Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Briefing time.....

*FLASHES BRIEFS*

Didn't get to watch watchmen yesterday due to timeslots (the earliest one was at 5pm, which my dad would kill me over the curfew for. Dwah), so a close friend and I decided to go and watch Seven Pounds instead.
Now, he mentioned that watching Will Smith was always a treat, but I didn't realise just how true that was until we were done and walking off around two hours later.
Religeously, it's a bit of a dilemma, and it might be distressing to some, but don't listen to the critics. It's worth a watch and definitely worth more than that 10 bucks you have in your pocket.
Spent much of last night helping mom deisgn the new home out in maya. It was interesting to say the least.
I've also joined a Pokemon RPG site. Laughing are you? thought so. *harrumphs*

I'm going to meet the studios (KRU) in a bit, so wish me luck on that fellas. Apparently they have to discuss something urgently. I wonder what is is.
Will report back later today.

Random sketch of the day:



Her name's Rayne Hudson, and she's the chick I'll be RPing. Looks sorta like me now that I look at it. o.o


Random LOLwrestler of the day:

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

The allure of ProWrestling......

 "Pro Wrestling: In Canada, it's a tradition. In Mexico, it's a religion. In Japan, it's a sport. In America... it's a joke."

So I found this quote on Wrestlecrap, and it got me thinking a little.
At least back to the days when my brother and I were waist-high to our parents, played Pokemon cards and though that Double Dragons was the coolest shit ever (Retro for the muthatruckin' win!)

He introduced me to the sport around then, at first of course, boys being boys he was attracted to the huge muscled man-gods settling fights in the ring with a referee to keep things 'fair'. Which is, honestly, what looks like the most obvious, outward reason for watching a spectacle a lot of other people see as white trailer trash.



So, is Wrestling honestly a joke?
And what makes a geeky, bespectacled, female bookworm look up to this often-maligned form of entertaintment?

Let's kick off things by getting a little into the history of Wrestling, shall we?
Wrestling is one of the oldest fighting forms in the world, dating all the way back to ancient Greece where oiled-up paticipants would pummel each other for sport. Of course, it came with a ground set of rules so they didn't up killing themselves, and if studied, one will realize how intricate and hard to pull off some of these 'fake' moves can be.
Wrestling has also appeared in Persian and Indian culture, as well as old Japan.

In America, the birthplace of 'Pro Wrestling', it first started out as a carnival attraction, with colorful characters beating the hell out of each other and people paying to see them do that and/or betting on the outcomes.
After some time, promoters realised something very quickly;
If they rigged the results, have certain things drafted out first and build up the rivalry, it actually became more interesting than an impromptu free-for-all.

And that turned into Kayfabe, or Scripted Wrestling.
(For those of you still out of the loop, yes. Wrestling is scripted. They even have scripts and writers)

So is Scripted Wrestling fake? Hardly. The moves still hurt, and many a time, the wrestlers prefer doing things on the fly or simply going out there with a small set of spots to give more energy to the whole preformance.
So it's real?
Only in the sense of moves. What isn't real is the personas of the said wrestler. Bad guys are scripted as bad guys, just like villians in movies. They do dastardly things according to what is written, sometimes weeks in advanced. The promoters gage the audience's reception to the preformer and drafts out Heels and Faces (Villians and Heroes) and storylines accordingly.
Many Heels are wonderful people in real life, and many more are best friends with their worst rivals in the ring.

Kayfabe/Scripted;



Versus real life;





Complicated isn't it?

So getting back to the point; What draws us to wrestling? What draws me to wrestling?
They say humankind is born with both a sense of kindess and a penchant for violence.
Like wolves, intelligent creatures who avidly watch an alpha male square off against a rival.
In old Roman times, the people had an outlet for this in their Colloseums, watching gladiator after gladiator fight against mounting odds, cheering for their favorites and allowing them to live after particularly good shows with a 'thumbs up'.
Pro Wrestling, one could say, is an evolved form that spectacle, only where opponents actually care about each other and their fates as villian or hero, not life is judged by the crowd's reaction to them.

Modern Pro Wrestling can't be considered a sport due to the outcomes being rigged, but what it is, is what it has been since forever; A spectacle, a form of entertaintment that is a mix of everything from romance...



To comedy....



To drama.....



Despite what others say, I believe it's an intelligent form of televised escapade, due to the idea of things not what they seem to be in the ring and outside. There's as much good writing as there is bad, there are politics, backstage cultures and subcultures, there's a science to how things are done.
It's a challenge to figure out how these people can manage to make what they do so believable to the audience. It's of an interest to learn of what goes on behind those dark curtains to put on yearly, one of the greatest shows on earth. It's mind-boggling to think about the days, the hours, the sweat and blood and tears these men put into a profession many join not for the money, because there's 1 in a 100 chance you're going to make it big, but because it's their childhood dream
Because you should never let anyone tell you that you can't.

Ask Shawn Michaels, who knew he wanted to be a wrestler since he was 12, or Chris Jericho, who went to all four corners of the globe to hone his craft and was laughed at in his church when he said he was going to pursue this dream, or Randy Orton, whose father did everything he could to keep his son away from the bussiness.

The stories these men can tell about their lives and their paths outshine any that some rock gods or movie stars can spin.
And in the end, that's what really draws me, and possibly what really draws many others to the sport-entertainment-spectacle that is Pro Wrestling, the genius that are Vince McMahon and Paul Heyman among others, and the many legends that populate its rich tapestry;
Underneath all the lights and music and action and storylines, is the notion that yes, you can achieve anything you put your heart into with hard work and heart, yes, even though you don't have the right size, the right look, the right style, that you can be someone in your life, and that any normal man is capable of great things.

So stand up and be proud, Wrestling Fans, because even though our passion is looked down upon, scoffed at, belittled and mocked, we see the beauty of it that others can't.

Wrestling is not a joke. It's a beloved tradition to Canadians, a hallowed religeon to the Mexicans, a true and honored sport to the Japanese.

And to others that think otherwise....



Be Jealous.

Hectic Schedule is Hectic.....

So, a bit of a new look for the old blog. Hahaha......
Up there is Mousegirl, my usual mode of self-expression. Yes, she's happy to see you. No, that isn't blood. And no. Pants are for wussies.

A lot has been happening lately, most obvious being my more hectic schedule (What with the amount of updates on this little scrapper? Really?). But I'm best when I'm busy, so  that's good.

First things first, here's hoping I'll finally pass FA this semester, and here's the little bastard who's going to help me do it.





His name is Raimundo. He's based off Rey Mysterio, and if anyone makes fun about his height, better order that tombstone now, mates.
Hopefully he won't be too hard to animate. I'm rather hopeless with 3D as it is.

I'm also currently working on a project for KRU Studios, a local production house. There's this movie that's coming out in 2010 see?
http://www.thefilmcatalogue.com/catalog/FilmDetail.php?id=7356

And my job is to do the storyboards for the whole film.
All 3000 plus frames of it.
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, here I come.

It's an awesome project nonetheless, and I'm proud to be a part of it.
I meet them on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays every week to discuss upcoming scenes.
I'm getting paid roughly Rm4 per frame, but any money is good money in this economic climate.
To my local buddies, make sure you guys catch it once it comes out eh?
Shameless shilling is good.  I'll probably put up some sketches of the main characters soon, so keep an eye out for them.

I've also been dabbling a bit in photomanpulation, the result which are my babies as seen below...








Had a LOT of fun working on this lot.  I'll probably put up more soon.

My brother brought back a Watchmen comic the past week, and I'm going to see the movie tommorrow, so I'm curious to see how loyal the onscreen adaptation really is. Regardless, it's sure to kick ass.

Random sketch of the day:



A friend of mine was complaining online that her dragon character could never look feminine and that most lizards were very hard to feminize.
I respectfully disagreed after seven minutes with a tablet pen. =)

LOLWrestlers pic of the day;



And now I shall continue my artistic (my ass) endevours.
Over and out fellas.....=D