So Two-Face, Harvey Dent and a Gnome walk into a party...

Happy Halloween! I hope everyone got into the spirit this year, I know I sure did.

After a bit of a worry that we wouldn't find a party to attend, we heard about a 'little' party a friend was hosting. Now when it comes to costumes I have never been one that has much success - creatively or enthusiastically - but this year I wanted to give it my all. So after deciding what I wanted to be I began the hunt to find the materials necessary to make Batman's 'Two-Face' possible (from the 90s animated series).



I spent about a week scouring different charity shops in the area for a white suit. I had luck finding a jacket and under shirt but trousers were a different story. I probably walked in and out of a dozen different places and I am certain some of the shop owners though I was staking out the joint. I finally gave up and just decided to go with a pair of black slacks instead.

Once I had my outfit, the next task was finding make up and spray paint. The make up was simple enough because there were plenty of art and costume shops in the area. Unfortunately the make up cost was much more than any other aspect of my costume and I still have a ton left over. I'm thinking I can use it to terrorize Tori every now and again for the next few months.

The spray paint was surprisingly simple to find. I understand its use as an art supply but where I bought it seemed to cater to graffiti artists. The walls were lined with custom shoes and a range of different prints. I felt awesome buying from there because I think the staff thought I was an artist working on a project. Little did they know I was just looking to recolor my very cheap suit.

It took me about three days and three cans of paint to color my suit appropriately. I was really happy with how it turned out, which led to my paranoia that someone might steal it from me while it hung outside to dry. Tori helped me with my make-up, taking the photo I gave here and making my face really pop. I had no idea she had the creative genius for movie make-up.

The party was an absolute blast. There were about 20 of us spilling out of the flat, drinking and chatting and just a good time. It ended up that we were there pretty late into the evening that by the time we got back home and I showered off the make-up it was 4:30 in the morning (easily the latest I've been out here).

It was a shame we only dressed up once this year but it was a fun time all the same. The next holiday is Guy Fawkes Day in November and I still don't know exactly what kind of a holiday it is but I'll get back to you on that.

Anyway, Happy Halloween everyone!

A slightly busier week

After a weekend burying my face in books and online journals I'm finding it difficult to write this blog so it may be a little short. For the past week I've been working on a thousand word review and a brief (2,500 words) essay about what makes a film great and what makes a 'favorite' film, and what matters more to the audience. Needless to say I will not bore any with my dissertation.

However, I will say that aside from the stress of school work this has been a pretty decent week. It started off a little poor but that was because Tori was gone from Monday to Wednesday on a team building field trip with her classmates. I was left to fend for myself in the harsh reality of Glasgow. This meant I had to eat out once or twice and find other food that just required heating up in the oven. Frightening I know.

But she got back Wednesday and said she had a great time so that was good to hear along with having her back. Thursday went well enough, I had peer review for my coursework and got some good feedback about my review style. Then we watched the film Body and Soul - released in 1947, a great boxing movie that Martin Scorsese used to model how he shot Raging Bull - and called it a day.

Friday was relatively lax until we got a surprise call from Blake who informed us that there was a small get together happening at a friend's place. So, Tori and I got dressed and headed out. When we got there we were immediately greeted with some delicious, smokey whiskey that for the life of me I cannot remember what it was called. Then the night proceeded into an evening of good conversation with many different people, some of which we were just meeting that night, followed by drinking games and pizza.

The next day left me with a bit of a headache but I got through it - for the most part. Tori and I spent the day together at the flat and decided to stay in for the evening. She made some delicious fried rice for dinner and though we probably could have had left overs I decided that one bowl wasn't enough for me.

Anyway, today was spent at the library for the last four hours working again. I knocked out 1,600 words (over two separate assignments) and have only a little remaining for class.

The weather has been consistently in the 50s during the day, though today we finally saw some great sunlight in the afternoon. At night it has tended to rain a little though not dropping in temperature too dramatically. This week all I need to do is hand in an assignment on Tuesday, get a haircut and prep for a job interview at a bookstore (wish me luck). The rest of tonight will be spent relaxing with my baber Tori.

Terror From the Sheet!

In the last month a terror has been striking flats around the greater Glasgow area. Locked doors cannot stop this culprit. No property is stolen and no physical assult has been noted but what this person/entity does is far more diabolical. Ladies and gentlemen what I'm about to show you may be disturbing to young audiences:

This writer has never been a witness to this devious character. Every time it strikes, I've been out of the flat, in the bathroom, or distracted in someway by something else. I'm told by Ms Tori Klein - who has been attacked on more than one occasion - this 'thing' goes by The Cocooner.



The habits of The Cocooner are as follows: it strikes when you're most vulnerable - lying in bed or reading a magazine on the couch - it wraps the person in any blanket or sheets in the immediate vicinity, and then it darts away before any witnesses can accumulate. I have found Ms Klein wrapped on several occasions, utterly terrified, begging me to believe her horrific tale. I do care a great deal about this little lady but I can't help but wonder if the strain of a new place in addition to returning to the academic atmosphere is taking a toll on her mind. Only time will tell but one thing is for certain, The Cocooner - if he/she/it does exist - will undoubtedly strike again.

Class on days that start with the letter "T"

Well, two weeks in and going strong.

My course work has started at the University of Glasgow and it's proving to be not too terrible a challenge. I have class twice a week for about 5-6 hours on each day. It's nice that we only meet twice a week but for that long period it feels like I'm back in high school. There are eight of us in the Masters program (three gents and five lasses) which has made it pretty simple to get to know people and feel easy around them. I was surprised to find out that many were like me in that they did not have background in TV or Film specializations. Many seem to have chosen this program because of a general love of the movies. That's what got me here.

In each course we watch a movie for the first part of the class - so far I've seen The Man With the Movie Camera, Á Ma Soeur, Citizen Kane, and Babe: Pig in the City - and then usually an hour and a half or so of lecture followed by general discussion of what we hear in lecture and saw in the film.

The course on Tuesday is History of Critical Writing (HoCW), which is pretty self explanatory. The Thursday course is my core course for film journalism. For that we tend to have critics and authors come in a teach a lecture to us about what it is they do and how they've gotten their start. It's nice hearing from people in the business but a little rough hearing about how this may be a dying trade. But I manage to keep my spirits up.

I tend to have to read a lot for each class and that's actually what I'm about to go do. Not a whole lot is happening with either. I have a 2,500 word essay due the 18th of October in HoCW and a 300 word review every week in the core course but neither are too terribly daunting. I'll update more when some more excitement happens.

Cheers!