather to lose all common sense and decency, while laughing at a man getting his head chopped off in a dark room by a homicidal maniac. Our minds go to sleep, tucked in by images of the onslaught. People die, we laugh.

Do these violent films therefore desensitize us to violence itself? Many critics of such movies would say that the answer to that question is Yes, however I disagree. When we are watching a film, be it a slasher flick or a war movie, the screen serves as a constant reminder that we are safe from the violence. We know that it is not real, and that we are protected, because after all, this homicidal loon is really only an actor in a suit!
Regardless of the safety issues, I think in a way, if films that depict constant, bloody (some would say unnecessary) violence in a way that makes us amused instead of repulsed, there may come a time when we are faced with such a situation, where someone is trying to kill us; and we try to do what our good old friends the Hero did in their movie-which may lead to disastrous consequences.

The Darker Side of the Information Sensation

It's a subject that's been bogging down my mind for the past few days. Back before I had the internet, I didn't really do much but play on the computer and read. As soon as I moved to France, discovered the so-called "wonders" of the Internet. Until recently I've been quite happy using it, but there have been a series of events that have left me incredibly disallusioned with the whole information sensation.

The main thing that worries me is the anonymity of people on the internet. It's no secret, I'm a total slave when it comes to social networking sites and forums such as Myspace. I always used to think that these sites were a great way of meeting new people, and a good way of furthering my social development. But, alas, for every one decent person on the internet, you're always bound to have two nutters in their place. The problem is that you can never be sure just who you are dealing with. You can't peer through the screen and see who they are, you simply have to put your trust in them. There are some very sick people on the Internet who try to take advantage of that naïvety. I remember a few months ago, on one of the forums I was on, a woman came on there and claimed her life was full of strife, and always had been. Among her endeavours, she claimed that within the last six or so months, she had:

• Been shot, and wrestled her assailant to the ground while a bullet was lodged in her
• Been diagnosed with cancer. She claimed it was uterian, however she knew nothing about the specific diagnosis, nor the treatment she would be recieving.
• Lost one of her nephews in Iraq, although various sources of all troops killed in Iraq yield no evidence that a Brian Weaver ever existed, let alone went to Iraq.
• Her daughter was dating an emotionally abusive brute. Take from this what you will

There were a few other things too. But that list should be enough to make anyone suspicious. When I found out she had been lying, that naïvety of mine suddenly turned into a suspicion for everyone I knew on the internet who I hadn't met in real life. As I said before, you can't be certain just who you're chatting to, unless you know who they are in real life.

This brings me to the actual subject of today's blog. People claim that the Internet has revolutionized our communication methods, a fact which cannot be disputed. Emails are recieved instantly, you can chat to people on the other side of the world; hence the reason people claim it's a wonderful way of expanding your social maturity. I disagree. I personally believe that chatting on the internet is hindering our social awareness and our common sense. The majority of the youth today spend towards 5 hours on the Internet per day chatting to people they may or may not know. They neglect their friends who they can see, hear and touch, and therefore become socially constricted from the rest of the world.

Take from this what you will. As I said before, there are decent people on the net but there are also some very sick people on the Internet.

~peace~

Ostracition is a terrible thing

I left Italy around 2003-2004. I thought I was leaving behind people who I considered to be good friends, we exchanged emails, said we'd keep in touch, you know, the same old shit.

That's where all veils of apparent amicality ended. I got the contact details of roughly a dozen people, so me being me, as soon as I got the Internet back on, I tried to get in contact with everyone to say hi. Two of the emails I had been given simply didn't exist. This sort of hurt me, as I was rather close to the people in question, you know? I thought they were good friends. The other emails, or the majority of them simply didn't bother to reply at all. Of the three that did, two were outcasts of the academic society, one of which has changed so much beyond recognition I don't know him anymore, the other doesn't reply much to emails. As of the other kid of the three, he replies to my mails, and seems to be interested in keeping in touch. But what of the others? Which brings me to the subject of today's blog.

See, I was one hell of an outcast back in Italy. Whereas the other kids in my year were the typical teenagers; they enjoyed hip-hop, football; they were athletic kids who did well in sports. I was into Heavy Metal, I detested football and I was rather chubby. Therefore, corresponding to the strict rules of academic society, I was an outcast. I don't know how many of you have read "Cell"; the new novel by Stephen King, but I can draw up a comparison to a scene in the book, where the heroes are deemed "untouchable" by the villains, so noone will associate with them; "Ecce Homo Insanus".
Of course, it's a bit of an exaggeration. I don't mean to imply that the other kids were "malicious" in any way, because they weren't. They were just kids. I mean, they were friendly to me, I never got any abuse hurled at me, like say a kid called Kaushik (the guy who I said changed beyong recognition). Even so, we never connected on a true "friendship" basis. These things can do horrible things to a child's mind. What does anyone in modern society want? To be accepted, of course. That was all I wanted, but instead I was shunned away like a sort of broken toy. And I think that this treatment has had adverse effects on my social integration. Nowadays, I still find it hard to fit in, I'm incredibly shy and I like being alone a lot.
Therefore, I take the "fuck it" approach to life. If people don't like me, they can go and fuck themselves. Strong, I know, but it's true. I don't care what people think of me any more, and I don't try to fit in; hence why I'm alone a lot of the time. Bizarely enough though, I now have more true friends than I ever have done. Among those people, Laura, Romain, Aslan: three kids who are incredibly different to me in ways of culture and tastes (they being French and me being English is the biggest gap) but we're very close friends.

Sure, being kept out of any social clique can really screw with your emotions, but it's an important lesson in life. In somewhat of a bizzarre twist, I am actually trying to get back in touch with some people I was at school with, via the social networking site Facebook. I'm not quite sure why, but I feel it may be worth it. A lot can happen over three years, maybe their attitude towards me has too.

~Peace and Donuts~

"Catalyst"

Your crimson catalyst stares at me through the netherworld
I paint this picture just for you
Cursing conundrums as I shoot my way across the void
I wish that what I say is true
She'd stare me down and then she'd proceed to suck me dry
I hope she does the same to you
My god abandoned me and I now i'm going solo
At least this much I say is true

But now I see our common goal
We've gotta strive for the truth
Now I know just what i'm gonna do
I've gotta crash before the dawn

My crimson king he pairs up best with your own bloody queen
She told me I shouldn't trust you
I stand back watching her and while she slips into the clutch
I hope she does the same to you

Heaven never was so far away
I'm down here in hell with you
She was immaculate in every way
But I gotta crash before the dawn
I gotta crash the dawn
We're gonna crash before the dawn

She stood right in front of me
And asked me if I was OK
I said "baby, i'm all good"
And so she tortured me
With all of her incessant ways
And I never felt so good before

Baby, come and take a ride with me
I'm gonna show you what it's worth
Baby, I'm gonna take you away
And we're gonna crash before the dawn
I'm gonna crash before the dawn
And we gotta crash before the dawn

"PissMartyr"

We stray to find
Our lives redefined
Why can't you see
This absolute representation of me

I find my desire
I fight instinct
Cuz i'm not what you think I am
I'm not what I planned to be
I'm not human...

I am, i'm a monster

We see ourselves
As great avatars of society
What am I?

Monster...
Father...
Lover...
Mother...;
I'm ME!

We try to redefine
Our bodies intertwined
I can see you
But you want to..
Degrade me

I fight my needs
I fight the urge to bleed
These colours
I fight my inner
Retreat inside this shell you came from

What am I?

Killer...
Helper...
Mother...
Father...
Lifeless
Souless...
Heartless
And it's just the way I wanna be

Why can't you
See into
This soul of mine
Why won't you
Accept me?
I'm christ...personified

Mother... i'm your father
Father i'm your killer
I'm CHRIST...
Christ!
Christ!
Personified....

15 Second Orb

This orb was created in 15 seconds using Photoshop CS2. A perfect example of how the most simple of methods can create something visually stunning. Granted, it's not the most breathtaking of pieces but that doesn't matter. Quality always triumphs over Complicity

Bioluminescence

The atom bomb. Life. We are constructed from atoms, so you could say that in an abstract way, we are similar to the atom bomb. We are all prone to explode

Overlord

This was my first piece that I created. My main inspiration for this piece comes from black light.