Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Flying Car

I've uploaded the new song, "Flying Car" at the Bootlegs of the Untitled Band myspace: LINK.

I'll admit that it's one third-Modest Mouse, one third-Flaming Lips, and a third Sketcherowl. Hopefully you'll enjoy it!

Monday, April 27, 2009

I Got the Same Old Speech Again Today. . .

I just want to say that it has been a long time since I've written in this because I've been dealing with some serious "bummers." I don't want to say "depression," because that would definitely be unkind to people who are legitimately clinically depressed, but yes. . . I have been feeling down. Truthfully, I still feel pretty low, and it's this kind of energy that stifles my creativity. However, I will try to keep up with this blog and not let it be another scrap project.

A couple weeks back, I visited my doctor regarding an injury. After taking out his flashlight and examining me, he gave me some sound advice and reminded me that I'm "not Superman."

This sparked something in me. How many times have I heard that one? I've never claimed to be Superman, and of course my doctor has the balls to assume I'm just another reckless youth. My father always made sure to scare the crap out of me as well as guilt me with money issues to make sure I'd generally not make any stupid moves.

But enough on that. Perhaps completely unrelated, but I got another speech today that I've heard one too many times. Today, I was mandated to go to a reading for my poetry class. The poet I heard read was phenomenal. (I'll probably review his book in a later post.) The writer is very out there, using weird images such as "boners" and "fucking sheep."

Afterward, the floor was open to questions and answers. My teacher usually begs her students to ask questions. Casually, I asked, "Personally I'm a fan of your work, and I was wondering how do your fellow peers and colleagues feel about your work when you use images such as 'boners' and 'fucking sheep'?"

He was absolutely inspiring. He was an established writer who never compromised his style. I mean, he would not do anything to lose his job, so he definitely showcases the appropriate work for the right setting. (e.g. he won't talk about boners to a room full of elderly scholars.)

I love how he said things like, "I'm not writing to please the upper academia. Just write what you feel works." By the end of his response, I felt enlightened and inspired that this man was willing to just come off as down to earth, and he wasn't all "up the ass" about being on top of the writing hierarchical ladder.

So here comes the punchline: my teacher talks to me after class and said it was inappropriate about how I spoke. Basically, I'm not supposed to talk in that casual, unprofessional way with a writer; this esteemed poet is not my friend. She said the only person who had the right to talk to the poet that way would be her.

I'm really sick of academic bullshit. First and foremost, I felt my question really stimulated conversation in a positive way. Other students thanked me after the reading, saying that my discussion with the poet really made others feel comfortable about asking their questions. Second, all the other students were asking "cookie cutter" questions about structure. I have never met a poet who seemed interested in talking too much about why he chose to write a poem in couplets.

Lastly, I've definitely lost respect for my teacher. I still think she's a nice lady, but definitely one who strokes her own academic ego. If I could, I'd tell her, "I'm sorry. I completely forgot that writers are not human beings. They are gods. I will humble myself and remember my place, oh great master."

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Why "Moon Jelly Stings?"



I jacked the picture above from Pink Tentacle.

I think most people would be terrified that there's been a recent invasion of Nomura's Jellyfish in the shores of Japan. I'll admit that I would have the bejeezus scared out of me if it came near me in the water, but if I could watch one in a tank, I'd probably do it for days.

No, I can't probably tell you why, but I love to watch jellyfish. I've always thought they were pretty cool since I was a kid, but I can definitely thank one of my friends for bringing me to the aquarium one day last year, and I was instantly mesmerized. Ever since, I've loved to see them float, wiggle around, and wave their tentacles.

I came across a tank of moon jellies, and I've just thought that was just such a cool name. It's stung me ever since, and it's stuck being as I've named this blog after them. (I've also done some other notable jellyfish related things, but that's another story.)

A lot of people say jellyfish are pointless. The argument really is that all they ever really do is float around and sting things. I know it's an age old sentiment, but I'm honestly jealous of such a simple existence. Imagine how cool it would be to be one!



For a LIMITED TIME download The Simpsons "Jellyfish Festival" song [Sadly, it's ripped right from the show.]

Monday, April 13, 2009

Paul London Revitalized My Interest in Pro Wrestling

People often ask me, "How come I like pro wrestling?" I am not ashamed by it. In recent years, things have just not looked good for the business if you consider all the drug abuse scandals. Still, I will admit, despite being 21-years old and knowing very well that the show is indeed (*GASP~!*) fake, I find plenty of entertainment from watching talented men and women beat the snot out of each other.

There's just a certain magic quality that's just so remarkable knowing everything is choreographed. When someone messes up a move in wrestling (or "botches a spot" for you wrestling nerds), it is noticeable. These people innovate creative ways to put on a show. Notably, the WWF/WWE commentators say wrestling is "not ballet," but in a lot of ways, it is. There's a lot of practice behind the techniques in wrestling, and if someone messes up, people can get hurt.
It's a precise combination of physical ability and acting, and it's definitely not something everyone can do.

There was a time in my life when I was getting horribly bored with the past time. It was around 2003 that the mainstream WWE became rampant with these huge guys (such as The Big Show, John Cena, and Brock Lesnar) who lacked any interesting moves, and put on these slow paced matches that mostly consisted of poorly executed punches and a finisher. Just when I thought I was about to finally be able and live a normal, pro wrestling free life, I happened to watch a show called WWE Velocity and saw a wrestler named Paul London.

Originally, I was visually drawn in because I felt that if you squinted enough, it pretty much gave you a picture of what I'd look like if I were a pro wrestler. (At the time, I was slim enough and my hair really resembled.) However, as his match went on, I was convinced that the man was insane. He would do things and take risks that I had not seen anyone else before.

Sure, you would have a wrestler like Jeff Hardy do things like a flying clothesline off the ring apron, but Paul London would run on the ring apron, leap off to do a "shooting star" (a front flip), and land on his opponent, making it look like he horribly injured himself in the process. Despite Paul London dressing in bright, goofy costumes (he usually had tassels on his boots), by comparison, (with all due respect to Jeff) he really made Jeff Hardy look like a pansy.

Paul London transformed me to become a geeky, internet fan who downloaded various shows of other wrestling promotions. I was entranced by this man's physical ability, and I just had to watch more. He was like a phenomenal trapeze artist. . . except he hurts people!

Through watching other matches, I found out the man could also wrestle (which, ironically, a lot of the people in pro wrestling can't do), throw some damn good looking kicks, fight in a hardcore "street fight" atmosphere, and make the fans laugh when he's talking on the microphone. It was through this that I became exposed to wrestling shows such as Ring of Honor and Total Nonstop Action, as well as become fans of indie wrestling stars CM Punk, Samoa Joe, Brian "Spanky" Kendrick, Alex Shelley, Colt Cabana, Homicide, etc. etc.

So needless to say, I was happy six years later to watch the man who entertained for years through his daredevil attitude at a live show. On February 21, 2009, I attended the So Cal based wrestling promotion Pro Wrestling Guerrilla's 98th event titled "Express Written Consent."

In an age where you can tune into a two hour WWE or TNA show just to get an hour and thirty of talking and drama, and thirty minutes of wrestling that's devoid of actual wrestling, it was refreshing to watch this show. PWG is a different breed of wrestling; you've got great technical and hard-hitting fighters such as Scott Lost and Davey Richards, but you also got comedic wrestlers such as Chuck Taylor and Kenny Omega. (Taylor is known for throwing invisible grenades and Omega can shoot "hadokens.")
It's a good balance, and I think there's really something for everyone. From the shows I have went to, there hasn't been anything too bloody or gruesome, but matches have been known to occasionally involve a chair, brawling in the audience, and definitely outside dives that really gets the audience to move out of the way. (I'll talk more about this when I write a more detailed review of Pro Wrestling Guerilla.)

The main event of "Express Written Consent" featured Paul London tagging with The Young Bucks (Matt and Nick Johnson) against The Dynasty (Joey Ryan and Scott Lost) and Karl "Machinegun" Anderson. London came out to The Smashing Pumpkins song "The End is the Beginning is the End," and I became a kid again. I made sure to give him a high five on the way in. I still think the man is batshit crazy; his entrance attire is a bright orange space suit and he is generally goofy in his mannerisms and speech.

Older wrestling fans will say Hulk Hogan lifting and body slamming Andre the Giant was perhaps the greatest wrestling moment of all time, but for me, it would be Paul London hitting his top rope shooting star press on Scott Lost. I got the chills. Like a true fanboy, I forgot all the bad things in my life for a split second, and was just awestruck by joy and elation from witnessing such a thing of beauty.

I shook Paul's hand afterwards, told him what a great match it was, and had a photo taken with him. I left the night with a good feeling, and of course, ever since, I've been in attendance at PWG's shows.

All photos were taken by me at Pro Wrestling Guerrilla's "Express Written Consent." February 21, 2009.

Saturday, April 11, 2009

A Retrospective on "Clockwork"


Last year, I wrote and drew a short comic piece called "Clockwork." The original version was solely dedicated to one of my best friends for her 21st birthday, but I ended up extending the dedication in the final version to another friend (Patrick of CHINA SMOKE) and my brother. It pretty much depicted my winter break, weekends in the spring, as well as my summer of 2008.

I remember awhile back I watched some old documentary special on the life of writer Raymond Carver. His loved ones were upset that Carver decided to create characters in his stories that were based off of the people in his life. His depictions of his friends and family were generally very negative.

That was pretty much the reaction I felt I got out of Clockwork. I was already infamous for writing life-based characters in my fiction short stories, so for me to write a non-fiction, "American Spelendor-esque" piece solidified my place as (what my friend Blaine calls me) as a guy whose stories are centered around "cheap shots."

To answer that statement, yes, I do believe I do make cheap shots at people, but I do think that's missing the point behind the narritive. I am very proud of Clockwork because it brought up the age old question: does your life feel like it is on repeat?

My life did, and that's why it needed to change. Imagine what it must feel like to know every morning how you're going to wake up, what you're going to do, what everyone is generally going to say (it's bound to happen if you hang out with anyone daily), and what you're going to do right before going to bed. It's fine for people who are comfortable for the same thing every weekend, but I've always been the kind of person that dislikes the feeling of people stuck in the same place.

The reaction I got from the people in this piece are as follows:
1) One person wanted to see me write/draw more comics of himself.
2) One person said, "Yeah, I do say that too much," and ended up saying other things over and over in it's place.
3) One person was offended.
4) One person got it, and mused in a blog of his own: "Everyone has problems, and to the guy who has the least problems, we're his problems." (I thought that was sweet of him.)

Interestingly enough, I've been planning for the longest time to write/draw an update to Clockwork. It would be about the time I found someone who broke me out of the clockwork blues, but at the same time, I felt I was making this person's life repetitive. Ironic, right?

Thursday, April 9, 2009

A Short Bio on Someone Completely Culturally Irrelevant (. . . or so it seems.)


I've spent some time organizing what I'm possibly going to write about in this blog. Ultimately, I have concluded that it is best that I start off with a short little introduction about myself.

BRIEF BIO

My name is Kevin E. Ng. At the time of writing this, I am in my early twenties and an English Education major (with an emphasis in creative writing) at Cal State University of Long Beach. I have worked enough to learn that I do not like working, and will blatantly admit that I do not really care too much at this whole idea of "success." As you figured, I am currently unemployed, socially devoid, and my only goal for the future is to make enough cash for sustenance such as food and shelter.

So while it can be established I am by no means a business-minded person, I am a creative nerd. (Whether or not anything I create is to be considered "good" is in the eye of the beholder.) In this age where is fairly easy to get a hold of the tools necessary to make yourself a media darling, I have dabbled in various artistic outlets such as writing, comics, paintings, film, music, etc. etc..

I would say my most notable out of my works is my alternative rock project,
Bootlegs of the Untitled Band.

WHAT TO EXPECT OUT OF THIS BLOG

Don't worry. I do not have the answer to this question either. I could take a guess and say that it will be about plenty of things. I don't want to bore my readers by writing just about my life because that would be very uninteresting, so we'll see what comes out of this. I am mostly just writing this for myself as a means of venting out things on my mind, and hopefully everyone will get a kick out of reading it as well.

I figured I'd use this to review some things I really like, whore out some of my work, and talk about life. We decide what's culturally relevant, and I feel every Joe and Jane Schmo out there is very important.

Hopefully you'll join me on this adventure!