Weekend pop culture and more
Well, my pop culture consumption has take a serious dip this week, especially in terms of gaming and reading. The reason for this is that I currently have a freelance copywriting and editing gig, running Monday to Friday for the next couple of weeks. As I'm attempting to appear like a productive and diligent employee, that means no leisurely start to the work day with an hour or so of blogging. So I've had to invert my schedule, using whatever free time I have in the evenings - and weekends - to get ahead with updates for the coming days, scheduling them to appear automatically. So as much as I just want to veg in the evening with a DVD or Dead Until Dark, I can't fit it in at the moment.
Anyway, in terms of notable activities this weekend, I attended my first ever 27Dinner in Durban on Saturday. These events, held on the 27th of every month around the country, are a chance for local geeky types, gadget freaks, Social Media enthusiasts and individuals involved in the IT industry to network and listen to interesting presentations by entrepreneurs and industry leaders on these various topics.
I had a good time, and the talks were very interesting, although I admit I didn't mingle nearly as much as I should have. I'm naturally shy, so when it comes to meeting strangers I'm far more comfortable at things like Tweet-ups, where the number of attendees is usually below 10, as opposed to gatherings of 25+ people, where it just never feels natural leaping from group cluster to group cluster, conversation to conversation. Then again, perhaps I would have felt more confident if people had been wearing name tags with both their real name and their online alias?
In terms of my other activities this weekend, half of Sunday was a pop culture write-off as I was busy getting bad sunburn and a heatstroke migraine while facilitating a team-build by uShaka Marine World. Plus I ended up making myself quite miserable with the knowledge that all around me on the beachfront swarmed happy couples and young families. Clearly singles stay home in their caves on beautiful Summer days.
But moving on...
Film:
I only watched 2 films this weekend. The first was a revisit of Raiders of the Lost Ark, seeing as I've been on an Indy kick lately. Apart from appreciating how the film perfectly balances action, humour and appropriately creepy to bloodthirsty occult imagery, I did find myself pondering how 2 of my favourite film franchises from the 70s and 80s feature feisty brunettes (and I'm not even talking about Star Wars and Princess Leia). Both Karen Allen's Marion Ravenwood and Margot Kidder's Lois Lane needed to be rescued on occasion, sure, but they have a resourcefulness, competence and do-or-die spirit that's incredibly likable. They just don't seem to make the female leads of blockbusters like that anymore. Cliches dominate.
I also ended up watching the Will Smith drama Seven Pounds. Critics slaughtered the film on release but I honestly didn't find it that bad. The performances in particular were solid. This said, you'd have to be a really dumb movie viewer not to realise what Smith's character was doing well before the "big revelation." It was blatantly obvious.
Books and comics:
Finally, fans of Girlz 'N' Games will be pleased to know that this weekend I did a lot of work on the next comic in the series. Unless something unexpected comes up, #62 is set for online debut on Tuesday - for Girlz 'N' Games Facebook group members - and will appear here bright and early on Wednesday morning.
Anyway, in terms of notable activities this weekend, I attended my first ever 27Dinner in Durban on Saturday. These events, held on the 27th of every month around the country, are a chance for local geeky types, gadget freaks, Social Media enthusiasts and individuals involved in the IT industry to network and listen to interesting presentations by entrepreneurs and industry leaders on these various topics.
I had a good time, and the talks were very interesting, although I admit I didn't mingle nearly as much as I should have. I'm naturally shy, so when it comes to meeting strangers I'm far more comfortable at things like Tweet-ups, where the number of attendees is usually below 10, as opposed to gatherings of 25+ people, where it just never feels natural leaping from group cluster to group cluster, conversation to conversation. Then again, perhaps I would have felt more confident if people had been wearing name tags with both their real name and their online alias?
In terms of my other activities this weekend, half of Sunday was a pop culture write-off as I was busy getting bad sunburn and a heatstroke migraine while facilitating a team-build by uShaka Marine World. Plus I ended up making myself quite miserable with the knowledge that all around me on the beachfront swarmed happy couples and young families. Clearly singles stay home in their caves on beautiful Summer days.
But moving on...
Film:
I only watched 2 films this weekend. The first was a revisit of Raiders of the Lost Ark, seeing as I've been on an Indy kick lately. Apart from appreciating how the film perfectly balances action, humour and appropriately creepy to bloodthirsty occult imagery, I did find myself pondering how 2 of my favourite film franchises from the 70s and 80s feature feisty brunettes (and I'm not even talking about Star Wars and Princess Leia). Both Karen Allen's Marion Ravenwood and Margot Kidder's Lois Lane needed to be rescued on occasion, sure, but they have a resourcefulness, competence and do-or-die spirit that's incredibly likable. They just don't seem to make the female leads of blockbusters like that anymore. Cliches dominate.
I also ended up watching the Will Smith drama Seven Pounds. Critics slaughtered the film on release but I honestly didn't find it that bad. The performances in particular were solid. This said, you'd have to be a really dumb movie viewer not to realise what Smith's character was doing well before the "big revelation." It was blatantly obvious.
Books and comics:
Finally, fans of Girlz 'N' Games will be pleased to know that this weekend I did a lot of work on the next comic in the series. Unless something unexpected comes up, #62 is set for online debut on Tuesday - for Girlz 'N' Games Facebook group members - and will appear here bright and early on Wednesday morning.
Comments
I think often critics just all jump on a bandwagon and set out to be as malicious as possible because to them it's fun.