Favorite things related to gaming (and a few least favorite things)

Favorite things related to gaming
(and a few least favorite things) 

by Gary Hamrick Jr.

This blog post is mostly just to cover some of my favorite and least favorite games, developers, game franchises, etc.  There's probably a bunch of games that I have missed out on that I would have enjoyed, especially on PC.  I didn't own a PC, especially a gaming PC, from around 2004 until November of 2016.  There are games that I have gone back and tried to play with mixed results. I have found myself to gotten increasingly pickier about games as I have gotten older.

Favorite Game of All Time: Don't really have one.  I have generally found myself a bigger fan of certain game franchises and potential franchises than any one game in a particular franchise. 
Favorite Game Franchises: Elder Scrolls 
Biggest Guilty Pleasure Game or Game Franchise of all time: This one has changed over time.  It used to be the Lego Games on Console. (Tried playing the Lego games on PC and they are glitchier on PC than on Console in my experience.)  These days, it is probably Minecraft (the bedrock version) or a certain Disney game that released in 2022.  
Current PC Guilty Pleasure: House Flipper
Games I am looking forward to the most: As of January 1, 2023: Starfield, Hogwarts Legacy, Elder Scrolls VI, New Witcher and Cyberpunk games.  
Favorite Game Genre: See the genres of my favorite franchises.  Though honestly, I enjoy games that I can create stuff on, or explore, or that have a good story.  Having said that, there's several Action-RPG and RPG games on the PC that I would like to go back and have a go at that I missed over the years. 
Favorite Game Developers: Bethesda... with CD Projekt Red being a close second 
Franchises with which I have a love-hate relationship: The Sims and The Final Fantasy franchises.
Least Favorite Game Genre: The competitive Battle Royale and MOBA games.  I play games to relax and have fun not to stress myself out by "competing" with people half my age or younger.  I also generally suck at most first person shooters and sports games so I stay away from most of those too.  (A lot part of this is due to eye-sight issues and bad reflexes.)  Honestly, I'd consider getting a new NCAA football game if I could simulate AI vs. AI games for my own entertainment.
Biggest problem with playing on a PC: I have to use a controller on most games or do a controller and mouse keyboard hybrid, especially in recent years.  This is largely due to some nerve issues in my hands and also shoulder and neck pain.  (I am hurting a lot right now while typing this actually and it taking me a lot longer than it should get done.)  While I can use a mouse and keyboard on a game like the Sims, for example, I periodically lose feeling in my hand while griping the mouse for a couple of minutes at a time.  Typing at a keyboard gets painful in my hands and shoulders after a bit also even going back to typing papers in college or working on other stuff like movie scripts.  It has gotten much worse in recent years which has made even typing up blog posts a more lengthier process than it once would have been.

Biggest problem with playing on a Console: You basically can't use console (debug?) commands or mods on console games.  I don't install a lot of mods on games but I do occasionally.  I do enjoy using console commands on the Elder Scrolls and Fallout games after my first playthrough, though.  Mostly, it involves just spawning items so I can either save time running around getting stuff or get some stuff early on that might not normally be available early in the game.  There are mods on PC that will allow you to use a version of console commands on both Witcher 3 and Cyberpunk 2077.  

Having done this post, I have had several ideas for future blogs.  There will be a series of blog posts in 2023 about my enjoyment of various franchises as well as what as become my love-hate relationship with various franchises.  So... stay tuned there?

Cheers.

Information on Gaz Corvin

Gaz Corvin: some general information

from Gary Hamrick Jr.

    The character of Gaz Corvin began as the result of my trying to rename a CAW (or create-a-wrestler) version of "me" (more on that later) that I usually made on the various WWE games every year after they added the ability to create your own superstar.  There were elements of the character that were based on a few ideas discussed by me and a couple of friends who were training to become professional wrestlers. A few of those ideas had to do with an idea for a group of talent that would be called "The Kindred", which thankfully never happened.  Most of the ideas were generally from my preference 90s grunge fashion and my enjoyment of the approach that Raven took with his gimmick in WCW. (Side note: I barely got to see much of Raven's work in ECW aside from a few of his matches there.)

    The name "Corvin" was always going to be present in any version of the character.  Corvin is derived from the Latin word "corvus" which means crow, although the word today refers to the birds' genus which includes both crows and ravens. I was also a big fan of The Crow comic series and movie back in the 90s as well. During those brainstorming sessions, I had envisioned a "manager" character named "Corvin Sandz" that had similarities to what "The Sinister Minister James Mitchell" had done as James Vandenberg in WCW though with different ideas that incorporated Mister Sinister leading The Morlocks in Marvel Comics. Oddly enough, James Mitchell would later manage the one of those guys in the brainstorming sessions who actually made it through training and into the business. For those wondering about the last name "Sandz", it was a reference to the last name of English actor Julian Sands from the 1989 film Warlock.  And honestly, I wouldn't have thought to use it as a last name had it not been for The Underworld films which had a character named "Michael Corvin" that was played by Scott Speedman.  To be honest, the idea was rubbish but it made for amusing brainstorming.

    As for the name "Gaz", that is another story.  I've an old friend / acquaintance named Mark Ashworth who is an actor from Manchester, England.  I met Mark because both of us were involved with an attempt to develop a film version of a web series that I had worked on previously.  I have no idea if the project got anywhere as I left the project before production even started.  (Oddly enough, the topic has never come up between Mark and myself since.) Mark and I became friends soon after and have remained in touch when possible since then with mixed results.

    The whole time that Mark and I have known one another, he'd been referring to me as "Gaz" and I think sometimes "Gazza".  I had no idea what he was calling me and didn't want to be rude by asking as it didn't seem to be anything offensive.  Years later, Mark would wind up working on the pilot episode for the NBC series "Constantine" which is based off one of my favorite comic series.  Being a longtime fan of the "Hellblazer" comics, I wound up being quite involved with the fan base of the series which led to some various social media exchanges with the actors.  This included Matt Ryan who played the title character of John Constantine and would reprise the character on the show Legends of Tomorrow.  During one of those twitter exchanges, Matt Ryan referred to the character of Gary Lester as "Gaz" which led me to ask him about the nickname.  It is apparently "shorthand" or "slang" in some parts of England for the name "Gary" which happens to be my name.  Realizing this, "Corvin Sandz" became "Gaz Corvin" though I have managed to incorporate the other name into the character.

    Not long after the character was renamed, I began moving the CAW character away from resembling me too much. Some of this was necessary due to obvious reasons like my physical health issues and I am nowhere near athletic enough to be a professional wrestler.  Over time, I began moving the character away from being a "stand in for me" and toward being a completely original character.  Well, mostly original as there still are some things that the character shares with me.  In fact, there's a few things that have been added back in recently, especially with taking the character into confines outside the WWWN project.  Though the character is not meant as a form of wish fulfillment, I'd be lying if I said there weren't some elements of it there.  And while admitting that, the things involving the  character of Gaz Corvin that are and are not that wish fulfillment might surprise you.

    Corvin is meant to have several traits related to the Byronic Hero and Nominal Hero as well as the Anti-Hero to him as well as some other traits related to several other "hero tropes" common in various forms of media though those are the first ones that come to mind.  I've always been more drawn to the flawed classical anti-hero than the ideal hero. There are reasons for this though not ones that should be gotten into here.  It is enough to say that Gaz is flawed but he is quite aware of his flaws and has embraced them at times.  I'd almost call him "True Neutral", to borrow from the Dungeons and Dragons alignment systema bit, though that may be pushing it slightly but not by much.

    Originally, I thought of it as Corvin being a knight in "grunge rock apparel" rather than one in "shining armor". This is true for all of the Corvin Family but especially Gaz Corvin. He doesn't care if he is cast as the hero or the villain (or rather face or heel in terms of professional wrestling). Like the rest of his family, he is quite pragmatic. His flaw is that he is arguably just jaded enough or cynical enough to believe that he is doing whatever is necessary to ensure he and his "family" (both blood related and extended family) succeed.  (Of course, there are some reasons for this belief too, whether right or not.)

    Gaz Corvin has an "in-universe" backstory that was originally centered around his involvement with the "WWWN and pro-wrestling world" though I've begun expanding on that into other areas such as investigative journalism. I'm limiting his official in-universe backstory though to the WWWN stuff, references to discarded writing projects of mine, and other things that are not related to any specific game or its universe.  For many "gaming universes", there will be some sort of post done later with explanations of his origin in that universe and likely other members of The Corvin Family as needed.

    Another note about Gaz's "in-universe" backstory, there is a lot of information that is intentionally classified as "missing" and "uncertain" about events of his childhood and even his birth.  I was aiming for the idea that a lot of the information known about his past might be questionable.  It may eventually get fleshed out but time will tell there.

Some Information on the Character's Physical Appearance

In official terms

    Gaz Corvin is an adult male of Caucasian origin who is believed to be in his mid to late 40s as of 2022. He is believed to have British, Irish, and German heritage. Over the years, his skin tone has ranged from appearing as a normal, fair complexion to being pale or having a pallor to his complexion. Corvin is considered average in height with estimates that he is slightly under six foot tall (Officially, he is meant to be around 5'10" in height but that will vary due to various things like game universe mechanics.) His hair was originally black though grey started appearing in it during his mid to late 30s. Presently, it is more salt and pepper in color and completely grey around his temples. While normally adverse to dying his hair, he has been known to do so on a temporary basis. (This is basically my excuse to give him black hair in a video game.) For reasons unclear, his eyes are said to have a purple color to them.  It has been said they were originally brown.

    While not involved in sports much in high school, Gaz Corvin is said to have always tried to remain in reasonably good shape. This is believed to be due to the influence of both his wife and mutual friends of theirs, including a previous girlfriend. Despite this, it is noted that he is not the "gym rat" that his wife is or even his best friend Orion Masters. He has noted that at the time of wife's foray into amateur MMA, he would have been a "light heavyweight" or "cruiserweight" if he had any interest in competing. Those closest to him have said that he'd probably never weighed over 200lbs had he not gotten involved with professional wrestling.

    Corvin's sense of casual fashion ranges from "grunge rock" to "business casual" though he had frequently leaned toward the latter in recent years.  He was known for wearing long coats in high school, specifically a dark Navy blue raincoat that he got from a military surplus store. With regards to formal attire, he is said to own multiple tailored suits, which he gained a preference for in his late 20s, that he typically wears with either a white or dark colored dress shirt.  He hates wearing ties.

Some "unofficial" notes

    In the early days of the character, when I was creating a "character to be based on me" in wrestling games, I initially using Marvel Comics' Alex Summers aka Havok as height and weight base for the character and then just dropped the height down to my own 5'9'' - 5'10" (at the time) range.  Later on, I raised the weight of the character quite begrudgingly due to the weight detection becoming a thing in the older WWE games.  During the process of moving Gaz Corvin away from being "based on me" and toward being an original character, I began using pro-wrestler Dean Malenko as the height and weight base for my character as Malenko was a technical wrestler and was considered a "cruiserweight" at the time in pro-wrestling vernacular.  Upon being introduced to MMA, I got the idea of using Georges St-Pierre as a height and weight base for Gaz Corvin before I realized that Georges St-Pierre weighed less than I realized even without cutting weight. (Bah! I knew nothing about the MMA weight classes then! Still don't know much now.)  Since then, my general rule of thumb is that Corvin is a "pro-wrestling light heavyweight" that could cut down to being a "pro-wrestling cruiserweight" if he had to but he would rather not.

    Apart from putting him in pro-wrestling games, I would describe Gaz Corvin as being "fit enough" but not a "gym-rat" anymore than he feels necessary.  Having said that, he is definitely in good shape for a guy in his mid-late 40s. Despite saying that, don't expect him to have six pack abs or anything like that.  Either way, he is in better shape than I am in real life (especially since my health problems put me on disability).  I've a couple decent gaming analogies for them related to gaming.  In many fantasy games, for example, I would put him in the "rogue" or "mage" role over being the "warrior" role.   If we are talking Marvel Comics or MCU Live Action stuff, think somewhere between Phil Coulson (before bionic arm on Agents of SHIELD) and Matt Murdock (aka Daredevil) as played by Charlie Cox.

    One last note: I've tried to leave a few things open to interpretation in describing Gaz Corvin's appearance. The biggest thing is the hair.  Most of the time, the type of salt and pepper hair color that he is considered to have ideally is not going to be games.  I've varied on my solutions to this from having him with black hair as he had in his youth to going with a dark grey color that some games have like on "Skyrim".

Hmmm... I think that is everything. At some point, I will upload the "in-universe" information on Gaz Corvin but I have other blogs to get written up and released at the moment.
Cheers.

Education rant for a "duck"

 This blog came about because it was requested.  I met MMA fighter Joanne Calderwood at the Invicta FC 3 event in Kansas City, Kansas in 2012.  We kept in touch for a while though I kinda lost contact with her as I did with several other "friends and acquaintances" after I started getting sick toward the end of 2014.  The request though, as I explain in the blog, was from Joanne's sister.  I liked what I wrote well enough that I felt it merited being reposted with a few minor edits.  Most of the edits come either at Jemma's request (her blog is no longer active) or because I felt something needed to be clarified that I said originally.  There's also a few formatting related edits. 

Education rant for a "duck" - 5/14/14

     Yesterday, a tweet and blog entry came to my attention from the sister a friend of mine.  The friend is MMA fighter Joanne Calderwood.  Her sister goes by the name JemmaPDuck on twitter. (hence why this entry is labeled as being for 'a duck')  Her blog can be found here.  Jemma is a math teacher in Scotland.  I am a writer and filmmaker here in the US.  Jemma's blog entry asked for educators to chime in with their thoughts on 'achieving excellence in learning and teaching' for a presentation that she has to give in a week.  

     I'm not a teacher or educator.  However, I feel like I am qualified to chime in here.  Furthermore, I've something to say on the topic.  I'm a harsh critic of the education system in the US.  I've become an even harsher critic at the recently implemented idea of the "Common Core Curriculum".  (However, the purpose of the blog is not to rant about that topic and any blog that I wrote on that topic would likely have obscene language.)  More importantly, I am someone who has two bachelor's degrees and who has shot down the idea of becoming going back to get my master's and becoming a teacher or professor multiple times over the years.  Therefore…

What does 'achieving excellence in learning and teaching' mean to me?

    Let's start with the learning part.  For a student to truly learn something, he or she has to want to learn it.  This goes for any subject rather it is math, science, history, literature, or whatever.  My background is in literature but I've always had a general interest in certain elements of history.  My worst subjects in school were math and science.  Why?  Aside from just a general tendency to be what some might call a 'Right Brain' person in a lot of ways, one of my biggest problems in most of my math and science classes were a lack of interest in the subject.  

    In math classes, mostly notably Algebra II in high school, I struggled with being able to memorize (and thus arguably understand) all of the formulas being thrown at me.  And honestly, part of that struggle was honestly because I was more interested in 'surviving the class' than I was learning the subject.  Another issue with the lack of interest was the constant lingering question of "how the hell am I am going to use this in every day life" that most students who don't intend a career in mathematics have at some point.  The teachers teaching the subject seemed to not only be aghast at the idea that a student would ask something like this but often pissed that students were not going into mathematics. 

    In college, I was usually just genuinely bored.   For example, I had a Biology professor who talked in more of a monotone voice than Ben Stein in Ferris Bueller's Day Off and had his back to the class for the most part as he did it.  (I mention this one particular professor for a reason.)  More importantly than this, there was little about the text books or his lectures that inspired any sort of interest in the subject.  The easiest time I had in "College Biology for Non-Majors" was the section on genetics.  Why? I'll get to that in a moment.
    If it wasn't boredom in college, it was because it was a subject that I legitimately struggled with for whatever reason.  Having to take Spanish classes comes to mind.  In that case, the teacher flat out didn't seem to give a shit.  For starters, she taught the class in such a way that made it more difficult to learn (for me at least).  Her idea of "teaching" was having us watch some Spanish telenovela and then quiz us on it.  I couldn't understand most of it and this was reflected in my quizzes.  When I tried to address this with her, she said she didn't care and that I was stupid and needed to study more.  (No, I am not exaggerating.)  I made it out of the class with a C- due to a loophole on the vocal part of final and a lot of what I was able to retain on the subject (and have retained since then) related to working in a restaurant. In this case, it was being a customer at a restaurant.
    Now any teacher worth their salt should know this about students. The idea that "it is easier to teach students who want to learn the subject and who are interested in the subject" is not new.  I am certain if you did a search for articles on the idea that you'd find plenty.  However, just knowing that idea doesn't really equate being 'excellent' by any means.  

    The first step to excellence in teaching is being able to inspire the students to both have interest in and want to learn about a topic.  

    In college, I took a Shakespeare class with an initial reluctance and fully prepared to loathe the class.  One of my college mentors, A.J. Hartley, taught the class.  A.J. started out the class by playing the song "Amnesia" by Chumbawamba and had us listen to the song all the way through.  After the song was done, he proceeded to explain the meaning behind the song that wouldn't be initially obvious to someone who either wasn't British or familiar with the politics over there at the time the song was written.  Then, he explained that Shakespeare's plays had a similar thing going for it.  We spent the quarter approaching several of Shakespeare's plays from that context.

    The idea that many educators I've had over the years didn't and many of the ones I know now don't do this sort of this puzzles me.  Some have claimed they are constrained by the curriculum but I've yet to meet any teacher whose lectures are written for them by a third party unless they are an actor playing a teacher in a film.  If you truly love the subject you are teaching then you should be able to get some degree of interest in the vast majority of your students.  You just might have to think outside the box to reach some of them.

So let's say, the second step to excellence in teaching is to know how to both relate your passion to your students and how your passion relates to your students.

    This goes for any subject.  JemmaPDuck is a math teacher so I will use math first as an example here. (And I'll even throw in a science example for the potential benefit of any science teachers in the audience.  Plus, I wanted to get back to that Biology teacher earlier.)  Let's say that you have a newly minted high school math teacher who is planning out what she plans to teach to his or her students for the year.   In doing so, start with the table of contents of whatever textbook you are using and note what chapters are covering what topics.  Now before you do anything else with any of those chapters, take a step away from the text book and turn on your computer or your tablet.  Why?  Simple.  Find out what is going on our there that is math related that could be of interest to your students.  
    For example, if there is a TV show like the former show "Numbers" that involved a mathematician helping his brother solve crimes then look into it.  Consider how he is using math and what math he is using to assist the police in solving crimes.  I'll give you a hint, there was a lot used over the six seasons of the show.  When you consider that Sherlock has used mathematical references on the show Sherlock as well then you've another bit of information.  

    Another great example, and one I am going to encourage JemmaPDuck to perhaps inquire with her sister's coaches about is the use of math in MMA.  I imagine this would go for any sport but since Jemma has a connection, she should run with it.  The issue here is statistics.  If you're coaching a fighter and you know your fighter's opponent statically favors a certain tactic in a fight then you can work on how to counter that tactic.  Or in the case of a fight I watched recently, a fighter had a reputation statically for doing a couple of certain things in a fight and intentionally went against what her opponent  expected her to do, threw the opponent's game off, and won the fight.  If anyone is curious, there is an attempt at keeping a record on the UFC website of the "skill breakdown" of the fighters based on their percentage of strikes, takedowns, and submissions. The same goes for baseball in the US, even more probably than MMA, as the statistics of the various players' offensive and defensive numbers play a huge part in evaluating how well a player is doing during a season.  Ever hear a pitcher having a .154 ERA?  What about a first baseman with a .372 batting average?  Those numbers are based on statistics.

    How about a couple of science ones for you?  I mentioned that in that science course that the only chapter that really 'struck a chord' with me was the Genetics section.  You can thank the X-Men (both comics and movies) for that.  And since the debut of the TV show CSI, the interest in Forensic Science in the US (and presumably abroad) seems to shown an increase, especially amongst females.  (A fun side note to that, three of the four forensic techs who were at the scene of the hit and run that happened in front of my mom's house last year were female.)

    The point here is that being able to relate your topic to things that the students are familiar with will help inspire their interest.  Knowing what is out there that might be influencing interest in the subject that you are passionate about will help even more.

The last thing I am going into here:

The third step to excellence in teaching is
encouraging your students to explore other resources.

    Here's is a sad truth for you.  "You are not a beautiful and unique snowflake." (Thank you, Chuck Palahniuk and Fight Club for that one.)  Okay, what I mean here is that you are not the only teacher that these kids will have for the subject and a good chance that applies to even within the course of the school year.  Furthermore, this is not a bad thing.  If your explanation of a topic is not clear enough to the student then help the student find a resource that will make it clearer for them.  And then encourage students to ask questions about what they have learned from other sources.

    A very good resource in the math department comes from actress Danica Mckellar.  Aside from her career as an actress, the woman is the author of four non-fiction books on math that are designed to help kids, especially girls, to become more interested math.  In addition, she is a published academic in the field of mathematics and has a theorem that is partially credited to her.  I'm sure there are other resources as well but there's a start.   

    Like I said though, one of the most important things on this step is to have your students ask questions about what they may be picking up outside the classroom.  If they are not doing well on the tests then may not be simply 'because they aren't studying' the material but it may be because they are not completely understanding the material because there are questions that are not being asked.  And  some students, for whatever reason, are hesitant to ask questions in a class (especially if you as a teacher have made it a particularly unpleasant environment for students to ask questions).

Now let's venture back to the learning side of things for a bit to close this out

    Students, learners, and even some of you teachers.  I have your back.  I also have some 'bad news' for you, though.  If you are doing it right, you will never stop learning.  I'm 38 46 and still learning stuff (new stuff even not to mention having to relearn some old stuff) to this day.  (Currently trying to figure out Instagram. Instagram figured out!)  The key is going to be maintain the interest to keep learning.

    Now, I just laid out a few steps for the teachers for helping you to gain or even maintain interest in the subject of that class.  I cannot lay out a bunch of steps for you on how to achieve excellence in learning, however.  There is no one surefire method to be completely honest.  I can offer a few key pieces of advice, though.

1. Discover what interests you as soon as you can.
2. Do not be afraid to discover new interests as you get older.
3. NEVER be afraid to ask questions.  But ask the right questions to the right people, for the right  reasons. (see next item)
4. Ask questions for the right reasons, never ask questions as a means to try to intentionally discourage others.  Don't ask questions as a means to bully someone or make them look bad.
5. Be willing to share your interests with the possibility of learning new things.  Rather it is with your kids, your family, your friends, your spouse, whoever.  And if, by chance, they don't share the same passion you do for that interest then accept then.  You can always try to share why you passionate about said interest as well.
6. Be willing to share in another's interest, as you never know where that road will lead you.
7. Always #InvestigateForYourself - meaning follow up on information... especially in this day and age where getting multiple sources and multiple perspectives (especially ones that may differ) on a subject may be helpful in fully understanding a topic.  Also especially in this day and age where too many people portray their opinions and their feelings as factual information.  

Alright.  That's all I have to say on the matter.  Hope it helps you out, Jemma... or any other educators in the audience.

Cheers.

12/29/2017 Lara Croft vs. Lara Croft (why does it have to be versus anyways?)

This had been meant as the first series of blogs relating to "fandoms" and pop culture, specifically my observations on a few various fandoms.  That ship has sailed though I may still revisit the idea someday.  I still have comments about the "Star Wars" and and "comic book" fandoms as a whole. Then there are some choice comments on the "Hellblazer and John Constantine" that is much more specific than my comments about comic book fandoms as a whole.  

Anyways...  I am leaving this here from 12/29/2017

Lara Croft vs. Lara Croft (why does it have to be versus anyways?)

Yesterday, I ran across a tweet from a Twitch streamer, about Lara Croft.  Specifically, it was a Twitter thread between her and one of her followers (and perhaps friends) regarding the upcoming Lara Croft film (starring Alicia Vikander), her lack of enthusiasm for it, and her preference for the original movies (starring Angelina Jolie) as well as the original games.  I got involved in that conversation and she indicated that she prefers the original games to the reboots. That's fine as well. (I personally found the original games to be nearly unplayable but managed to finish one of the rebooted games.)

What troubles me about the exchange was the idea "Lara Croft" fans are not willing to give Alicia Vikander a chance in the role as Lara Croft. There were two reason suggested to me by Candy why this was the case: 1) The preference for Angelina Jolie and 2) The story seems to based on the rebooted game.  I don't really buy either of them as particularly fair.  Here's why:

1) The preference for Angelina Jolie
I get the love for Angelina Jolie.  She was a fantastic actress back in the late 90s and late-00s. Her turn as Lara Croft was ahead of its time in many ways.  To her credit, she seemed to do everything she could to live up to what fans of the game were expecting.  And she proved that not only could a video game film be successful if done right but that a female led film could make bank at the box office. (Hollywood may have not learned much from the lesson but she definitely proved it.) Aside from that, the film was well shot and was a fun film.  It was everything the original games were (for better or worse) and did more to make a lot of viewers (myself included) interested in the Lara Croft character than the games ever did.  Those two movies were made in 2001 and 2003 respectively.  Angelina has moved on from do many acting roles and prefers to focus on her humanitarian efforts (though she still does take some acting roles).  Even if Angelina were still able to do the role anymore, the odds are that she would not want to do it.

And we can say all that nice stuff about Angelina in the role now because we have seen it.  What a lot of people fail to remember is that while audiences loved the film, the critics hated it despite praising Angelina's performance.  Though to be fair, that is not saying much.

What people fail to remember even more is that there was backlash against Angelina being cast in the film.  Many fans of the Tomb Raider game, and fans in general, complained about everything from Angelina not meeting the 'right physical requirements' to Angelina's tattoos and her "well publicized and controversial personal life".  There were other things as well.  (I recall some fans outraged that a professional model who was doing promotional work as Lara wasn't simply handed the role with no audition.)   In short, fans were equally hostile to the prospect of Angelina playing their beloved Lara as they are now seeming to be toward Alicia.

2) The story seems to based on the most recent reboot of the game
Alright. Can we talk about Lara's backstory for a minute? All three of them. Over the course of Lara's 20 plus year history, Lara's backstory has been revamped or retconned at least three times not including what was presented in the films with Angelina.  Lara has been:

1. the "Wimbledon born Aristocrat turned adventurer following her surviving a plane crash. She became known for her books on her adventures as a mercenary, big game hunter and master thief",
2. the "daughter of two archaeologists, her father still a noble, who was spurned to become an adventurer after her mother disappeared following their surviving a plane crash (and her father disappeared as well)" and
3. the most recent incarnation of the "the daughter of wealthy archaeologists who turned down her family's wealth in order to make her own path".

The original film stayed more in line with the first origin but still added content. (Particularly regarding Lara's relationship with her father.)  I suspect the new film will deviate somewhat from the recent reboot's backstory as well. (There are actually suggestions of this in the trailer.)

Regardless of which origin you prefer, there are still some standards when defining who Lara Croft is as a character.  Standards that go beyond an "outfit" and to some extent a "look".  And honestly, game mechanics and improved capabilities in game engines have made a lot of those standards easier to get over with fans.  Lara Croft is an educated, tough, athletic, independent woman who while not bad on the eyes is not afraid to get her hands dirty (or afraid of a few cuts and bruises either).  While she is independent, she is willing to work with others on an expedition.  And while her family may be wealthy and have some degree of privilege, she doesn't rely on that to survive but rather on her own skills and knowledge.  Sure, Lara has her iconic outfits and braided ponytail that let people know that the character in the game is "Lara Croft" but there is much more that defines her.  (Or am I missing something?)

Let's be honest, who wants to see a remake of the original film? There would be more backlash on remaking the two films that Angelina did than doing a new story to launch a new franchise with Alicia.  And rightfully so!!

Now we get to why I think it is wrong to compare "Angelina's performance from 15 plus years ago" to "Alicia's performance that we've only seen a trailer and some stills from".

The short version is that it is two different actresses from two different eras each doing their take on the character.  It is no different than "Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer, and Christian Bale doing their own takes on Batman" or Albert Finney, David Suchet, and Kenneth Braunagh doing their own takes on Hercule Periot" with the exception that the two actresses have the luxury of telling two fairly different versions of Lara's story.

And the other added advantage is that it is two very capable actresses playing the role. 
     As I mentioned, Angelina was fantastic in the late 90s into the late 00s. (I am less sold on her recent work.)  She delivered a particular version of Laura from a particular era and was (arguably) the perfect actress to do so at the time.  Of course, I recall people complaining at the time.
     The work I've seen with Vikander during her relatively short career has been equally fantastic.  If I recall correctly, she has some awards to prove it (the same as Angelina had at the time).  And given the version of Laura Croft that they are aiming to portray, I think she will be well suited to step into that role and will do the character justice.  Least I hope so.
     Both actresses have a good solid understanding that their are expectations on them from fans.  Both actresses have worked their butts off to do their best to embody the version of the character that they are bringing to screen.  And from my understanding, unlike Angelina, Alicia was familiar with the character and had played the game prior to getting cast.  

The biggest thing I am saying here is give Alicia a chance not to just in playing a fairly beloved and iconic character in video games but to stand on her merits and performance in the role instead of comparing her to the different performance that Angelina gave back in 2001.

Also worth mentioning here: While I am citing the "Lara Croft fandom" as an example here, the example applies to any fandom.  (See my reference to Batman and Hercule Peroit, for examples. James Bond is another good one.)  It is far too common an occurrence for fandoms to want to be negative toward any sort of "new portrayal" or "new interpretation" of their beloved character before even seeing what happens with it and refusing to acknowledge anything positive about any portrayal of that character or franchise other than "their preferred version".

It is one of my biggest pet peeves.  

Cheers.

The Journalism Incident (part 1)

The origins of this post were 8/31/12.  I have revised it slightly as I don't think a post that I referenced in the original blog still exists.  There were references to a documentary that I had hoped to shoot that wound up never coming to light but did result in an interesting trip to Kansas City. 

In that deleted post, I mentioned something about a documentary proposal that I was involved with (it was a documentary on women's MMA right before the big boom happened in the UFC thanks to the Rousey vs. Tate fight in Strikeforce).  

It had not occurred to me that more than a few people do in the ATL film scene, and entertainment scene, do not know my background.  The ATL film people just know that I went to The Art Institute of Atlanta for a bunch of film and digital video courses.  None of them know about any experience I have or have had with journalism or the media or anything of that sort prior to my attending there.  (And honestly, I claim more to be a West Georgia alumni than I do an Art Institute alumni.)  Furthermore, most of the people that I went to school with at the Art Institute knew very little about me other than all the rumors that many of them heard from other students and some of the faculty.  (One of the biggest reasons I do not claim being an Art Institute Alumni is due to the amount of slander that I have endured by faculty, former faculty, and former students there.)

So... I'm going to do a pair of blogs that I am going to refer to as "The Journalism Incident".   The first part being my own personal history doing (or attempting to do) work in the journalism field.  The second part regarding the amount of distaste I've come to have for the profession at large.

Without further adieu, "The Journalism Incident" part 1...

I wound up on the high school newspaper staff at some point during my freshmen year of high school and then again during my sophomore year at a different high school.  It was not a very pleasant experience, per se.  This was in large part because I was first the Freshman and then because I was the "new guy".  During my sophomore year, the school's newspaper actually got shut down in favor of a schools "TV news" station.  I never heard all the details and to this day don't care.  (I recall the Newspaper Staff advisor being a borderline unpleasant lady.  Though I regarded the sports editor, Travis, as somewhat of a mentor at the time.  I would like to say that I considered him a friend but let's be honest... I didn't.)

Flash forward a wee bit to Gainesville College, I wound up back on the school newspaper staff and working for the same guy who was my editor during my Freshman year.  I say working for as he was the Arts & Entertainment editor and that was where I landed.  Now, I'm not going to get into too much backstory here about why but the newspaper got shut down because of some sort of conflict with the Student Council from what I understand.  I had left at this point because of a huge disagreement with the new Editor in Chief.  I will say more on this.  He was a completely inept guy at dealing with other people in a professional manner.  He had no respect for the newspaper or anyone on the staff nor anyone at the school as far as I could tell.  It was all about him and everyone should literally bow before him.  I am not trying to be outlandish here.  This same guy would later come back and try to act all threatening to the editors who replaced him. (Funny note: I would later meet another dude with the same name as that SOB who was almost as equally unpleasant.)

A few months after the newspaper was shut down, a professor contacted me about helping to start it up again.  I wound up on board and one of the Editorial staff, the A&E editor to be exact.  After the 1996 Olympics, the US Collegiate Weightlifting Championship meet was held at Gainesville College.  On short notice, I stepped in and covered the event.  It is the only time that I was ever robbed of a byline.  I am actually cool with that though.   I was chiefly the A&E editor so it didn't matter.

One year later, September of 1997, I wound up at West Georgia.  I had not planned on getting involved with the newspaper staff there but things happen.  The Sports Editor of the paper had posted a couple of rather messed up editorials.  Around the same time that happened, there was a big news event that had happened on the campus.  (I seem to recall it involving either a theft or a visiting scholar getting attacked.)  The newspaper was short staffed and I volunteered to cover it since they had to make a deadline in 24 hours.  I was asked if I would continue to write for the paper.  I wound up agreeing on the condition that I would work sports as I didn't think the Sports Editor was being fair to the sports department.  The Sports Information department rep agreed with me on the topic and I wound up their preferred go to guy.  When that editor left at the end of the Spring Quarter (this was before the conversion to semesters),  I was actually asked to take over as Sports Editor.  Instead, I took over as Assistant Sports Editor.  I wound up holding that position for a year and a half and through two different editors.  I didn't want the Sports Editor position.

Then came the Fall of 1999.  To make what is already a longer story than I had intended a wee bit shorter, Fall Semester (it had converted by this point) saw the newspaper staff with NO editors.  Truth be told.  I had not intended to remain on as editor and neither did the previous sports editor.  I wound up staying on to help the new editors (who were thrust into the jobs with NO experience) and wound up serving as Sports Editor.  The former Sports Editor even came back as an Associate Editor after being practically begged by the faculty advisor.   It would be a short tenure as that both the semester that I graduated and the semester that I would take a nasty little spill while covering a football game that left me with a few cracked ribs and lucky that was all I did (that I know of).

Through all of this mess, my intention was to get my English degree (which I did) and to get a double major in Media Communications.  The latter wound up as my minor and was the closet thing to a degree in TV or Film production that West Georgia had at the time.  I wound up minoring in Radio Production and coming up with a reel (that has since been lost) that would have been a fantastic podcast demo or two in addition to my actual demo reel from there.

Afterwards, I would try to get a journalism job and figure out how to get moved toward my real interest which was writing and eventually scriptwriting and filmmaking.  Things didn't work out as planned.  I wound up hating my first two newspaper jobs covering sports a great deal.  It wasn't the work, it was the people.  And honestly, the people wouldn't have been a problem had the pay been better. 

I eventually went back to the restaurant business as an assistant manager at the place that I had worked at off and on for years.  However, I continued trying to write and get writing done.  Some of that writing was even kept.  I would eventually go back and dabble in a bit of A & E related journalism doing some movie reviews and some other editorial articles here and there.  I also stepped in and did some editorial work for a friend who was running the college newspaper at North Georgia while I was auditing a class there.

I mention all of this because the documentary that the proposal was about is a sports related documentary.  And Kevin, my co-producer, was completely unaware of my background doing sports journalism.  Of course, he and anyone reading this now  know more than they ever probably wanted or needed to know.  Of course, I also doubt that arrogant SOB will ever read this but I digress.

Cheers.  Till next time...  then I will get into the good stuff. 😁

Why I came to dislike musical theater

This is an edit of an earlier blog that I had deleted and I am now reuploading.  Not much of the information has changed.  Angie was a temporary professional acquaintance and I have long since lost touch with her.

Why I came to dislike musical theater 2/11/13

I had an exchange  on Twitter with a (former) acquaintance of mine, Angie, about the whole 'Glee and Jonathan Coulton debacle' and how it has added to her disgust with the television show Glee which I have had all along.  I mentioned the phrase 'musical theater fetish' to her which I figured needed some explanation and elaboration.

First off, I am not particularly a fan of musicals.  I get that some people like them and I've no problem with that.  However, the attitude regarding them that I experience during my days being involved with West Hall Drama turned me off to musicals even further.  I do not have the same distaste of them that I use to but this could be because I don't have to 'be backstage' and privy to the behavior going on back there.  Let's also note that I do not believe that this kind of behavior goes on backstage during the production of every high school, college, and professional musical (or theater as a whole) production.  At least, I hope it doesn't (though I suspect much of it does).

That said, I began to formally get involved with West Hall Drama during my junior year.  This was after some prodding by the school's Art teacher who had been teaching the drama classes during my sophomore year there.  The same year that I got involved, a new Drama teacher began handling the classes and the school's productions.  This lady's background was 'dance choreography' and it was not surprising to a few of us that her 'bread and butter' were musicals.

However, it was surprising just how she showed her love of musicals.  From day one of my being involved in West Hall Drama, I saw an atmosphere that openly discriminated toward people who were not 'musically inclined', who were interested in the backstage stuff primarily, or (if I can be blunt) who were not 'sexual' in some manner.  This teacher openly allowed and encouraged several of the Junior and Senior students to engage in several romps in the main dressing room.  I have long suspected that she may have participated in one or two of them but I'd like to think that I am just jumping to conclusions on that one.

Here's where the musical part comes in.  The core group of students that were involved in these 'little escapades' were a group of seniors and a couple of sophomores who were all this teacher's little group of musical theater 'aficionados'.  This bunch, nine or ten of them if I recall correctly, were only wanting to 'do' musicals and were prone to expressing this in ways that suggested they were 'getting off' on the material.  In one infamous incident, they proudly celebrated and bragged about having had one orgy in the teacher's office and another in a hotel room on the way down to a competition.  (Think it was the 'one act play competition' but it has been a while and memory is fuzzy.)

Meanwhile, I was on the sidelines like several other students in the class.   Being that I was not a musical person, amongst other things that I was not, this teacher consistent refused to allow me to participate in learning various technical things in the class.  I stuck with it out of hopes that I'd get to direct a one act play during my senior year like a couple of the seniors did during my junior year.   That said, I did what I could/was allowed to do to contribute to the class.  I and others in the class were consistently made to feel unwelcomed and unwanted in the class by several people there.

I never once got why some of the students and the teacher were 'getting off' on the musical theater stuff but there it was happening in front of me.  I came to believe that this was the typical behavior for musical theater and, to a lesser extent, theater companies as a whole.  (I was led to believe a few other things too because of this teacher and the class that I shall go into here.)

However, I did what I could to get as much positive stuff out of what WAS a very negative experience for me.  I managed to get a Lifetime Membership into the "International Thespian Society" out of my time there but that's not really worth anything.  (Well, to my knowledge it is not worth anything.)  I also became extremely suspect of drama teachers after my experience in that class.

As a side note: I would later co-write a piece, specifically write a segment, performed by the West Georgia Theater department that (ironically perhaps) had sexuality as an underlying theme to it.

As another side note: it didn't deter my interest in the performing arts.  I still would have liked to direct a theater production at some point... just not a musical.  (Oddly enough it would probably be something Shakespeare related if given the choice.)

Remembering Hot Rod

Quick Note: I wrote this original blog back on 8/7/15, a few days after the death of "Rowdy Roddy Piper".  Anyone who knows me that well will know that I was a huge fan of his growing up.  There were a few edits to it, including this note about when the blog was originally written but little else changed about it.  I scheduled this blog to be published on what would have been Roddy Piper's 67th birthday with a bit was added to add the end.

Remembering Hot Rod 

The story goes that when asked about good advice she’d received, actress Stana Katic replied, “Never marry your muse, it ruins the illusion. Some similar advice, though I do not know the source, goes something similar to “Be wary of meeting your heroes as you way wind up very disappointed and they will no longer be your heroes.” I suspect there is a bit of truth to both ideas. I will never know for sure.

Last Friday, one week ago from when I am writing this, I came home from running some errands and got on Twitter to find something shocking. That news was Rowdy Roddy Piper had died. I wanted to believe that it was one of those infamous death hoaxes that are prone to circulate via social media. However, the news was in fact true. The “Rowdy One” or “Hot Rod” or however you knew him had died.

Many fans, myself included, knew Piper has both a wrestler and an actor. During the course of his career, he did both and did so in a way that showed that he loved doing both. He was arguably one of the best villains ever in pro-wrestling and he was a legend as the heroic Nada in the sci-fi classic. "They Live”. Over the past year, he had a foray into podcasting which was short lived. In short, he was a storyteller regardless of what medium he was using at the moment to tell a story. He was also a father, a husband, and a cancer survivor.

Oh yeah… and he was one of my childhood heroes.

As a pro-wrestling fan, I frequently have found myself cheering for the heels. This is largely for two reasons. The first being that without good villains, the heroes are pretty much meaningless. (This applies to not just wrestling but to any form of storytelling. I mean what is Superman without Lex Luthor, for example.) The second reason, one that developed much later, is that playing the villain rather in pro-wrestling or a movie is so much more fun usually. I guess you could say that there is the third reason that I never got on board the Hulkamania train when I started watching wrestling but that is an afterthought to me in the long run.) The first time I watched any WWE (at the time WWF) content, Piper was one of the top heels in the company. Of course, my watching during that time was short lived. I honestly remember the old “Rock ‘n’ Wrestling” cartoon on Saturday mornings more than watching the actual matches back then. I remember Piper on that cartoon though and I remember being curious about who the characters were then. Years later, when I was more formally introduced to pro-wrestling, I managed to get a hold of tapes that included a dog collar match between Piper and Greg Valentine in the NWA just as easily as any of Piper’s WWE stuff. And by that time, Piper had just turned face going into Wrestlemania III. (I remember the Piper vs. Adrian Adonis match being one of my favorite matches at Wrestlemania III mostly because of the ending.) A few years later, I remember Piper returning to the WWE from his “retirement match at Wrestlemania III” and feuding with Rick Rude, Bad New Brown, Ted Dibease and more but as a face. In the midst of all that though Piper had begun his excursion into acting.

And to be honest, I am just as much familiar with Piper’s film work as I am his wrestling work. The first film I remember seeing Piper in was not “They Live” but a movie called “Body Slam” which was a movie where he played a pro-wrestler managed by a music promoter played by Dirk Benedict (of A-Team and Battlestar Galatica fame). It wasn’t a major release as I recall and I picked it up at the local video store on a whim. I grabbed “They Live” and “Hell Comes to Frogtown” as soon as I found them on video. I know most people know Piper’s work in “They Live” and if you don’t then go find a way to see the movie. Even today, the move holds some relevance and perhaps more so today than it did back then. Of course, Roddy also made various TV guest appearances including “Walker, Texas Ranger” (one of the few episodes of the series I genuinely liked), The Outer Limits (not one of the best episodes of the series remake but not bad) and the Robocop series. He stuck to the sci-fi and action / cop show genres mostly with some forays into other genres but he did well with what he was given. I’m not going to say that Hot Rod was a great actor but I will say that he did deliver some good performances and, more importantly, entertaining performances. I will say that a lot of times there were stuff that I saw Piper in that enjoyed solely because he was in it. He made some otherwise bland or just plain bad projects watchable and even entertaining. Sometimes, that is all that matters.

As I mentioned, I considered Piper one of my heroes as a kid. In short, I liked his style of work in the ring and found him to be fun to listen to on the mic. He came across as someone who was tough and had an unpredictable quality to him. I guess you could say he came across like a loose cannon or a wildcard. His quote “Just when you think you have all the answers, I change the questions.” summed up both what I liked about him and why. In eighth grade, I had decided I might want to try out for the high school wrestling team after we were given a three-day introduction to the sport. I did the three day clinic and the tournament. In the tournament, I wore my “Hot Rod” shirt because I was a fan. I regret nothing (excepting losing that second match by one point because I was too cautious).  I even tried to replace that "Hot Rod" shirt a few years ago but the XL shirt didn't fit right.  I still have the shirt at the moment but cannot wear it.  (And it was a Christmas gift so I can't return it.)

Regarding his place in pro-wrestling, I don’t think there will ever be another guy quite like him. Though, I would never fault a young guy getting into pro-wrestling wanting to be as good on the mic or as good in the ring as Piper. And mind you, while he was not the “a technical guy ala a Bret Hart or a Daniel Bryan”, he was still one of the best workers out there (especially for his day) when it came to ring psychology, working a crowd, or cutting a promo on the mic. And his acting? I don’t think we’ve seen his best work yet though. Before his death, he completed two movies that are due out later this year and the beginning of next year. The first film is called “The Rectifier” and it is being called a performance that really shows what he could do as an actor. The second film is called “The Masked Saint” and is a Christian-minded film in which he plays a supporting role. (He had a few other projects in various stages of production at the time of his death as well.)

I never got to meet Roddy Piper. I would have loved to and I would have been a bit afraid to at the same time. As I alluded to at the beginning, I guess I've always been afraid of meeting any the real "heroes" that I had as a kid because I'm afraid of being disappointed.  And honestly, some of that comes from seeing people, and in some cases meeting them, that I use to admire professional when I was younger turn out to be complete disappointments for one reason or another as I have gotten older.  Though, I am told that Piper was even cooler for real that I thought he might have been as a kid.

I do think I would have loved to have worked on a film with the man back when I was still working in film and television production.  I think it would have been a blast.  But most importantly: I would have loved to have simply told him “Thanks for everything.”

Publishing this blog on what would have been Roddy Piper's 67th birthday.  It just registered to me that he was about a little over a year older than my parents.   Actually, he was two years older than my dad, go figure.  And while I don't expect any sort of response to this... I will be posting a link to this blog on Twitter and tagging Roddy's Twitter account, which his family still seems to maintain. Why? because why not.   

At some point... I plan to upload a video to YouTube with commentary of me playing through the section of Saints Row IV where Roddy Piper makes an appearance.  (Spoiler: it is in relation to his role in They Live.)  My aim is to release that video later this year.

Cheers.