Over and Out.

STG is Dead. Long live STG!

New blog is up. Go here:

http://www.smelltheglory.com/wordpress

and the RSS feed (for you folks reading it via RSS) is:

http://www.smelltheglory.com/wordpress/?feed=rss2

It's been fun, but me and the camel gotta move. Keep the faith, y'all.

Vampire Elf

Vampire Elf on 04.24.06 @ 08:49 PM EST [link] [Add Comment]

I know, I know

Yes, it's been forever since I last posted. But hey, at least I'm like a month up on The Ape Man.

Long story short, a shitload of stuff is going. I'm going to switch blogging software. I love GreyMatter, but it isn't being actively developed and I want to move to a more modern, tag based setup that will enable me to make this blog a little more relevant than just the ramblings of an almost 30-year-old Elf.

Video stuff is going crazy, and a potential new contract job is also on the horizon.

And I'll be ditching the Vampire Elf moniker for my real name. It's time.

Real quick, if anyone's still reading: 48 Hour Film Fest 2006 is May 19-21 and we're already entered. So we are doing it again. Anyone and everyone is welcome to join us. Email me if you need more info.

More Soon.

Vampire Elf on 03.28.06 @ 10:31 AM EST [link] [3 Comments]

Hell of a Cat

It's been a sad and complicated few weeks. I haven't had a chance to do this.



"Baby"

April 1996 - January 25, 2006

We miss you, Fatz Domino. You were a hell of a cat.

Vampire Elf on 02.13.06 @ 08:45 AM EST [link] [89 Comments]

A Not So Great Start

Well, the good news is, my mother's chemotherapy is going fairly well, and she has yet to experience any particularly nasty side effects - she's mostly just tired a lot. Which is good, because she's sleeping more and letting the drug do it's thing.

The bad news is that it has been an extremely rough time at the Elf house this week. Mrs. Elf's cat, Baby (yes, that's his name), started having problems last week and our vet made some assumptions and didn't run the proper blood test when they should have and the cat went into Acute Renal Failure this weekend. Even though he's currently one of the best vet hospitals in the country (UGA Small Animal Hospital), there's very little hope and we'll probably have to put him to sleep very soon. In fact, every doctor we've talked to is amazed that he's alive at all, that he's still fighting as hard as he has been. I'm not the least bit surprised, that cat is the most stubborn creature I've ever met.

My wife is devastated. She raised this cat from three weeks, when she found him abandoned near her job. She bottle fed him back to health, hence the name. He's only 9, so he's older but not at the age where this sort of thing is expected. He is quite literally her child in so many ways. And I love the little bugger myself, so that isn't exactly easy. But worse is how much I feel for my wife. I want to take her pain and carry it as my own. I want to be anything other than helpless. I can't be.

So it would appear to be a not so great start to a year I already have reservations about.

Not to be too sentimental, but give your pets a hug tonight. Then your family and loved ones. Like the song says, "No Day But Today."

Vampire Elf on 01.25.06 @ 05:42 AM EST [link] [1566 Comments]

[Thump!] [Thump!] Hello? Is this thing on?

Well, it would appear my Holiday disappearance lasted far longer than I would've expected. Sometimes things happen that you don't intend. For example, I didn't intend to spend 12 hours tiling my laundry room last weekend. Nonetheless, the laundry room is tiled. And it took much more time than it probably should have, but on the other hand, it doesn't look like any old talentless dimwit did it. It looks like this particular talentless dimwit did it. With help from his lovely, extremely talented better half.

But I think we all know about the connection between intentions and pavement.

read more...

Vampire Elf on 01.12.06 @ 02:21 PM EST [link] [2749 Comments]

Serenity on DVD

I know, I've been slack on the blogging. I've been putting in more time at Adam's Blog than I have here recently. Hopefully, I'll be able to sit down and do a full update on where things are very soon. I should have some time over the Holidays, and my parents finally broke down and ponied up for DSL, so I'll be able to use them there internets when I'm home.

However, as a reminder/notice to everyone, Serenity hit DVD yesterday. Netflix it, rent it, buy it, whatever. It's my favorite film of the year, and it's really quite good. If you like it, maybe you can check out the Firefly DVDs. If not, you may curse my name as much as you wish.

Vampire Elf on 12.21.05 @ 09:10 AM EST [link] [6720 Comments]

Rent 2005

I know what I'm about to say will probably shock some people. But I feel compelled to say it anyway.

"Rent" (the movie version) is a better musical than "Once More With Feeling," the Buffy musical.

Barely. I know, I know. Heresy, but still. The movie is like a lean, mean, fighting version of the broadway musical. Most of the Stupid Musical Transitions(tm) have been removed, leaving just the pure raw, power of the songs and the story. The actual plot is a lot more clear and accessible (though they made decent-sized changes to the second act). Having never seen Rent with the original cast, I can't say how well the two new folks compare to the original actors, but everyone in this version was fantastic.

And the soundtrack fixes almost every single problem I had with the original broadway soundtrack. The guy who produced "American Idiot" for Green Day really threw down and got an incredible rock feel from these songs. It's how it was meant to be, and judging by comments from the cast, they feel the same way. On the other hand, Mrs. Elf prefers the broadway version, so what the hell do I know?

If you've never seen it before, it's a wonderful and uplifting and heartbreaking story with some amazing music. And of course, the story behind the story is equally heartbreaking and compelling. (click on About the Show, then History of Rent)

Anyway, you should go see it. And then Netflix Buffy Season 6, Disc 2 and watch the Buffy musical (episode 6). Which is really freakin' great as well, but requires a little more knowledge of the backstory to have the same effect as rent does in its self-contained package.

Vampire Elf on 11.28.05 @ 11:56 AM EST [link] [1421 Comments]

Food Poisoning

Never had it before. Got it this weekend. Can't say that I recommend it.

I went with two other office workers on Friday to this Mexican joint we frequent. We liked it because it's authentic Mexican, only one staff member even speaks English. Different Mexican. Different is not better.

To various degrees, all three of us got sick over the weekend. And because the little dancing baby of fate prefers to mock me, I got it the worst. I really thought for a little while on Sunday I was going to be headed to the hospital to get an IV in my arm. You know something is seriously wrong when your body is rejecting water as sustenance.

I also did not know that dehydration makes you really sore. That sucked, because I couldn't even enjoy my bedrest. I still haven't slept more than 4 hours at a time since Saturday.

Moral of the Story: Never trust a place that doesn't put cheese on their tacos.

Vampire Elf on 11.22.05 @ 11:40 AM EST [link] [851 Comments]

Disappearance: An update

Once again, I find myself in a long time, no write situation. It's interesting, because at least twice, I've sat down to write an entry and didn't finish it. I had the time, but for various reasons I never finished. Eh, weird me. Anyway, I'm going to do a quick rundown of the things I've been working on/thinking about since the 48 Hour film. This is more for me than you, I suspect. I'm trying to write out my list of things to accomplish, so I'll know where I'm at/where I'm headed.

read more...

Vampire Elf on 11.14.05 @ 01:17 PM EST [link] [431 Comments]

Nobody's Hero

Slightly different audience here than the people who got the email, so I'll post it.

Sometime around 3:30am on Sunday night, I finished up on Rational Spirit's latest "made fast, in a weekend, for a competition" film. Can't really call it a 48 hour movie, because in this case, it was more like 56 and a half hour movie. Still.

Film's called "Nobody's Hero." Yes, that is the name of Rush song. Blame Brad, he put it out there, and it fit, so I ran with it.

It's a moody little flick, y'all. A little bit violent, a little bit comicy. Hey, we got Superhero as our genre, and we had fun with silly effects. The interal logic didn't quite work in places, and we had to cut almost 4 minutes out of it to meet the rule requirement of an 8 minute run time. But it has a lot of fun moments, and some funny moments. The prop was a funnel, and we used it well. Line of dialogue was "Wow, can I touch it?" and our character was T.J. Heinshwartz, Rock Star.

If you want to check it out, pop this link into Windows Media:

http://www.rationalspirit.net/clips/nobodyshero.wmv

And let's not forget Funnel-Cam. All I'm saying. Funnel-Cam.

Vampire Elf on 10.25.05 @ 02:56 PM EST [link] [105 Comments]