Dazlandia

Craiglist's Heroes: Answering the Call

Episode 1: Answering the Call

 

A typical day in Promethea. The same old skyscrapers that seem to touch the clouds as they float by. The same old transients outside of the local career center with their “No more heroes, we need more zeros” signs. The same old burning apartment complex filled with inculpable people. 

 

Many heroes rush to the aid of the civilians caught in the blaze. Bystanders gaze as if they have paid for front row seats, as heroes of all creeds, colors, and prestige leap into action. Novice heroes kill for opportunities such as these; a chance to prove themselves and maybe even increase their rank. Among the new heroes is a young man wearing a black helmet with a visor similar to the blue bomber. This isn’t exactly his first mission, but he still has a whole garden behind his ears. Locke bursts through a window on the ninth floor, immediately scanning the room for survivors. Back in the good ol’ days, it was a bit easier for heroes to find captors or victims. They would be screaming, shaking and praying to their respective deities. 

 

He sees a woman in a vibrant purple polka dress diddling on her phone. He grabs her hastily and begins to head back towards the window. He halts as he is hit by a loud shrieking sound centimeters away from his ear.“I did not consent to this rescue! Let go of me you filthy poser!” he sets her back down gently. “Sorry ma’am, I just wanted to...,” The woman’s hand met his face before he could finish. “Who do you think you are? Batman!? You can’t just go saving people without permission especially if you’re some no name.” “ My name is Locke! Locke Atman!,” he continues to rebut “ But, it shouldn’t matter who saves you! This building is burning down! Do you not understand the position you’re in!?” The woman responds simply by rolling her eyes. This sets him off, flying out the window from whence he came. 

AOTY 2018

We're nearing the end of the year and even though there is still enough time for new music, I've already chosen my own personal album of this year. Louis Cole's Time feels like it was made personally for me. He has a lot of quirk to his music and if you are familiar with Thundercat then his work will feel like coming home but the twist is you live in Miami instead of Atlanta. 

Cole is a multi-instrumentalist and half of Knower, an electronic duo, with Genevieve Artadi. Cole is quite skillful with the drums, keyboard and various other instruments he employs throughout the album. There's a great flow to it as it starts out energetically with the track, In The Weird Part of The Night. On this song, Cole has lyrics such as "It's hard to be fake with nobody else awake." addressing the freedom of late-night hours spent alone. Personally, I feel as though my best work comes from those moments, where the weight of the world is absent.  

Cole is very relatable as an artist and in very subtle ways. A good example is Bank Account a great minute and a half long track about the fears of checking your bank account (This single was not included on the LP). It's not that these ideas aren't discussed at all in music but little things like that the everyday person can relate to.

I'll admit, initially, I cherrypicked the album, listening to Phone, Things and A Little Bit More Time exclusively. I played these tracks for what seemed like perpetually. I was completely entranced by their catchy, quirky nature. The theme of the song Things, in particular, embodies one of my most important mantras: accepting the fact that you cannot control the world around you but that's not always a bad thing. Then, I decided to dive into a few more tracks, this time listening to Tunnels in The Air, After The Load is Blown and When You're Ugly. Eventually listening to the entire thing only disliking "Night" as it seems like the weakest song on the LP.

When talking about this album, I feel the need to go over the video game-esque sounds that are incorporated. I love video games probably more than the next guy but I hate the constant involvement of video games in other forms of media. Luckily, Louis Cole much like Thundercat does not try to hit you over the head with his video game influences. It doesn't feel like they are trying to pander to you but rather they're big fans themselves.

If you're looking for something a bit different but catchy, I definitely recommend this album. It has everything you could possibly want. Tracks to dance to, tracks to cry to and some lyrics that are bound to get a chuckle out of you. I'm very much looking forward to Louis Cole's future as an artist and I hope there will be much more to come.

 

 

Where Did The Fear Go?.. Oh Wait, There It Is!

Spoiler Alert!

I'm just going to come out and say it: when it comes to horror movies, I'm a little fruit. It's not just that they scare me at the moment, it's the lingering feeling afterward. Reminiscent of the funky aftertaste of a diet Coke (a bit more sinister, of course). Despite this, I find the horror genre to the most interesting in terms of plot.

Think about it, what makes things creepy? Absence of comprehension. If you tell the audience too much too quickly you lose tension and if you leave too much up to interpretation, you risk pissing them off. In recent years, both the horror and comedy genres have been buried. Riddled with either terrible plots, sub-par performances or heavy reliance on gimmicks. Horror like comedy relies on the element of surprise. Nothing is really funny when you are expecting it and neither is something scary. So, when you find a good horror or comedy movie, first be sure to tell all your friends and second feel blessed. I saw a pretty great horror movie last weekend and I may be a little late but I suppose that runs in the family.

Heredity was written and directed by Ari Aster and I haven't seen any of his previous works but this movie has motivated me to do so. It's funny to me that it came out in what Red Letter Media likes to call "F*ck you, it's January" as most movies infamously blow during the month of my birth, unfortunately. I did not see this film in theaters but I wish I did. It's not another in your face jump scare-fest. The movie understands the value of pacing and slower payoffs. Not to mention, I imagine most people are going to want to re-watch this as the foreshadowing can easily go over your head if you aren't paying close attention.

I love the sense of doubt the movie during the seance scene with Joan; I wasn't sure if the ghost was going to harm them or if Joan was just plain insane. Then, the shot of the pole when Charlie and Peter are on their way to the party. I could have never predicted how it would be involved in Charlie's death and it's shown just long enough that I remember it but quick enough that I didn't think about it on the way back. Even Gabriel's death as the audience expects Annie to burn based on the information we are shown prior.  The whole cast did a terrific job and Charlie's actress was particularly perfect for her part. There were complaints surrounding Peter's crying but some people honestly have that "ugly" cry. If the movie is a sundae, the ending is the cherry on top. We see that not only was Joan part of the cult but so is one of  Peter's teachers among many others. King Paimon is revived but it's as if he is a newborn himself looking a bit confused as to how he got there and why people are bowing to him.

You can look at this film as a well-executed horror movie or you can see it as a family's struggle with mental illness. Peter showing signs of Schizophrenia and Annie suffering from DID similar to her mother. I use to date a girl with a  family history of serious mental illnesses. She often contemplated whether or not she should have children and I can understand the hesitation similar to how Annie wanted to abort Peter. Not due to her disdain of his existence but to protect him from the "misfortune" of carrying her bloodline.

Horror may not exactly be making a comeback anytime soon but it sure is nice to find a golden nugget amongst a sea of excrement. 

TL:DR: if you're bored staring at the wall or scrolling through Instagram think about giving this movie a watch. It's worth your time.

Witnessing the Birth of Modern Gaming

Around the year 2000, I was about five years old. My parents are a bit older so I always had siblings that were a decade or so older than me. My mom was the original gamer in my family. She would play Pacman/Ms. Pacman religiously, every chance she could get. My dad was more into the point and shoot games at the arcade. My older brother and sister loved JRPGs and other story-based games. The first person to ask for a console in my family was my eldest sister (to be clear, I have three sisters and one brother). I believe she asked for an NES and that's how it all started.

Fast forward about 15 years and word of a new game on the latest SEGA console was heard. I remember the game having a funny sounding name that I didn't recognize as English, probably because it wasn't. My brother and sister eagerly popped the game into the Dreamcast. It booted up and it was like something I'd never seen before. Sure, I played Super Mario 64 but I was a smart enough kid to know that wasn't real. This game though, it was like watching a movie. I remember how scared I was when Ryo's (whom I referred to as Ryu at the time) father was killed by Lan Di. 

The game I'm talking about is of course Shenmue. It's crazy to see after all those years I'll be able to relive it again. Don't get me wrong, I saw what happen to Mighty No. 9. I'm not blindly excited about the crowdfunded third installment. However, I am quite excited to relive my childhood wonder as an adult. I was too young to play Shenmue for myself at the time but now I've been granted the chance to actually experience it first hand.

P.S.: I plan to follow up this post with a Now vs. Then review of the game as well as the sequel, which I did play on Xbox upon release.