How the hell are y'all doing?? Everything OK in your personal bubble?? The earth still spinning and the birds still singing??
Whoa...over a month since my last blog...bad bad bad Duncan *hangs his head in shame*
I wish I had some completely justifiable reason for my lack of blogging however I do not other than the sheer number of Social Networking sites I'm now attributed to has clearly gotten out of hand!! Between juggling Facebook, Tumblr, Myspace, Twitter, Blogger and my new obsession of Instagram I don't know whether I'm coming or going!!
Sooooo... lets try to cram in a full month and a week of un-posted blog info over three blogs over three days :) !!
Firstly I passed my Theory Test for driving...weeks of study and worry resulted in a 50/50 for my test and high marks in my Hazard Perception test..phew the relief literally washed over me. Of course my pretty girl knew I was going to pass and gave me a present of very nice whiskey :)
I have been out and about at gigs and enjoying down time with Cozi...Recently we went out for a nice Italian dinner in Glasgow.
And I won tickets to see industrial dance band Combichrist in Glasgow with my friend Ashley :)
End of Part 1...Thursday Part 2 (Japanese Speaking, GbP's New Singer?? & Comicbook Thursday)
I have had a good weekend with travel to and from Alton Towers theme park...however the 8hour round trip afforded me the chance to read the newest Dexter book by Jeff Lindsay.
I loved this classic Dexter novel taking a stab (excuse the pun) at the recent fascination of Vampires intge populous and the taboos of cannibalism.
Last night was pretty feckin good ... for a Tuesday night anyway!!
Me and Corrinne went to Nanakusa Japanese Bar Grill in Glasgow (thanks for telling me about this place Ash :)
After a pretty sweet meal it was off to see The Damned Things rock Glasgow Garage, and for those who dont know who or what The Damned Things are...A Super Rock Group featuring Keith Buckley & Josh Newton from Every Time I Die, Joe Trohman & Andy Hurley from Fall Out Boy and finally Scott Ian & Rob Caggiano from Anthrax.
They were awesome...and nothing much more can be said about it. Here are a few pics of the band in action.
Well looks like my September plans have changed for the better...having the option to go to London Tattoo Convention this year but without the prospect of getting a tattoo from any of the artists that I rrrreeeeaaaallllyyy wanted to get work from...Corrinne found out that the awesome Sam Ricketts was going to be doing a guest spot in Stirling's Lab Monkey Tattoo in September!!
She phoned and booked us both in and just in time as all his spots for the week were fully booked in an hour!! PHEWWWW!!!
Anyway the good news is that on Wednesday 8th of September I will be getting my Sharktopus tattoo from a man who specialises in traditional sea fairing tattoos :)
Here are a few examples of his work (all pics from Sam Ricketts)
Well well well another Spawn of Dawn is over (this is the second I have attended however the 18th year of the Dead By Dawn festival)
The epic marathon of horror film delights started off at midnight Saturday 7th of May and for 11h hours (8 Short Films & 5 Feature Lengths) entertained, disgusted, frustrated but above all satisfied this horror fan.
This is me after the event...very very tired!!!
Below is an account of what was on and my take on the films:
12am to 2.20am
You Are So Undead (Short Film)
This was a really clever and very funny short film which poked fun at the teen adverts on the pressures of unprotected sex ... however in this case ... unprotected biting from vampires. 7/10
I really enjoyed this short film
Deus Irae (Short Film)
Well another kinda comical horror short film...this one a bit more visceral in tone but with the coolest group of exorcists EVER!!! The trailer above set the tone of the short, but, once again I was happily entertained. 7/10
Babyshower (Feature Film)
This was one of those WTF films and I apologise for the lack of subtitles in the trailer above...not that having an understanding of what is being said would really help. It's bloody, crazy and with a cock biting sequence which made me quickly cross my legs I must admit I quite enjoyed this film. 6/10
2.40am to 4.40am
Scary Therapy (Short Film)
I actually missed this short due to an over site with my timing...however I've watched it since and got to say this made me smile as only a silly cartoon could (there is something about Australian horror that makes me laugh as if its almost connected to my funny bone!!). 7/10
The Legend of Beaver Dam (Short Film)
I loved it I loved it I LOVED IT!! Rock and Roll musical around a creepy camp fire with ghost stories...AMAZING!! 9/10
CHOP (Feature Film)
I was confused before I saw this film, convinced that I had seen it and hadn't liked it and as such pretty much had decided I wasn't going to watch it...How glad am I that I did?? Very Glad!!
It was very dark and very very funny!! The premise is simple and one I think everyone can relate to..be careful who you wrong as one day they might get their revenge. Also the gimp ZZ-Top character was nothing short of genius!! 7/10
5am to 6.45am
A Perfect Red Snapper Dish (Short Film)
A Korean short film with a lot of wit, the story centres around the lengths a chef will go to create the perfect red snapper meal. I loved this short film. 7/10
The Hidden Life of the Burrowing Owl (Short Film)
A comical cartoon documentary of revenge in the animal kingdom. 6/10
Killer Klowns from Outer Space (Feature Film)
Having seen this cringe worthy film many years ago I have to admit that time has certainly not be kind...cheesy nonsense of a film...enough said!! 3/10
7.15am to 9.05am
10 Things I Hate About Camping (Short Film)
FULL SHORT FILM
Once again classic Aussie funny horror!! :) 7/10
Stake Land (Feature Film)
This was probably my favourite feature of the whole event...beautifully shot, well acted and with a clever story that really engaged not only my self but the audience...I can't recommend this enough!!
Set sometime after a vampire apocalypse, a man takes a boy he rescues under his wing and trains him to kill as they make their way to New Eden.
I can't praise it enough to be honest. 9/10
9.20am to 11.10am
Por Gloria Divina (Short Film)
FULL SHORT FILM
Very disturbing and gritty short film dealing with a mothers obsession with her children being possessed by demons. Very graphic!! 6/10
Yellowbrickroad (Feature Film)
I did not like this film at all...maybe I'm missing the point but to me it was an 'Art House Experiment' gone wrong...not scary at all and the promise of psychological terror didn't deliver on any level...I was disappointed that this was the last film on the list as it left a sour taste in my mouth.
The story is that in 1940 the population of a town in America left mysteriously along a trail into the hills with no explanation some were recovered dead, some were never found and only one survivor who was insane. In 2010 a group of explorers writing a book on the disappearances follow the that very trail and mysterious things happen. 1/10
Overall Spawn of Dawn was excellent and I can happily say that I enjoyed 90% of what was shown.
There is something about Manga and insomnia that go hand in hand in my world!!
Now I must firstly intimate that I have a love hate relationship with sleep..when we are "friendly" I average about 5hours sleep comfortably...however...when we are "less than friendly" with each other I can have as little as 1hours real sleep!! I have had this for many years and just tend to go with it as opposed to the angry sighing staring at the clock every half hour approach that some novice insomniacs suffer.
For as long as I have had sleep depravation, I have watched and loved Manga!!
So tonight, as I struggle to find the sandman's solace, I have defaulted to Manga...Samurai 7 to be exact!!
And if it keeps up all week I might get through Ninja Scroll!!
