The PhenixbluE » Hobbies

Theatrical Limitations

Phenix — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 03:59:55 +0000

Over the years I’ve seen too many movies for my own good. I started movie going at the ripe age of 3 or 4. My Mothers first job after my prents divorce was at the local theater in Moultrie. She was blessed with the ability to take me to work with her, place me in a seat in the back of the theater, and leave me be (coming in often to check on me of course!). Over the years, the “Moultrie Twin,” as it was called, became a second home to me. I watched virtually every movie that came through there (many multiple times) until I went off to college. Even now, I enjoy spending a lazy day doing nothing but watching movies. Netflix has been the bane of my productivity!

Anyways, the point of this is……I’ve seen a lot of movies! Through watching so many movies, I’ve become quite desensitized to violence, vulgarity, and outright debauchery. From rude and lude comedies, gory and gruesome horror flicks, and over the top violent action films, I’ve seen it all. I found myself in the last 4-5 years honing in on a specific niche of films that would make most folks vomit! I used the general terminology, “Fucked Up!” to describe such films. Most fall into the genre of Psychological Thrillers, but many also wiggle themselves into movies that cover other genres, sometimes feigning the appearance of a “NORMAL” movie! I’m not some ethically vacant, demoralized, sadistic, psychotic, heathen (I know that’s what you were thinking!), I enjoy these movies for one main reason. I believe the cinema of today has sold out.

Too many studios, directors, producers, etc. are trying to make movies that reach every audience form the cradle to the grave. The wider the audience, the more money can be made! Like most forms of art, when the all mighty dollar takes over, the true creativity ceases to exist. I tend to really appreciate the filmmakers that don’t care if anyone watches their movie, let alone actually enjoys it, but rather makes the movie because they want to. The people who don’t chisel away and rewrite to please “The Man” and his “little dog fluffy”! Very few of these people exist, and even fewer in America. These movies tend to affect the viewer more than a mainstream film, some even beyond the normal emotions of happiness or tears. Many of the movies I watch propose outlandish situations and inspire a realm of thought that most mortals will hopefully never have to experience. These movies penetrate one’s emotional core, their sense of being, and provoke the viewer to become completely enthralled within the surreal. Those movies that keep you up at night and inspire thoughts of the “Boogie Man!”

One filmmaker whom I’ve come to appreciate is Rob Zombie. He really pushes the limits on humanity. I really enjoy “The Devil’s Rejects.” Here’s a brief list of movies that I think fit into this category (off the top of my head, not meant to be my favorites, or anything like that):

That’s a few to start your voyage into the truly “Fucked Up” cinema. Now, just when I thought there wasn’t a movie that could really get under my skin, I took the liberty of proving myself wrong today. I decided to come home from work and watch a movie I had recently added to my Netflix Instant Watch Queue. The name of said movie: The Girl Next Door. When I came across this film, I had the idea of a twisted Cinderella tale. Then I saw it was set in the 1950’s. This movie is far from “Leave it to Beaver!” I can honestly say, that for some reason, it was extremely hard for me to make it through this movie. Many of my friends have said the same about films they’ve sat in with me on, but they never fazed me one bit. I’m not sure exactly what it was that made me cringe. Maybe it was the fact that it’s based on true events, or the fact that it was children, or maybe even just the fact that people stood by and watched it as if it were a game. Anyway, I will watch this movie one more time, only with a few others (I’d love to see how you may react!). If you’ve seen this movie already, I welcome your thoughts and comments, as well as any you may have for any other movies you would add to the “Fucked Up” list.

-Phenix

Wood Carving: Take 1

Phenix — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 14:50:33 +0000

Well, I recieved my tools and supplies yesterday! I couldn’t even wait to get home to try the stuff out. I sat in my office after I was officially off work, and drew out a design and began some practice carving. The design was something I’ve been playing with lately to be used as a potential logo for The Phenixblue. Transferring the deisgn over to the wood was extremely easy (the Basswood is soft enough that if you lay your paper with a design on it over the wood and trace it with a pen or pencil it will leave an indention of the contour lines). I started off tracing the outline with the 60° V gouge. A vice, or some clamps would help greatly to secure the block so you only have to focus on the goudge and the design. I next moved to the “Sweep” goudge and began the relief carving. My plan was to go along the outside border and remove wood to give the main design an “elevated” appearance. This proved to be somewhat difficult on my small design (I need a bigger piece of wood!!!). Tight curves and small lines are extremely hard right now. I was able to get the job done with a little modification of the design, and some flailing about with carving knives in tight areas to loosen the wood! I had to leave the office after about 30 minutes of working on it (design time included). I picked it up again once I got home for the day (around 9:00pm). I decided to try every tool in the box just to see what each could do. After I got to a point where I actually felt I had accomplished something (about 1.5 hours later) I decided to stop carving and take a closer look at what I had done. A closer examination taught me a lot about what angles I needed to hold the tools at for certain areas, and what tools would make certain tasks a little easier. I did a little sanding to smooth everything out, and that made a huge difference itself. Overall, It was fun and very theraputic! I think I could see the fun in doing this with others. Maybe sitting around a campfire, comparing each others work, and offering suggestions alike. Hopefully I’ll have something worthy of pictures soon! More to come though,

-Phenix

Trying Something New!

Phenix — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 01:23:07 +0000

So I’ve been driving myself crazy lately wanting something “NEW” to try. The time off I had from my tooth problems really got me to thinking about how I spend my time lately. I’ve been extremely busy during the hours outside of work for the past few months. A lot of what has kept me busy is begginning to pass, or slow down, giving me more free time to do whatever I want. With this in mind, I don’t want to go back to sitting on my ass watching TV or something like that. Well, I think I found a new interest that will hopefully fullfill my potential boredom/laziness. What is it you ask……….Why none other than the great art of Wood Carving! I’ve wanted to do this for sometime, and I feel that now is the time to seize the opportunity! I’ve done some carving in the past, but it’s been mostly indeirect (someone asked me to help them with a project) rather than me sitting down and carving. I’ve ordered some initial tools and supplies to get me started, and I am overwhelmed with anticipation for them to arrive (hopefully Friday)! Here’s the where and what I got to start me off:

Where: Greg Dorrence Co.

I did a good bit of searching here and there before coming across Greg’s site. To be honest, there’s no particular reason I chose to order from his site, rather than somewhere else, other than the fact I was tired, and decided to finally pull the trigger on this venture. I am really glad I went with Greg though, he seems like a great guy, and the contact has been awesome as well. You’ll find these tools and supplies elsewhere within a few bucks of Greg’s site, but Greg also only charges $6.95 flat rate for shipping.

What:

3 x Basswood Carving Block 1 1/8″ x 1 1/8″ x 12″
1 x Carving Glove (Safety First!!!)
1 x Warren Combi-M97LJ Carving kit
- Walnut handle with 3-way lock jaw and wrench
- 6 blade assortment pack
- heavy duty blade
- 1/4″ cut 60 ° vee gouge
- #5 sweep 5/16″ cut
- all tools come in a travel case
1 x Flexcut SlipStrop with strop compound

I snagged all of this for under $100 bucks (may sound like a lot, but most “Beginner” sets cost $200+). I decided against purchasing any books only for the reason that I have some prior experience. Once I receive all the tools and materials, I’ll try to post photos and descriptions of my process.

-Phenix