Shoes at the Door

Author: Scott

  • Have You Ever Collected a Soul… ?

    Have You Ever Collected a Soul… ?

    Well, Iron Pineapple has. In fact, he’s collected quite a few followers which now makes us wonder how he came by such compelling magic. For anyone struggling to make videos to upload, this guy makes it look too easy. But we know that it’s not easy. Perhaps he gets by on charm alone. Whatever the case may be, this is one of the channels I wanted to include in the little ‘performer hall of fame’ I’ve been putting together here.

    “Steam Dumpster Diving” is a wonderful concept. It’s sort of like what I’m trying to do here on this blog. But that endeavor alone makes the work appreciable, and Iron Pineapple handles it with grace and with an economy of language and editing. Although, some of that language is as course as it is light-hearted.

    At any rate, in my previous post about Game Sack, I thought afterwards that I had perhaps downplayed the role of editing in a video. Since I have only minimal experience with this, I can’t tell you precisely what makes for good or bad editing, but I can tell you that a poorly edited and mixed video will probably make me turn it off before my brain even registers that I’ve watched anything. I am starting to realize that what I said previously about concision counts for even more than I had once gathered. If it did not, we would not be seeing as many annoying jump-cuts as we do from the majority of uploaded videos.

    It seems that the choices made in editing, such as cuts and transitions, are creative ones. They are creative in that the variety of editing options, while multitudinous, affect the delivery of the message that the writer has previously decided. The editor must think about how these cuts and transitions affect the message. If the cuts were standardized to a high degree, or if they were chaotic and random, the video would not match the narration, regardless of what was being shown from cut to cut. Iron Pineapple tends to use rough jump-cuts accompanied by a jaunty, light-hearted tune, to convey his comedic experience of being surprised by all the weird things that pop up on his dumpster diving excursions. It accentuates the experience, making the content more digestible while bringing the viewer parallel to the viewpoint of the author in a smooth and enjoyable way.

    While it may seem somewhat ephemeral to discuss, one trend that we might associate with good aesthetics has to do with supplying creative variety within an understood, defined space. Limitless variety is overwhelming and detached from real human experience, while rigid regulation is oppressive to the soul. But this is a topic we’ll get into later. For now, we have one more thing to think about when it comes to why one video is better than another.

  • Have You Ever Been Handed a Wet Towel and Gone, “Arrggghhh!”?

    Have You Ever Been Handed a Wet Towel and Gone, “Arrggghhh!”?

    Well, Dr. Mitsuo Ando has.

    I finally finished reading Spiral, the second novel in Koji Suzuki’s Ring trilogy at around 5:50 p.m. yesterday, and if you’ve read that book before, you know that it leaves you with something. But it’s not time to say exactly what that something is, yet. I’ll first have to read the last book in the series before I try and articulate any thoughts, but I suspect that the end of the second book might be trying to leave me in a similar place as the end of the first book. Asakawa was wrong. Now, how about Ando?

    You really have to love that towel scene. I’ll never forget it.

    But I think I can say without spoiling anything that one of the most interesting things about the sequel to Ring is the fact that it mentions the Ring movie and the Ring video game within its own universe. It also mentions why the movie and the game must be different from the book! Say what you want the series’ perspective, but I can’t remember the last time I encountered something so incredibly clever.

    Speaking of such, the title of this blog post has gotten a little too clever. It started out in my first post as a Hot Fuzz reference that Dr. Ando has unwittingly completed. Well, I’m not done with it yet, but this is probably the last time I’ll mention it.

    So, to me, Spiral answers the question that this video most certainly imparts to the viewer as, “What’s with all this wacky different Ring stuff?” For years, I’ve wondered how someone might explain what I call the Rashomon aspect of Japanese media. We have all seen how different video games, manga, and anime will have different sequels and spinoffs that, to the Western mind, disrespect the original cannon. However, this particular criticism seems to be an imposition of the West, demanding something of Japanese culture with which its people have no interest in producing. It is also worth noting that this sort of story variation was also popular in the West, during what is commonly referred to as the “silver age of comic books.”

    Perhaps a better question, then, is, “Why are we demanding canonicity now?”

    Was Ryuji right? Are we being pulled apart, with one pole being an innate desire for conformity and the other being the unequivocal human dilemma of boredom? Is this the tension that drives humanity forward? Carrying with it the unasked, but unavoidable question left hanging at the end of the spiral: Why now?

    But as for Grimbeard, not now. He’ll get his own post later.

    Maybe it was that thing Sadako’s mother found in the water.

  • Did You Ever See a Weird-Looking Robot c. 1987… ?

    Did You Ever See a Weird-Looking Robot c. 1987… ?

    I recently finished reading Michael A. Stackpole’s Warrior trilogy for the BattleTech tabletop and roleplaying games launched by the Fasa corporation all the way back in 1984. Though Wikipedia says that this is not the first trilogy written for the tabletop universe, some of my own research into the publication of these books renders their dates somewhat dubious. At any rate, these books were the first to move the entire plot of the franchise universe forward in its chronological time-space, which makes them more of an interesting read than you might think. For other tactical tabletop and roleplaying games such as Warhammer and War Machine, the source books and campaign books usually carry that load. But here, you get an entirely fleshed out story of the warring dynasties of the great houses that rule the various successor states vying for control of the galaxy. This means that the events in the book actually change the state of the universe you might be playing your game in! I thought that by showing you all the covers created for the various reprints over the years might help you appreciate how many people have been interested in this science fiction epic, even beyond its original tabletop context. The original printing doesn’t even have Battle-Mechs on the cover!

    Another reason I might be interested in recommending these books to an interested reader has to do with the framework of the story. Stackpole tells the story of several warring dynasties by shifting narrative perspectives between individuals and families in various settings ranging from the battlefield to the bedchamber. Sound familiar? And this was written quite a handful of years before George Martin supposedly started writing A Song of Ice and Fire. That doesn’t mean that Stackpole originated this style, but while reading, I definitely experienced a sense of pace and perspective that was incredibly reminiscent of watching the Game of Thrones TV show. And though the political intrigues and power strategies perpetrated by the various noble houses play center stage in the BattleTech novels, fans of Martin and GoT may find Stackpole’s novels lacking at the near absence of bombastic soap opera twists and minimal portrayal of the depths of human depravity.

    But while the books may be fascinating within their own time and place, they are not for everyone. While Stackpole had been writing for some time, these are his first novels. And while nothing about them seems amateurish, I found some parts of the storyline to be rather dry and to drag on at what felt like a slow pace. Also, I did not find all of the human relationships, as well as the dialogue sinewing those relationships, to be totally convincing. Nothing about the characters or their actions and motivations feel inhuman, but a practiced hand, deft at subtly illustrating the intricacies of the human heart was noticeably absent at some key moments. Also, much of the ‘Mech combat seemed to take a back seat to the greater story. I didn’t mind this, but I would expect depictions of three-story robot warriors battling to the death to be a little more colorful. On a side note, the books have a very 1980s take on Japanese culture, and I absolutely love it.

    All told, I would recommend Stackpole’s Warrior trilogy to anyone who can handle some dry writing and might be interested in BattleTech’s richly intriguing world of a post-shattered galaxy federation filled with warring dynasties, noble family discord, political intrigue, espionage, assassination, honor, betrayal, and, of course, giant curb-stomping robots.

  • Have You Ever Been Entertained by the Nintendo System… ?

    Have You Ever Been Entertained by the Nintendo System… ?

    That’s the one I had, the one on the left, the top-loader. It was a rerelease well into the lifespan of the Super Nintendo. They even rereleased some of the biggest games along with it, like The Legend of Zelda, which came with the original map! At least, I think it did. I heard someone talking about that map recently and I knew what it was. But I had only played these games at the houses of friends when I was a kid until I got my own, years later. So, I must have gotten it through a rerelease, right? As for Nintendo, they were already into reselling their old games all the way back then. And as for me, all the way back then, I was already into classic gamming.

    One of the things I’ve wanted to do with this new blog having to do with cataloging, categorizing, and codifying the various and lovely oddities I find on the internet is to post some of who I think are the best examples of good YouTubers. Now, most of the YouTube videos I watch are related to classic video gaming. And thanks to YouTube’s algorithm-driven homepage, I’ve been introduced to many people who are quite bad at making these videos. Some of them are funny in their missteps. Others annoy me to the point of exasperation. What I find interesting is that before YouTube had introduced me to these jokers, I would not have thought to ever form an opinion on the subject of what makes one of these videos either good or bad. At this point, however, I have seen so many bad videos, that I want to try and map out, here, what might be some contributing factors to the appropriate enjoyment of amateur video editing.

    This brings me to a side note, if you will allow me to veer into the margins for a bit. I don’t really enjoy calling these people YouTubers, because they have existed and will continue to exist independent of that website’s longevity. Perhaps “vlogger” or “content creator” are more appropriate terms, but not every video available need be thought of as a constituent pertaining to a “video-blog.” And as for the creation of content, though this may be key to forming the bloated detritus of material foundational to the site’s business model, the result of having made something hardly lends itself to critique. If we were only flinging leftover spaghetti against the wall, it would seem rather inconsequential to want to say anything about it. But we do want to talk about it, don’t we? Perhaps the very activity of the comments section and the active chat indicate that we long for something more than just a post-labor opiate, perhaps even real, personal interaction. This is why I like to think of these people as “writer-performers” more than anything else. Yes, they do edit video, and they do film some of their own, but we are only talking about the medium, here. You wouldn’t call a novelist a paper-decorator, would you? Thus, we are able to discuss and think about the quality of the writings and the performances to which YouTube has triumphantly exposed us. Forgive me my digression.

    Meet Joe Redifer, who has been uploading videos about classic gaming consoles for a very long time. Joe does a professional job, and his casual demeanor and low-wit sense of humor make what he does look easy. Joe doesn’t do a whole lot of unique stuff, which makes him a good base line to compare to others who are trying to do the same thing. Just from listening, you wouldn’t think he was one of the best because he does tend to speak clearly and naturally, but this is something with which many other performers struggle. He is also concise and is able to explain complex things quickly and with simple words. Which, now that I think about it, is worth mentioning to the people I teach. Using big words and complex expressions to talk about simple things sounds foolish. Even worse, using overly expressive and emotional language to talk about simple and mundane things is aggravating, but I plan to talk about this in another post. For now, you can see and hear for yourself how Joe is a good writer and performer. I would also guess that he does video and audio professionally, but his expertise in the medium only helps us to focus on Joe and what he has to say. I highly recommend Joe’s Game Sack videos for your lunchbreak or for anyone who wants a general overview of what classic gamming has to offer.

  • Have You ever Gotten Down to the Rat Detective Boogie… ?

    Have You ever Gotten Down to the Rat Detective Boogie… ?

    That dirt and grime between the frames of this animated classic is not the uncomfortable feeling in your neck and shoulders. It’s just the salt and pepper on your funk hotdog.

  • November 23th 2024

    November 23th 2024

    Can you remember what you were doing that Saturday at 5 p.m.? No, me neither. But 走走zouzoua can. If nothing else, that’s what this blog is for. It’s a diary of what’s good. I’ve been sending people all the great and funny stuff I’ve been finding on the internet for years. But I’ve never kept a record of it for myself. Michael and I agree that there’s so much junk out there, someone should be keeping a collection, a record, of anything good. That’s what we’re sharing. We hope you enjoy it.

    Now can anyone remember a little book called High Fidelity by Nick Hornby? Could any of you have believed that the art of mix-taping would never die? And what can we say for the art of melding (melting?) the tracks together? Express yourself and your feelings with a playlist. Do the work – that it might draw me in to where your heart is, chronologically separate from all things today, on Valentines Day, ’25.

  • Have You Ever Watched YouTube Whilst Yelling, “Arrggghhh!”?

    Have You Ever Watched YouTube Whilst Yelling, “Arrggghhh!”?

    Or have you ever gotten anything good on YouTube’s algorithm driven homepage? Sometimes, I like to try and figure out how it made the connection, even if I’ve recently had to wonder if YouTube is now listening to the videos I watch. Now, I haven’t thought about Master Shake and MC Pee Pants from Adult Swim’s Aqua Teen Hunger Force in a long time, but when this podcast popped up on my homepage, it cut a little deeper than usual. These guys used to work out of Atlanta with the man after whom I was named, my dad’s best friend, Scott Hilley, who played the Reverend on Squidbillies and had most of his scenes cut out of an old George Lucas bomb. He’s passed away now, but listening to this podcast got me thinking about him again, and how he might have been the third seat or a guest or something. Two so far, and worth a listen; back after so long – this first one is for Scott.

    None of This Matters podcast ep1 Dana Snyder and mc chris of Aqua Teen Hunger Force

    https://linktr.ee/mattersnotpod