Friday, January 18, 2013

This Last Lonely Place

This Last Lonely Place Promo 

Tampa, Fl --  "The process of indie filmmaking is truly a labor of love. We had a very small crew and I was wearing different hats constantly. It was grueling at times, but totally worth it! I believed in the script and Steve Anderson from day one. We got a terrific cast for such a low budget indie because of that script and support from the Humphrey Bogart Estate." Were the words by producer Jeff Marchelletta about the production and development of the upcoming film This Last Lonely Place.

The film is penned by filmmaker Steve Anderson, the mastermind behind the controversial documentary "Fuck", which holds the record for use of the taboo word more than any other film in history.  A Peabody Award winner, Anderson previously directed The Big Empty, which starred Jon Favreau, Kelsey Grammar, and Daryl Hannah. In addition he recently wrote and produced The RiverMurders, starring Ray Liotta and Christian Slater.

Rhys Coiro
This Last Lonely Place revolves around an injured war vet cab driver (Rhys Coiro of Entourage, 24) who picks up a wealthy investment banker (Xander Berkeley of Nikita, Terminator) late one night in Beverly Hills. On edge, the banker confesses to a shady investment scheme, and after picking up his mistress (Carly Pope of Elysium, Popular), it is revealed that a terrible crime has just been committed. Drawn into a conspiracy gone awry, the cab driver is now at their mercy. As the long dark cab ride progresses - through the lonely streets and back alleys of Los Angeles - dark layers of deceit come to light.

Carly Pope
The film was shot around iconic locations such as the penthouse of the Chateau Marmont, the Polo Lounge in the Beverly Hills Hotel, the Sunset Strip and Rodeo Drive, but for exterior shots the crew just showed up in the cab and grabbed the shots. One of the most fantastic aspects of this film is the budget as it was under US$100,000; they achieved financing thanks to a successful Kickstarter campaign and support from the Humphrey Bogart Estate.

The Cab
 “We had been looking for an inspired way to honor Humphrey Bogart’s legacy of supporting his fellow artists,” said Robbert de Klerk, who manages the icon’s estate together with Stephen Bogart, son of Bogie and Bacall. “Humphrey Bogart was known for taking risks. He was one of the first actors to start his own production company when he left Warner Brothers in 1948 to start Santana Productions. In so many ways, Anderson and our incredibly talented and dedicated cast and crew captured the true independent spirit that Bogie was known for” added de Klerk.The movie is currently in post-production and is slated to be released later this year. There has not been an indie movie within the noir genre in the last five years that I would love to see more.

Xander Berkeley
Robbert de Klerk and Stephen Bogart are Executive Producing. Jeff Marchelletta of
Industry Standard Films is Producing along with Josh Mandel; and Andre Fontanelle and Sumiko Braun are Co-­Producing.

This Last Lonely Place is currently in post-­production. You can follow the film’s
progress at www.facebook.com/thislastlonelyplace and
www.twitter.com/lastlonelyplace.

Monday, January 14, 2013

Tampa, Craiglist and Selling Marijuana around USF (Photos)

Tampa, Fl -- The problem with the cannabis and the traffic is taking new steps in Florida but in the Tampa area one dealer decided to face the public scrutiny and anonymously decided to post an add on Craiglist regarding the nature of his business. The laws in Tampa are strict where you can end up in jail for getting found in possession of small doses but dealing the product is a felony that the county will make the impossible to make the dealer and the producers to not see the sunlight again. The dealer in this case decided event to give his area around the University of South Florida which can give the authorities to expose an undercover operation in the university premises and the vicinity, but not only if an undercover operation or just a dealer are exposed the damage to the image of USF could be hard to fix, but the stupidity of the dealer to expose himself or herself on the Internet it is just amazing or in a lesser case they are cops who are trying to make a living by arresting some people who are trying to buy the product. Who knows.?



Royalty and Can't Put Me in A Box, by Adam Baranello Song

Tampa, Fl --  The process of the song Royalty started with the phrase "Let's be kings, let's be queens, let's be what we were meant to be.." Were the words used by indie artist Adam Baranello to describe on his new songs where he express that we are meant to be for something greater. We need a positive message to a younger generation that are growing up in a world where materialism and physical appearance are the only things, were people need a positive impact that they know they can achieve great thing if they propose to because life ain't easy but through hard work you can change the world.

Though the Drum Beat, there is a battle cry and the music brings everything together, . "Those words popped into my head and I decided to write a song around the idea that we all can be rise up and be better, or the best version of ourselves; that we don't have to accept what we are told." From there the process of creating the sound of the song started with the Drum Beat. I had liked the big thumping bass drum as a battle cry. I then was on the piano and came up with the chords and I liked the way they sounded around the idea. Everything else came together around that. I wanted a nice chunky guitar sound and Jimi Durso supplied that perfectly, hoping that it resonates with people. 

Femen Protests Pope's Stand Against Same-Sex Marriage

To many people who are not involved with the world politics, they probably haven't heard about FEMEN but you probably had seen them as the women who go to protest out in the public topless. They are from Kiev, Ukraine and they protest against sex tourism, religious institutions, international marriage agencies, sexism and other problematics; even if they are not well popular among women in Ukraine they had gained over the years recognition world wide because of their multiple political stances and being detained by the police because of their protests.

Four recent activist from the group were detained at the St Peter's Square when they were protesting against the Catholic Church stand against same-sex marriage. But why the church is against it.? There are many different points that are in their history data (beside the hate towards Evangelicals as according to their doctrine they can't be priests.), one of the first known cases goes with Saint Anselm of Canterbury that mentioned that by that the punishment should moderated as it was a sin that didn't blush nobody but by today the catechism is mildly ambiguous and the members and the clergy can use it to their free will in order to discriminate.




The protest was at the same time as Pope Benedict XVI was delivering a prayer from his studio overlooking the square and the prayer didn't got interrupted, maybe the priest don't really care about what happens outside their own little world fill with gold and honey.

The leader of the protest and Head of Inna Shevchenco told the press that they were there to protest a against the homophobic attitude that is supported by the Vatican which in a coincidence the demonstration by FEMEN coincided with one happening around The Eiffel Tower in France that was orchestrated by the Catholic clergy in France to protest against President Francois Hollande's plans to legalize equal marriage and allow couples to adopt children. 

Protesters in Paris, at the Champ Elysees used a similar strategy that had been seen in the United States around Florida and California regarding Proposition 8 and 35 where without any scientific founding or social studies they argued that a children is better with a mother and a father, because the proponents of the so called marriage institution don't think about any form of family violence, they are still forms of violence regarding an heterosexual couple who starts a family and much of the time when there are violence sprouts the children will be in the middle regarding the gender and sexual orientation from the parents, but what about children who were raised by a single parent or a family member.? It's ridicule to think that a well behaved child will come from a man and a woman's union, a well behaved-adjusted child will grow up into adulthood with proper guidance from a strong figure(s) who will show love and support, but if the child see violence and hate coming from their parents or guardians he can assimilate the words and become a shadow or think different.

Due the protesters the French legislators succumbed to the pressure of expanding what shouldn't be a privildge, what is a right but the shouldn't had succumbed because France has been an example in modern history as the birth place of social rights and equality but according to a Hollande's statement, the war is not over yet as he plans to pass the law that will give the citizens equality.

Sunday, January 13, 2013

RapeLay: The Insensitive Side of the Video-game Industry

RapePlay Cover
Tampa, Fl -- There is a genre in video games that  is mostly common to veteran gamers but is not common to see it outside Japan as in the cartridge formats; the name of the genre is eroge which is an Americanism of erotic genre or as is known also in Japan as erochikku gemu which roughly translate the same as the English words. Eroge if it becomes popular on America could show a major problematic for the video game industry as the detractors could have a valid point that video games are linked to unhealthy behaviors when different studies show that the link between video games and being a sociopath are minimum even if in some well but some researches agree that there is a link that stimuli aggressive behavior with visual stimuli but yet the problem can grow more complex as video gaming is not only a kids pastime but also a pastime where Baby Boomers and the XY generation have in common and the games can not focus only on fantasy "happy-go-lucky" themes but going on a point where rape and violence are glorified, then there is a moment to analyze the industry itself not only depending on social and cultural contexts where the game industry.

One of the victims
Why RapeLay was chosen over some other ones.? Simple because it's a simple game that encompass a psychological profile that is more wicked than Grand Theft Auto or any blood game as it goes on the levels of a sociopath that without guns rapes an entire family of women. Maybe in Japan these kind of erotic violent games are common but trying to understand the cultural reason is almost impossible because the laws in Japan are stricter than any other place in the Americas about indecent exposure yet these games where woman is mistreated are sold as hot bread but maybe the reason that they are sold could be related to Japan's patriarchal society where women are just a mere housewife even if they on a social and political level had achieved more than in the Feudal Era, but in an oxymoron Japan is a society that on cultural and social levels keeps them on a status quo.

So by playing a game about rape or violence, the player without any genetic, emotional, family cases would become a total psycho, who knows, maybe not.? It takes too much of a unstable person who is really impressionable and cannot differ reality from fiction, while is true copycat crimes do happen on a daily basis, there is always a way that they can be controlled but on a society that wants everything "now" there are many problems that could generate issues to solve as the population in general had become more focused on themselves and not in the well being of the community.  

Saturday, January 12, 2013

Beyond the Epic Adventure, Mickey's Probable Different Games

Tampa, Fl -- It's been almost 3 years since Mickey made his debut on the franchise of Epic Mickey by the hands Warren Spector; even if the games ha received mixed to positive reviews since it appeared on the market, the game itself would be something different, as a Smash Brother's esque or as a spy. The games could still be made and exploit the franchise with a good script and a compelling story-line that lacked a little bit on the two games of Epic Mickey.

Image property of http://www.siliconera.com

 
The idea of of making a melee game with iconic Disney characters sounds as a good idea, it probably would create a new franchise that could compete with Smash Brothers as much of the characters by Disney are known by different generations and could create an unifying factor with families who have children and teens; and the parents are looking to share a moment with their children.

The idea of King Louie or Captain Hook fighting against each other in scenarios inspired of the movies or imagining Alice fighting against the Queen of Red Hearts and going through a story mode inspired in Alice in Wonderland or fight in Neverland the idea would be extremely amazing and there would be people who would buy the game because they are fans of Disney as a brand and as the place where many individuals had fond memories.


Going back to the Spy Mickey topic and finding random draft about the possibilities of the game, the idea seemed to be more appealing commercially than Epic Mickey, even to the point that there is a automaton version of Donald Duck but there is a sensitive aspect almost as a form of art because Epic Mickey is visually appealing as is compelling with the story line without going into the archetypal cliches but the game-play tends to be so slow that bores from time to time. 

The Most Annoying Pokemon of the First Five Generations: Generation I List

Pika Pika
Tampa, Fl -- If you are an older gamer who had played Pokemon and know how fun the game it is you will also know how annoying some of the Pokemon are just found by navigating through the grass or by preset encounters where the player is obligated to capture them or kill them on the process, probably if you watch the cartoon you also realize how annoying Pikachu can be by his ever eternal one line that as soon the viewer/ fanatic of the game grows older realize this furry rat is far less from being cute and shall be exterminated.

Generation One:

Pikachu: At first this cute tiny mouse, could be a blessing in disguise with the water gym and defeating Misty, but going trough the Elite Four is as useless as a Pidgey facing an electric type Pokemon level 99; but this little rodent became the mascot not only for being the most versatile but only being the cutest one over Clefairy which even if Clefairy is a Normal-type and has a wide variety of movements which are more powerful than Pikachu's yet got relegated to a second plane and only a bundle of appearance on the television show. I can not watch the television show and listening to Pikachu and think "this could be the most entertaining conversation in the entire episode."

Snorlax
Snorlax: If you played Generation I without a walk-through you probably remember seeing two of  these chubby fellows blocking an entire route because the paths on the Pokemon world are abnormally tiny where hypothetically a tragedy strikes the people of the cities and towns wouldn't be able to evacuate on time and back in 1996 there weren't many website dedicated to relief the frustration of the players.

On a funny side Snorlax is one of the most powerful ones regarding his status even if is a Normal-type, it plays really well on against the league that if it's properly trained in conjuction with Charizard you can defeat the entire League and the Champion with only these two.

Kangaskhan
Kangashkan: Amazing Pokemon, annoying to catch because the rate was even lower than Tauros and in my opinion Tauros was the most annoying Pokemon ever to catch because the Safari Zone didn't offer too much options for a battle and you had to walk around just to get Tauros and this one. One thing that always made me wonder about Kangashkan it was how they reproduce.? The population is entirely female, there are no males around, yet the carry a baby on their pouches. Maybe the reproduce through partogenesis or they do like the clown fish.? Who knows, it's a mystery that hasn't been explained at all.


Tauros
Tauros: Annoying as hell, annoying to catch, annoying to fight against, but a really good to fight with. Probably the developers when they created the Safari Zone, they did it for the "lols" to annoy the gamers by trying to catch some nearly impossible Pokemon's but at the same time thank God and the wise men from who made the Gameshark because they facilitated the players to catch and trigger events easier than just playing the game straight in row. But how many people lose so much time trying to complete the Pokemon's found in the Safari Zone.? Who really knows, but that is a nightmare that has disappeared with over the years.



Metapod and Kakuna: The most useless Pokemon's of Generation I, they really don't do nothing and even if they harden enough they couldn't achieve anything, even if they had medicines to boost their attack. Even on subsequent generations all bugs who go to the cocoon stage they suck with the exception of Volcarona who is really useful against Dragon-type Pokemon's.

Pidgey
Pidgey: The only real use this Pokemon has is as a quick transportation method, beyond that point they are annoying as hell, even annoying than Rattata because they appear everywhere and they really don't do much beside basic attacks.

Next week, we are going to continue with the most annoying Pokemon's on Generation II. If you have any suggestion leave a comment below or any other of Generation I that you think is annoying too.

Sunday, January 6, 2013

Racism in Connecticut Lulu Ross Elementary School in Delaware

http://www.addictinginfo.org
Tampa, Fl --- There is a fine line between trying to prevent a crime, and there is a really thin line between being an insensitive person regarding other realities but it seems in the Milford School District at Delaware where the Hispanic population is 15% the Lulu Ross Elementary decided to took matter how to protect their white children on their own hand by segregating the Hispanics from the other ones.

The sign says clearly in English to be careful while playing on the field but by saying Play at Your Own Risk so we can assume there had been some inconvenience around the area and then there is a Spanish directed message on the bottom which also has a typo on the word permit which in Spanish is permiso and not ermiso, but we can assume that people of Spanish origin are not welcomed to play in the zone so we assume that the Milford area is exclusively for white people who live in the 1950's and do not welcome any people from another ethnic group because the sign say in Spanish that you will need a permit to play, so we can assume that Hispanic children and individuals aren't welcomed at all.

But to think about this school is located on Sussex County, the most conservative oriented county in Delaware, so conservative that Mitt Romney pulled better than Barack Obama over there so we can't assume that around Milford they have really seen a Hispanic or Black that don't go to clean their houses or mow their lawns because that is a job a white person never does because of laziness and fear of the sun.

It doesn't look as a mistake, it looks as pure, unadulterated racism and is really sick that on the 21st Century people still are miserable to engage in this kind of behavior. Is terrible and despicable what they are doing. Please share the information and address a letter to:

Lulu Ross Elementary School
310 Lovers Lane
Milford, Delaware 19963

Or call them to: 302-422-1640 and let them know exactly what you think about their "honest mistakes" regarding two different signs because is not OK.

Tuesday, January 1, 2013

Home - A Unique Horror Adventure Game Review

The Unnamed Protagonist of Home
Tampa -- Fl, Home -  A Unique Horror Adventure Game is a side-scroll by the mind of Benjamin Rivers is an adventure game with a mystery side that can keep the player hook up to the seat for the entire duration of the game. The best way to describe Home is with a retro vein styled 1980's graphic text adventure with a 2D perspective that gives and scary atmosphere to the game mythos where he unnamed protagonist tries to uncover the clues about his whereabouts and why he ended amnesiac in a mansion h has no clue who belongs to.

Waking up in the Middle of Nowhere
The Gameplay is quite easy to handle, as there are only two basic commands, the directional arrows and the space-bar (to take some yes/no decisions the player must use the Y and N keys.) to navigate through the scenario. The scenario offer a retro old school value as everything is pixelated even the sequences from first point view where the character explores his surroundings (see adjacent cap) the world is completely pixelated giving a Maniac Mansion or Super Mario air of kind of game.


There are skeletons and not in the closet

The story of the game is quite ambiguous and not necessarily goes into the unidirectional spectrum of story telling. The basic outline goes when our unnamed protagonist wakes up disoriented in the middle of a storm in the house that is not his only to find himself in what it seems to be the possible scene of a mass murder. The story has possible endings and the player has to explore different parts of the vast pixelated world in order to unveil all the clues regarded on the situation the protagonist finds himself into.

There are different theories about what really happening around online since the game don't offer any clues itself and the player is obligated to repeat the game in order to find different parts of the mystery from the very beginning but the game revolves around a man that seems to have a criminal history and in a fit of rage  mixed with alcohol and depression  after finding his wife Rachel possibly cheating with his best and only friend a man named Norman decide deliberately to kill them, albeit the game take possible outcomes depending on what clues the player finds regarding the blank spots on the man's past.

Graphics bring an amazing value to the game itself, is one of those kind of games aimed to an older generation but at the same time is aimed to anyone who enjoy retro-games or retro styled games due the nostalgia value as well to the focus on the story itself. Maybe with today gaming industry, the industry as focused on graphics and not essence, maybe the indie developers have taken what the mainstream had left.? The point where even there is an appeal on the graphics there is also an appeal on the beauty of gaming with mimics the same as writing and painting, or any form of art, telling a story.