GN-001 Gundam Exia - Model pt. 2

So I managed to get some work done on Exia recently, completing the upper portion of his body and his left and right arms. I had some original difficulties with the right arm and had to disassemble the shoulder and reconstruct it so it worked better. Unfortunately, this strained the pieces and cannot be taken apart again. I don't think that will be necessary, but when the time comes to tighten the joints I might have to pass on the right arm. I have to finish up some of the finer details on the chest, get some goo gone and fade some of the darker details.

Despite any and all set backs, I think it is coming out rather nicely. My fingers are killing me, so I think I'll have a little break between now and the legs. The GN Drive still needs two more batteries for the lights to work on both sides and when that happens, that will be something. I'll try to finish up more of this model soon, it's taken me far too long because of my procrastination as it is.

Triforce Logic

So I briefly made a mention of something I have dubbed "Triforce Logic." Allow me to elaborate on how much of a nerd I am. The Triforce comes from the Legend of Zelda series, it's the almighty, wish-granting, deus-ex-machina artifact forged by a triad of goddesses that is made of up of three separate but equal units (representing power, wisdom and courage) but is sometimes a third is broken into 8 or 12 to prevent some horrible baddie from getting their hands on it. On several occasions, the hero Link has to either collect or reclaim parts of the Triforce in hopes of restoring peace to his beloved Hyrule.

But the number in question here is "3". Three is a good number. I'm not the first person to see three as a good number, in fact most religions have some sort of important thing in relation to the number (Christianity, Hinduism, Taoism, etc.) It is probably from one of these religions that the creators of the Zelda series borrowed the idea for the Triforce. Most likely Christianity, since during the first few games on the Nintendo Entertainment System (or famicom if you happen to be Japanese) Link's shield has a Latin cross on it. In Dante Alighieri's The Divine Comedy, he uses the number three in numerous ways as well with his writing style of terza rima. In fact, it was from my research of Dante's works that I eventually came across this idea.

Back on point: when in doubt, use the number 3. It turns out a lot of things can be categorized into threes in our world. Think about it: Meals of the day (breakfast, lunch, dinner), Parts of a story (beginning, middle, end), that cup of tea you have in front of you (excluding the cup the water, the tea/teabag, sugar/cream/other fixings) and etc. The list can go on and on. Now, I know that there are somethings that don't go into three because there are too many or too little parts. But remember how I mentioned before that the Triforce thirds can be broken down? One of the threes can be broken down into eight. So, we have a 1 that is made up of 8 which if all three were broken down would become 24. See what I did there? So the magic number(s) now are 1, 3, 8 and 24. The lower your number, the better unity I believe you'll have. A series of three is better that a series of 8 or 24, but when 3 is too low for what you are trying to achieve, try the higher numbers to maintain some of that unity.

This is a rough concept of what I call "Triforce Logic." It's not really something to live by but I think it is something to think about whenever you are starting a project. Regardless of whether or not you are into adding philosophy into your work (whatever that may be), keep in mind that the number three may be a nice place to start.

Album Review(s): Modest Mouse, Arcade Fire, Scott Pilgrim OMST

Rather than the usual one album review, I think I'm going to try and change it up a little bit. I've listened to quite a bit of new music recently, so I'll go over each of them in about a paragraph or two.

Modest Mouse - Good News for People Who Love Bad News

Rating: Mellow/Good Natured - 3.5/4.0
So this was Modest Mouse breakthrough album, big singles being "Float On" and"Ocean Breathes Salty". It's relatively mellow as many indie rock albums seem to be, but we have tracks that have a faster tempo, staying true to the alternative rock genre it has also be classified under. The album is solid, there aren't any weird throwaway tracks that throw off the pace or flow of the music. It's good, although it doesn't grab me as a "must listen to all the time" album. Tracks to listen for are Float On, The Devil's Workshop, The View and One Chance. Special mention to Satin in a Coffin.

Arcade Fire - Neon Bible

Rating - Moody/Dramatic-4.0
The follow up album to their first album "Funeral" that happens to be a big favorite of mine. Many people have said that this album surpasses their previous success, I feel it is about the same (although I like Funeral better personally). Four singles on this album, "Black Mirror", "Keep the Car Running", "Intervention" and "No Cars Go", all of which are good tracks. There seems to be strong religious overtones and the questioning of free will in this album, a lot of brooding dramatics that make some tracks like "Neon Bible" a tad too mellow for my usual tastes. However, almost ever song has a good ending that picks it up right before it ends. This sense of religious commentary is reinforced by tracks like "Intervention" with the church organ in the background. Regardless, a good album. Tracks to listen for are the singles mentioned above, "Black Wave / Bad Vibrations" with special mention of "The Well And The Lighthouse"

Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

Rating - Varied - 3.0/3.5
This one is filled with a cavalcade of nice sounds, music provided by Beck (doing the music for Scott's band Sex Bob-Omb), Metric (For Clash at Demonhead), Broken Social Scene (For Crash and the Boys), etc. Since this a soundtrack I don't there there is much a flow to it unless you see the movie, each song pretty much played during a specific scene that makes you go "Oh yeah, this played when X happened." But what was cool about this album was how it brought the music played by the band in the comic, "Sex Bob-Omb" to life. As with all soundtracks, all the songs have their place in the movie. However, when listening to the whole track rather than just a 30 second cut of it, you begin to wonder why on earth it's there in the first place (I'm looking at you T.Rex). Tracks to look out for are "Scott Pilgrim", "Threshold", and "Ramona". Special mention to "Boring By the Sea", "Sleazy Bed Track" and "Anthems For A Seventeen Year Old Girl".

Now, I have listened to more music than this, but I figure 3 is a good number to stop at. Triforce logic has never steered me wrong. Unless there is a story behind an album, I think I'll just do a condensed review like this. If you, the reader, have an album you think I would enjoy then feel free to make a suggestion.

GN-001 Gundam Exia - Model

When I went to Japan, I picked up a limited edition model of one of the 00 Gundam sets.
It's the Master Grade 1/100 Gundam Exia Ignition Mode, and I must say it looks like quite the beauty. Still very much a work in progress. I'm not going to go all out with sharpie line details this time, I don't want to make it look too cluttered with all the lines, especially since there isn't a need to go in and paint it unlike the Dynames model I made a few months ago.

I'll post progress on a somewhat regular basis during the assemblage, so far only parts one, two and three have been completed and I'm just waiting for the right time to get started on four. After that, the top portion of the body should be completed with functioning arms. Still, I have to say that this is the best quality model I have ever had the pleasure to build so far. No need to paint it (which is always a relief) and the articulation of the joints and the fact that it LIGHTS UP. I'm not going to bore anyone with a review on it's functions just yet, that can wait till I complete it.

Paramore - Riot: It's amazing what turns out not to suck after all

So this is out of left field, but I decided to write a review for Paramore's 2007 album, Riot. I originally wanted to do an album review of Cheeseburger's self titled album, but this caught me completely off guard. Now, I have heard of Paramore before, with their rise in popularity and the fact that Hayley Williams is kinda cute without the excessive make up (I AM NOT ASHAMED TO ADMIT THIS) but what ultimately kept me away from this band previously was how they were of the pop rock genre like their deranged cousin Green Day. And allow me to clarify this with you, the way I feel about Green Day is the way I feel about walking into a house condemned because of asbestos. I just don't want to have any part of that rotting piece of shit.

But since I had access to a foreign music on my sister's iPod and had to sit through a car trip, I decided to give them a shot. And I'll tell you now, I actually rather like this album. Williams comes off decent with vocals, I don't really hear anything to unique with the sound but I'm not repulsed nor am I thinking "Oh, this sounds like Avril/ Kelly Clarkson/ etc.). But interestingly enough, it felt like I was listening to the opposite of Lady GaGa. I'm just going on gut feelings with this one, further listening may be required to prove or disprove this theory.

The album starts strong with two songs that I'm relatively certain I have heard several times on the radio ("For a Pessimist, I'm Pretty Optimistic"/"That's What You Get (When You Let Your Heart Win)") followed up by "Hallelujah" to fill space. Not really wow'd by that track, it's a three star song. Then we have "Misery Business" and that takes us out of 3 and brings things to around a 3.5. Around this time, I started to get that familiar vibe I get from most pop rock songs and albums. The excess in rage and bitterness about mishaps in relationships, lines like "you were the only one for me" then followed by some curd about how it was all thrown away or went to waste, all with the fast pace rock music in the background. Despite this, I continued to listen.

We have a couple of OK songs till we get to "Let the Flames Begin". When I first heard this track, all this talk about burning down houses reminded me of the Used and Yellowcard. I was pleased by how they threw that in, although it reeked of teenage rebellion and escaping. That reeking reminded me of Green Day. After that, we have a series of OK and so so songs till "Fences", which I rather enjoyed. It focuses on how the successful celebrities are destroyed by their own success and all that crap that comes with it (thanks Hollywood). After that, we have the last track and the album is done.

Riot received some really mixed reviews, some people like Gareth Dobson from Drowned in Sound said:

"At 38 minutes long, it's mercifully brief, but still manages to feel like a double album for those who endure it. That is, those who don't manage to forget that it's on the stereo at all. People, get your pop-punk thrills somewhere else. At least somewhere where there are actual thrills to be had."

I can't say I disagree fully with this. The topics of these songs, the crappy boyfriends, the wanting for love, the overall sense of angst and rebellion, all that has been done already by Avril Lavigne and Michelle Branch. We could use a hell of a lot less of that. But despite people like Dobson, we have Stylus Magazine giving the album a B+ (which I assume is close to a 4 out of 5) for it's focus on the sound.

4 songs on this album have already become singles, the album has gone double platinum, it's no surprise that Paramore is huge. I am tempted to listen to their other albums, but I'm terrified I'm going to find shit. This is still the pop rock genre and thus, I am walking in a mine field. It is a very strong chance that I can listen to their newer stuff and find myself completely repulsed at how they progressed as a band over the past three years since they released this. But after glancing over the positive scores for the album, perhaps it won't kill me. I like this album, not an all-time favorite perhaps only a I like this for the first few weeks favorite. If you don't feel ashamed listening to what the masses do or what they play on the radio, then it can't kill you. After all, I'm still here.

Although Green Day still sucks and they can all die in a ditch somewhere.

Review from Drowned in Sound:
http://drownedinsound.com/releases/10271/reviews/2133465-?search

Review from Stylus Magazine:
http://www.stylusmagazine.com/reviews/paramore/riot.htm