Narcissists ‘R’ Us

Among my circle of friends, we decided to take a night asking ridiculous questions to one another and get some real answers. One of which was “describe everyone in the group with one word.” Imagine my surprise when everyone nodded upon the label “narcissist” levied upon myself.

After some thought, however, I realized they were right. Moreover, I also realized I didn’t have a problem with it, either. As someone who artistically creates massive amounts of content and presents to anyone who’ll pay attention, I crave the feedback (positive or negative) just to revel in the fact of my relevance. Don’t you?

Inspired by my own response to another blog, some argue that it’s a necessary step to artistic success. If you don’t already think you’re “the man,” why should anyone else think so? Put another way, who would you hire: the person who says “I’ll try my best to do what you want” or the one who claims “No problem… consider it done?”

One could argue that there is a difference between self-confidence and narcissism, but when it’s your name on the side of the truck or your image on a magazine cover, you’ve become a brand, a literal Mr. or Ms. Trademark. To cultivate that brand and leverage the resulting assets, it can become an obsession.

Are you on Twitter? Facebook? STILL on MySpace? Have a blog? A fan site? Go to conventions to present and just attend? Do you hang out with OTHER self-promoting, narcissistic creative types? You’re in good company, my friend (and everyone should have a friend like me.)

Muggle Advantage, Wizard Lament

Here’s a question: if the wizarding world of Harry Potter is so much more sophisticated than what Muggles must endure, why not use a cell phone to get a message through than an owl? Walkie talkies? How about CB radio?

Over at NeedCoffee.com, there’s an interesting article about just how different the state of the world of magic might be if wizards had access to cell phones and shotguns. Remember, “Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side, kid.”

A Labor Day Film Festival (for Three)

How did you spend your Labor Day? Out and about, getting in a last-minute summer BBQ, or visiting somewhere out of town?

My best friend, my girlfriend, and myself wound up having a semi-impromptu film festival. Suffering with merely a 46-inch screen, we relived such classics as John Carpenter’s The Thing and The Fog, Constantine (which brought up the question: does a male or female actor makes for a more convincing sexless/androgynous angel?), the original Child’s Play and the first Saw film (in prep for this year’s Halloween Horror Nights), Silent Hill , two short films (featuring actor Doug Bradley) called “On Edge” and “Red Lines,” and a bizarre film called La lengua asesina (The Killer Tongue) featuring Doug Bradley again, Robert Englund, and a very young Jonathan Rhys Meyers (before he became King Henry on HBO’s “The Tudors”).

And a good time was had by all…!

Is “Lie to Me” Lying to Me?

If you watched broadcast television last season, you might have picked up on a show starring Tim Roth called “Lie to Me.” The premise follows a company called The Lightman Group that assists in interrogations to determine if people are being deceptive (figuring out why when they are is another matter). It all sounds very convincing, but how real is it?

Besides being fun to watch, you can’t help not playing along after being introduced to micro-expressions and other “tells” that are reinforced by similarities to celebrity photos (a glance down for shame, a slight grin at mentioning someone’s hardship when you secretly think they deserve it, etc). Cleverly, the show has also introduced reasons why these tells could be wrong at times, such as an inability to express surprise after a Botox treatment.

Continue reading “Is “Lie to Me” Lying to Me?”

Building a Starship, Part I

Some of you out there have heard about a few crazy individuals who are not only bold enough to be seen wearing classic “Star Trek” uniforms at conventions but are actually savvy enough to act out and produce their own stories for the web. Here’s the kicker: they’re pretty good, too.

One of these groups is Farragut Films, makers of Starship Farragut.

Starship Farragut is an independent film series based on the original series of Star Trek. Starship Farragut is based on the crew of the U.S.S. Farragut, a Constitution Class Starship (NCC-1647) commanded by Captain John T. Carter, and takes place during the time of legendary Captain James T. Kirk of the Starship Enterprise (NCC-1701).

Currently, all involved are getting stage sets ready for more episodes, currently being rebuilt and permanently housed in St. Marys, Georgia. Myself and a friend, Brett, went up this past Saturday and helped out where we could. Check out these images and watch this space later as the final designs take shape.