A Break

There is a quote from the film Altered States, in which William Hurt says, "In fact, if I don't strip myself of all this clatter and clutter and ridiculous ritual, I shall go out of my fucking mind."

I can't agree more.

I'm taking a web/tech break. I won't be on Facebook or Twitter for some time to come. Same goes for this blog. They are wasting my time, making me feel like I NEED to check on them, to update, to interact, to, to, to... I can't deal with it anymore. I need a break, to walk away, and figure out what's truly important, and I think this is the first step.

So, if you need to get in touch with me, drop me an email (chris(dot)smith(dot)mailliw(dot)william(at)gmail(dot)com). Or give me a call. I want to keep in touch with everyone--now more than ever, just not via these social constructs.

There are big changes on my horizon as I strip myself of so much ridiculousness that bombards each of us everyday. It will be greatly appreciated if you keep me in your thoughts, prayers, whatever you choose. I will be in your debt.

We all need to periodically assess where our lives our at, the pieces we're trying to put together, the ones we're still trying to find. This is what I'm doing, finding the pieces that fit, the ones that will help me to float rather than drown, the ones that paint a recognizable picture--beautiful or not.

Until then, I wish you the best of days, the most restful of nights, and a wonderful picture of your own.

Neglect

As many of you have said to me, and others may have noticed, I've been neglecting my blog. It was as if Gibberish was the very heart and soul of this thing, and once it faded, so too, did my will to ramble here.

In all honesty, I enjoyed blogging: recommending some new thing I found, ranting about the latest film, and shamelessly promoting myself. However, I feel like I need to step back, re-evaluate, and come back ready to rock.

Namely, I've noticed the trend/norm that most writers and other professionals tend to only blog once or twice a month, with that blog being rather lengthy, well-thought, and an actual article rather than a simple upchuck of words. I hope to do the same here. Or at some other blog. I feel like this has been a great ride, but as I started this in hopes of starting my webcomic of the same name, click-track heart. That never came to fruition, and I'm not sure it ever will. I still love the idea of it; I don't have the time.

That being said, I've taken on one too many projects at a time as is. I need to focus, to keep myself from being so scattered, to finish a story/novel to my own personal standards of completion. I can't do that when I'm so spread out.

And on top of all that, I need to find a new outlet of "fun." I've turned everything I love into work: my writing, my art, even my video game playing--always needing to complete a game in its entirety before moving on to the next conquerable conquest. The only thing that hasn't become work is my listening to music, which I do plenty of. Plenty of.

I still plan on writing here from time to time. Things might just be moving around a bit. Perhaps I'll get/start a new blog elsewhere, one that is a little more "professional." Who knows...

For now, updates will be erratic, probably infrequent, and hopefully I can start sorting out the pieces of my life, trimming the edges, sanding down others, and throwing the remainder out with the bathwater.

Big Man Japan

I like weird things. In fact, I'm very much drawn to them. Yet when I come across something truly bizarre, I can't help but wonder where in the world did these people come up with this stuff.

Big Man Japan is one such thing. Some of the oddest things and some of the best character development I've seen in a film in quite awhile.

The film starts slow though, very slow. I almost turned it off slow, but there was just enough of a "What in the world is going on?" to keep me going. And I'm glad I did. Director Hitashi Matsumoto has crafted an odd mix of mockumentary, Godzilla-esque monster fights, and character examination.

The monster fights will have you shaking your head at their ridiculousness, but it's really the plight of the main character that will keep you going. The hero, Masaru, has such a craptastic life that you can't help but root for him and WANT him to succeed at what he does.

Really, I don't even think I can put into words why you should watch this. The best I can come up with is that About Schmidt found itself in a three-way involving Godzilla films and the non-sequitur of Cartoon Network's Adult swim.

Really though, if you like mockumentaries or over-sized monster fights or just a fully-realized character, you should give this one a go. It is on Instant Watch through Netflix, so it's not even a hard thing to track down.

Something Happened

I fell off the horse in a big way. It's been almost a week since I posted last--something almost unheard of until this moment. Things have simply been busy and full of more important things than my rambling here.

I'm still hoping to post some audible versions of the "Beautiful Writing." Perhaps that will be my goal for tonight.

Really, teaching has taken up the majority of my time. And if I haven't been teaching, I've been purchasing soda at Rocket Fizz or hanging out with my newly parent-status friends. Newborns are itty bitty little things. Hard to believe they're people. Hard to believe I was ever that small. Hard to believe things won't just be so ugly soon enough. (Surrounding these events, I have a story that has been brewing. It better simply be short story, because I DON'T have room or time for another novel. Plus, I think it would make a rather boring novel.)

Anyway, I hope to get back to my regularly scheduled posting here again. It will help with my writing--and perhaps that's what I will post, new snippets from the new novel. Who knows?

Off to prepare for teaching tomorrow, and other work-related things. Bleh.

Good Puzzling Platformer

I'm always on the lookout for good platformers. It's even better when they happen to be puzzle games, too.

Continuity is awesome. So far, it hasn't been very difficult, but it doesn't matter. The execution is wonderful. All you must do is find a key and go through a door. The twist? The game boards play like those oldschool slid pictures, the ones you got as crappy party favors, how you had to slide the pieces around the grid to make the solid picture. You must slide the different "pieces" of the level around in order for your little stick-man to navigate his way to the key, then the door. It's a simple idea, beautiful in execution, and would--and does--make a great time waster.

Check it out if you have a few moments. These guys deserve some applause.