.:seraphim:.

2002-12-13T08:59:00.000-08:00

School Crap:

Hans Zimmer is one of the leading music composers in the movie industry today. Some of his work includes the soundtracks for blockbuster movies such as The Lion King, Pearl Harbor, Crimson Tide, Hannibal, Black Hawk Down, Gladiator, and The Rock. Getting there, however, was not so easy.
Zimmer was born and raised in Frankfurt, Germany. It is said that he had wanted to be a composer from the age of six, but had no formal music education, with the exception of two weeks of piano lessons. When he was 16, Zimmer moved to England and attended school there. During this period in time, he started to work with bands in the United Kingdom, the most widely recognized of which would be The Buggles’ Video Killed the Radio Star. After Video Killed the Radio Star, Zimmer began to experiment with digital synthesizers, which are the sole instrument that he uses to compose his music, today.
Eventually, Zimmer attracted the attention of now-late British film composer Stanley Myers. The two teamed up and issued up a contract with Lillie Yard Studio in the early 80’s. They then produced music for various different British films such as My Beautiful Launderette, Moonlighting, Success is the Best Revenge, The Lightship, Insignificance, and The Castaway. After a brief “solo career” in 1986 – during which Zimmer shelled out the soundtracks for such classic films as The Last Emperor, which he worked with Ryuichi Sakamoto and David Byrne on, as well as lesser-known ones such as Vardo – Zimmer rekindled his partnership with Myers and together, they created the soundtrack for The Nature of the Beast in 1988. After that, he was on his own again, and he went on to fabricate the soundtracks for Wonderland, Paperhouse, Burning Secret, and A World Apart, which would become known as a major turning point in his career.
Zimmer’s score for A World Apart drew a vast amount of attention, and thus, Zimmer was asked to compose the score for the 1988 film The Rain Man. His score for the movie, which starred Dustin Hoffman and Tom Cruise, was nominated for an Academy Award (an award which he was, ultimately, not given because of his age). Following his nomination, he furthered his career and repute by scoring the music for Black Rain, Driving Miss Daisy, Bird on a Wire, Chicago Joe and the Showgirl, Twister, Days of Thunder, and Pacific Heights. Apparently, Zimmer composed soundtracks for 14 movies in the United Kingdom the United States throughout 1988.
By the 1990’s Zimmer’s name had become relatively well known in the world of Hollywood music. For the duration of the early 90’s (1991-1993), Zimmer kept himself busy working on movies such as Green Card, Thelma & Louise, Backdraft, Radio Flyer, K-2, and The Power of One. He also worked with other composers such as Penny Marshall, Barry Levinson, and Tony Scott to put out the scores for A League of Their Own, Toys, and True Romance, respectively. The next year, Zimmer would encounter another major turning point in his career in the form of a Disney movie.
1994 brought one of the biggest successes of Zimmer’s career: The Lion King. While he composed only a fraction of the music (musicians such as Tim Rice and Elton John composed and worked with the actual lyrics), Hans Zimmer won an Academy Award, a Golden Globe for Best Original Score, an American Music Award for Best Album of the Year, and the Chicago Film Critics Award for Best Score.
In the following years, Zimmer created the music for hit movies that include Cool Runnings – another Disney movie, but not nearly as large a success – House of Spirits, Drop Zone, Crimson Tide – a big success in the box office – Nine Months, and Something to Talk About. Some of his more recent ventures include Broken Arrow, Muppet Treasure Island, The Preacher’s Wife, The Fan, The Last Days, The Thin Red Line, The Prince of Egypt, The Road to El Dorado – yet another Disney movie – Gladiator, Pearl Harbor, Hannibal, Black Hawk Down, and The Ring.

http://www.theiceberg.com/artist/17887/hans_zimmer/

http://www.mediaventures.com/htmls/zimmer_b.html

http://www.ascap.com/playback/1997/april/zimmer.html

2001-07-12T01:37:00.000-07:00

I just took a trip to Casual Villian, which is one of my favorite websites of all time. Decided to go to the music section and listen to the Trigun music. Zero Hour wasn't that bad. Rakuen is just plain depressing. The summary next to the song says that Rakuen is played during someone's death. It's sad; I think I know who it is. It wasn't all that hard to figure out, once I had listened to about half the song. Trigun is one of the few series in which I don't wish death upon at least one character. Not even Milly, who I consider to be the most annoying character as of yet (and even then, she's not that bad), deserves death. The only lyric in all of Rakuen is the word "Hallelujah". If you know the main characters of Trigun, then you most likely know who this can be used in reference to. And he's my favorite character too (even though he hasn't even appeared yet, at the point in the series I'm at). The song in itself is depressing enough, but to think that someone from *Trigun* *died* is just heartwrenching. I know this is going to sound really pathetic, but I almost started crying when I got to the lyrical part of the song, probably from the realization of who Glass Shard was talking about in that summary. Or maybe it's because it's 1:39 in the morning? In any case, it's sad. I'll probably be crying a flood once I watch this scene. And I will, since I'm determined to finish watching both Trigun and Cowboy Bebop, even though I no longer have easy or cheap access to them. So sad...

2001-07-06T00:55:00.000-07:00

I thought that drawing would help...it hasn't. I can't even draw depressing stuff. I hate boredom. It seems I can't let out enough exasperated sighs. I wish that they would just leave. I feel like crying. Screw drawing. The stupid damn pencil can go to hell... I'm depressed.

2001-06-28T00:26:00.000-07:00

I feel bad for Neko...she hasn't been having the greatest of...weeks. Poor Neko. ::gives Neko a big, digital Toshii hug:: I hope you feel better soon, Nekochan. I was angry about something and planning on verbally abusing my blog, but in light of Neko's problem, I can't remember what my own was. Oh well, that's okay.
On a lighter note, Neko was kind enough to lend me Photoshop 6.0, so I've now completed my very first CGed picture. It's cel style, since I heard that was easier than using the airbrush. I personally think that airbrush is easier, but it's just not as interesting because it involves a lot of cleanup.
For some reason, I feel I need to explain my picture of Obi-Wan that I did recently. It's kind of sad though, because even I find it hard to explain, mostly because I drew it for no apparant reason; what can I say, I was feeling inspired. Okay, first off, I drew that picture at around 3 in the morning, so I wasn't exactly "all there", so to speak. Second, I was on Bevin's site (which I need to put a link to, by the way) and she has a picture entitled "Ellen and Hapless Jedi Again", in which I love how Obi-Wan is drawn. I then decided to draw a picture of Obi-Wan, partially because I love Bevin's picture and partially because I love Ewan McGregor. Now that I think about it, Obi-Wan's always been my favorite Star Wars character. Never could figure out why they called him "Ben" though... Anyhoo, I started to draw Obi-Wan, and I realized, "Hey, I don't know how to draw Jedi uniforms!". This led to a visit to the official Star Wars site. I then proceeded to be repulsed by Ewan McGregor's hair in Episode II, be relieved that Leonardo DiCraprio isn't playing Anakin in Episode II, and to find the music video for "Duel of the Fates", which was apparently run on MTV and VH1. I also happened to be listening to the original and techno remixes of "Duel of the Fates". I also got a reply from Bevin regarding a guestbook entry that inquired whether or not Jedi have to take a vow of celibacy. She actually has a theory on that one; not a very deep one, but a theory nonetheless. I eventually found those Jedi uniforms that I was looking for. Then I decided, "Well, I've never seen any female Jedi, so we're going to invent one..." I also happened to be on the TAC Oekaki Boards, and they've got that spiffy chick with red eyes and white hair. That's probably why my Jedi turned out the way she did. She's also based on one of my reeeeeally old characters. My Jedi's name is Koran, by the way, which is also, by chance, the name of either the Muslim or Jewish Bible. I think it's Muslim, but I don't remember. Obi-Wan looks a tad annoyed in the picture, but I intended for him to; I was also going to add a comment that said, "Please, stop drooling on me," but I decided against it. So, don't think of this picture as "specialness", think of it as "comradery", because that's, essentially, what it is. Obi-Wan's just tryin' to be nice... God, I'm such a pathetic fangirl...

I got to go to a bi-weekly anime thingermabob on Tuesday. It was fun. We got to see the Kenshin movie. I was sad; no Enichan. I already knew that he wasn't in it, but that's okay. There was that guy with the spiffy hair though! They guy who Orochan/the Hitokiri killed. ::drool:: ^O.O^ Yeah, that was fun. It was nice; I thought that it was all gonna be little five year olds and people who only watch ::shudder:: Toonami. It wasn't though. That's what it was mainly composed of (minus the five year olds; there's a 12-19 year old restriction on it), but there were actually some people who knew what they were talking about! And the librarian who hosted it was just the coolest person besides Neko, Uchan, and Anshi that I've ever met! She knew *tons* of stuff! According to my mom, she was the "20 year-old version of ::points to me:: her". I met someone who likes Trigun! Sure, she watches the dub and I pity her, but that's okay! She's cool too! There was food! It was heaven. The librarian is a fellow Enichan lover! Woohoo! A "costume party" and fanart contest are also in the works, so I'm happy. ^^ I'm planning on doing a picture of Battousai and Enichan with lyrics from "The Vengeance Factor" and "The Bradley", which are both by Further Seems Forever. It's a-gonna be a watercolor. Yay.
Hmm...I can't think of anything else to say, for now. I wish Neko good luck with her sibling problems! And I bid you all farewell!

2001-06-23T22:05:00.000-07:00

Moulin Rouge.... O.O I swear, I'll be raving about that movie until...something better comes out. It kind of pisses me off though, because there are all of these people that say, "Maaaan. Like, that movie was, like, too cracked out." Here's my response: Well, if you ask me, *you're* a little too cracked out, but whatever. I just don't think that they should complain; everyone else survived it and you don't see *them* complaining. I didn't particularly enjoy the part when they first got to the Moulin Rouge, because, well....I guess that's what the world looks like to a person who's on LSD and crack at the same time...hey, you can even throw a little speed in there somewhere. And then there's that freaky clown... Anyhoo, that movie's excellent. Everyone needs to go see it. The sound fx are hilarious, as is the first half of the "elephant scene". Telouse Lautrec is a drunk midget (rise, my people) who, I'm convinced, is related to Sister Wendy. Unless you were in my English class this year or have seen art critiques....oh, never mind. Sister Wendy's only *really* funny if you were in my English class. There's a narcoleptic guy who, I'm sure, is Anshi's lost Argentinian relative. All of the composers are bald. There's a duke who can't sing. Nicole Kidman only looks evil *one time* in the intire movie. And you're a heretic if you don't just love Ewan McGregor. He's a great actor *and* he can sing. He's Obi-Wan Kenobi! He had the little braid! The music in that movie is absolutely amazing. Elton John...I *know* you can't resist Elton John. Elton John is pretty much the summary of my entire childhood music experience, just because my mom loves the guy's music. Maybe that's why I like his music? Or is it? I don't know. In any case, you need to see this movie. Disregard any bad reviews; they were composed by either crackheads or people who coudn't enjoy a good romantic tragedy. And trust me, I'm not one to go for romantic movies, unless they involve people dying. This is why I love CLAMP. Well, I'd better shut up or else I won't be able to stop talking. I hope you enjoyed my...erm...extremely biased critique. Adeiu!

2001-06-23T21:51:00.000-07:00

My site is done! ::evil laughter::

2001-06-14T21:35:00.000-07:00

I don't think anyone really *cares*, but my site has been relocated! Goodbye banner advertising! Hello Lunarpages. If you actually want to see my website, go here.

2001-06-14T21:21:00.000-07:00

*sigh* I'm bored. And there's no music on my hard-drive that I'm not sick of. Not a good combination. I'm slightly tired. I'm on a road towards depression. Oh well. Let's look on the bright side of things. I went to my first job (clerk in a gift shop) for "training" this morning. The only problem with my new job is that I have to be around small children. But that's okay. At least I'm not related to them. Then they can't abuse me and get away with it. Oh yeah! I swear, hell will freeze over before I can get the credit card in the scanner with the magnetic strip facing *down*. Me and my petty problems. Then I got Chinese food with my mom at a new restaurant. It was okay. The other place is better though. ^^ Then I bombarded my mom with questions about P.O. boxes and the U.S. Postal Service. She insisted that we go to the local "Mailboxes Etc."-like store to get more information. Turns out that I need some sort of government certified identification. That means a drivers liscense. Don't have one o' those. Oops. That's okay. My mom said that she'd get the box with her liscense. We're going to the post office sometime soon to see if their P.O boxes are cheaper. Oh yay. October Project...something I'm *not* sick of. Bury My Lovely. That's a good song. *Really* good song. Anyways, you're probably wondering why I'm ranting about P.O. boxes. Well, I suddenly got this brilliant idea while I was trying to go to sleep last night (*and* listening to October Project). "Hmm....maybe I should do commisions and sell prints of my artwork!". Yes, the fact that I'm not running my own frickin' e-buisiness just like all of the other artists is making me feel insignificant. Aren't I just the trendy little...person. Well, feeling inferior to the other artists isn't exactly uncommon with me anyways, so I probably shouldn't worry about it *too* much. I should at least wait until I *have* anything worth making prints of... God, I wish I could use gouache like Tracy Butler. @.@ *sigh* If I stay on this train of thought, I'm just going to become even *more* depressed. Oh, I am insignificant. Maybe I'll just stand in their shadows forever?

2001-06-10T18:24:00.000-07:00

Well, after moping around for nearly a week I feel a lot better. I'm currently harboring a considerable amount of hate towards Yerf, but that's okay. It's understandible. What I really wanted to talk about is the anime series Rurouni Kenshin. Now, unless you've seen the series or have done extensive research (or own the manga), you probably won't have any idea what I'm talking about. But that's okay. You can learn. I just wanted to say that the Battousai scares the hell out of me. Whenever I see him, I can't help asking myself, "That's not Kenshin, right?" Sure he's had a traumatizing past, but geez! I think the reason that I find the Battousai so disturbing is that he goes from this sweet, well-meaning man to a complete monster. And I'm not even going to mention his eyes. His eyes are the really scary part. No matter what color they are (I've noticed that his eyes only turn primary colors. Maybe this is the creators trying to tell us something?), his eyes always look demonic. And then there are those screencaps of him standing in the dark (which I think is from Kenshin's battle against Saitou) with those haunting yellow eyes. It doesn't help that the Kenshin DVD that Uchan's probably going to buy next is the one with the battle against Saito (I keep wanting to say Soujiro....no, he's not until later, and I don't know if Kenshin goes Battousai then.). I have to watch it though. Besides the fact that, according to Nekochan, Kenshin's battle against Saito is one of the coolest fight scenes in the intire series, the Battousai just looks so utterly cool, despite his frightening appearance. In other words, I can't wait until Uchan goes to the comic store again. ^^

2001-06-04T22:16:00.000-07:00

Ugh. It seems that I could avoid neither depression nor discouragement. This is one of my depressed/frustrated nights, so I figured if I posted something here that it might make me feel a little better. I doubt that it will, but you never know. I'm feeling depressed because I'm a failure as a painter. I'm feeling discouraged because I just bought some gouche and I can't use it. Now it'll just go to waste like the watercolors are doing. *sigh* I'm also thinking that I should just use the six month "grace period" to improve my art instead of submitting an application to VCL. Why? I've been looking at some of the art on VCL. Some of it is fairly....um...risque. I'm not sure if my art will be judged by that or not. And I'm not sure I could face failure twice in one week in my current state. On another topic, I'm thinking of moving my site to a Fortunecity account. Why? Because my fuse is extremely short on this particular day and 50 Megs has pushed me one step too far. It's something very little, but I've had too many problems with my account in the past to tolerate another one. Okay, I'm going to...I don't know. Read what Jenni's posted in her blogs. Goodnight all.

2001-06-04T12:30:00.000-07:00

Yeah. Hi. I'm feeling a little crappy today. Mostly because I just got my Yerf application back, which I've been waiting for for approximately two months now, and they said that my art "isn't what they're looking for". Oh well. Now I have to wait six months to send another application in. I'm trying to avoid depression and discouragement by typing this and talking to my cats, so yeah. If you don't want to listen to me whine and wallow in self-contempt, I would suggest that you skip this. Okay. I shouldn't be sad. I've got my website, right? Too bad no one ever comes to it. Oh well. I've still got it. I'm gonna see if I can apply to VCL for the time being. They're "grace period" is only *one month*! Haha. I really don't want to criticize or hold any contempt towards Yerf, because it's a great site and I love the artists' works on there, but I'm having a hard time doing so. At the moment, I'm mentally cussing them out. Okay. As I told Neko yesterday, "Maybe tomorrow will be better." By the way, I hope you're having a better day today, Neko. At least I can keep myself occupied. I'm going to go paint. Cheerio!

2001-05-14T15:41:00.000-07:00

Blogger is being evil! Evil, I tell you! And I have nothing to talk about....

2001-05-14T15:40:00.000-07:00

Oooh. First post.... I have nothing to talk about, unfortunately. Sorry!