Been awhile...

... since I've posted drunk!

The sun was shining today and so I came home and drank BEER!

It's a lovely cheeky San Miguel long neck. I think (hope) there's another in the fridge!!

Bang The Cat

I mentioned Bang The Cat awhile ago.

The whacky folks at Blue Rocket have launched Bang to his own website. Its cute, short and lots of fun.

YOU WILL BELIVE A CAT CAN EXPLODE!!

Strike me dead

I saw I movie I liked. SUPER SIZE ME. Good film making. But…. it made me really hungry for McDonalds. Seriously.
Also bought and enjoyed a comic as well. HISTORY OF VIOLENCE. Haven’t seen the movie yet, but dig the GN. I like the scratchy/crosshatch artwork. Old skool.

Haven’t found DEADWOOD season 2 yet, but instead purchased FAMILY GUY season 4. Only halfway through, but cried myself from laughter in some parts.

We’ve a long weekend here. Pommie Dan, The D, London Girl and I are flying to ITALY! Pisa tonight. Seeing the Tower That Leans, then spending Saturday and Sunday in Florence. Going to check out the naked David. Compare his arse with mine. Eat some pizza. Drink some wine. Get Euro-trashed!

We found the usb cord for the camera, so I’ll get some photos of Borough Market (My hood), France and no doubt Italy.

AND I just remembered- I had a dream last night that The Rat Pack (Dean, Sam and Frank) performed a show under the carport at my parents house in Sydney. After the show I sat down on the front steps with Frank (as I've down with many a friend in the past) and we had a really good yarn.

Thats twice I've met The Voice in my dreams and both times have been great!

Away

The Diggsville office will be closed over Easter.
Kickin it in the French countryside with The London Girl.

Be back on the Friday 21st.

Corpse Bride

Saw The Corpse Bride last night.
I was WISE to not pay money to see it at the cinemas – or even to watch it on dvd last night.

Very nice character designs, great production and animation, but highly forgettable script and terrible musical numbers that were more like anti-musicals.
Johnny Depp + Tim Burton + Helen Bonham-Carter + Danny Elfman + Richard E Grant = hot. NOT!

When will I see a film that I don't have to be negative about??

PUBLIC ENEMY

I was just reading Steven Grants column - as I do on occasion- and I saw that there is a Public Enemy comic series- co written by Chuck D.
Heres the deal-o:
"PUBLIC ENEMY, the official comic book series of the world famous hiphop band, by Chuck D and Adam Wallenta, from American Mule Entertainment ($2.99, ongoing comics series. Issue #0 is available in the April Diamond Previews on page 225 Item code will be APR062899. Our giant sized issue #1 will follow in July.) The evil Executives and their New World Order are about to unleash their master plan for world domination. Before they can succeed though, they must eliminate a young boy named Vincent who holds the key to their ultimate secret weapon. Unfortunately for the Executives, Vincent is a Public Enemy fan. In a desperate attempt to destroy their enemies, the Executives devise a plan that will eliminate Vincent, Public Enemy and their Underground Railroad allies in one clean swoop. This is the beginning of an epic battle for peace and justice as Public Enemy and the Underground Railroad fight the powers that be to keep the America people free from tyranny and oppression."

I have huge respect for Chuck D and I really dig Public Enemy (perhaps not there recent stuff so much, but this has left me a bit baffled...

Is it just a lame super-hero re-hash or could it be some great funky, angry-political piece of literature?

I know there are few people who are into both P.E and comics- any thoughts??


(also posted on my LJ)

The Queen

The London Girl and I attended a special test screening of The Queen last night.
It's a yet-to-be-released film about the relationship between Queen Elizabeth II & Tony Blair during the political fall out of the death of Diana.

What we saw was a film still in post-production, and at the end we had to fill out a form.

The London Girl is connected up to her pretty ears!

Anyway, REMEMBER LAST OCTOBER WHEN I SPOTTED ACTOR JAMES CROMWELL? Well he was in it. Thats why he was in London last year.

SCOOP!

Also, without much fanfare, I shaved the beard again. The weather is warmer so I needed the extra facial protection not. I have more wrinkles on my face then last time I shaved.

Further PROOF!

LOOK at the NAMES of the tracks from the Conan soundtrack:

1. Anvil Of Crom
2. Riddle Of Steel/Riders Of Doom
3. Gift Of Fury
4. Wheel Of Pain
5. Atlantean Sword
6. Theology/Civilization
7. Wifeing (Theme Of Love From 'Conan The Barbarian')
8. The Leaving/The Search
9. Mountain Of Power Procession
10. The Tree Of Woe
11. Recovery
12. The Kitchen/The Orgy
13. Funeral Pyre
14. Battle Of The Mounds
15. Death Of Rexor
16. Orphans Of Doom/The Awakening

LOOK AT THEM!!!

Is this TRULY not the greatest soundtrack??

Fine men

Did you know that The Hoodoo Guru's have a song called "Gene Hackman"?
It is about the actor.

"He can be anything that he wants,
Gene Hackman- what a guy,
He can bring a tear to your eye,
What a guy,
Gene Hackman..."

And on it goes...


ALSO when I was in New York last year and enjoying the hospitality of C-Man, we did a bit of music swapping.
He made a folder on my I.River called "Christian is a fine man". Alot of celtic folk/punk, hip-hop, cowboy and Nick Cave tracks.
I'm still digesting all the various hip-hop and came across 2 tracks yesterday that I hadn't listened to. I've got a pretty broad and open mind and consider myself hard to shock, BUT...

Have you ever heard "Lick My Arse" and "Girls Would You Like To Fuck Tonight" both by Kool Keith???

They could be the most sexual, perverse and NON-misogynistic rap tunes I've heard!

I read last night that Kool Kieth is playing in London in May.

Stone Roses

I've long held the Stone Roses 2nd Coming album to be a great album. Very underated, and in my opnion, better then their first.

What prompted this? I FINALLY found my bootleg live cd.
I'm listening to it now. It'd be really good except that Ian Browns' vocals are shit.

Local

My new local has a dungeon downstairs. Not only can you sit and have a drink in a 300 yr old converted jail cell- but it's also smoke free.

Photo's to come!

GEEK-talk!

Film-
I've seen the billboard advertisements and am extremely curious about:
Inside Man.
A heist film starring my man Denzel Washington, my other man- Clive Owen and Jodie Foster. Directed by Spike Lee.

Basic Instinct 2- Really curious to see if this is any good. You'd imagine (hope)that it was a pretty good premise to attract Sharon Stone back after what- 15 years?? The first was a great sexy-thriller (well that was my impression when I last saw it..... but I WAS 18 yrs old).

Comics-
Due to budget considerations and being constantly disappointed, I've pretty much stopped buying comics. BUT I am a bit interested in seeing what Scott Pilgrim is like. It looks kinda cool, but on further examination I was turned off by the use of "video game violence" as a tool to resolve conflicts.
Is it any good?
I also saw a collection of Alan Moore DC supers stories. Would be good for a read.
The last Y-The Last Man trade bored me, so I think I'll stop paying for it and wait till I'm back in Melbourne where I can just read Dougs'.

Speaking of Doug, I'll be sticking with the (also recently disappointing) The Amazing Joy Buzzards, as Holgie will be illustrating v.2 #5. Check the cover out HERE!

TV-
Just finished watching the first series of FIRE-FLY, and........ I'm not convinced.
With the exception of one brilliant episode ("Our Mrs Reynolds") there was far too many simply woeful episodes where it appeared they let the work experience kid write the script and the sandwich man direct... plus I just think it doesn't work.
Too many genres squashed in that maaaaaay have worked if they didn't also throw in soo many cliche's.
Watch-able- YES.
Showed promise- .. yeah.
Was I blown away and addicted enough to wish to all the gods that they didn't can it- nope.
Want to go back and re-watch SERENITY though.

But to make up for it... Season 2 of Deadwood is available. Next paycheck, cocksuckers!

And British tv is absolutely terrible. Australia gets the best of the best, but it is only a tiny portion of what gets aired.

Internet-
In the last few weeks I've been using my previously dormant Live Journal. I've been posting different things from there to here, so you'll have to keep on your toes and check both. I'm making use of the "Friends Only" function of lj and posting lots of work that I shouldn't be showing yet. So go over, have a look and sign up if you want. You don't want to miss out on any Frase-ness!!

Music-
Some songs I'm specifically digging at the moment:
Big River- Johnny Cash
Whats My Scene- Hoodoo Gurus
Stand Together- Beastie Boys
The Projects- Handsome Boy Modeling School
Rubber Biscuit- The Chips
Holy Smokes- Aesop (??)


NEEEEEERRRRRRRRRRDDDDDDDDDDDD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Out with the furries. Down with the kids.

I've finished up on the animals for now.
After numerous monkey animations and an interactive game featuring polarbears, dogs, cats, pigs, penguins, angry rabbits, hip foxes, crazy roosters and a business badger, I've moved onto the next project.
Learn to speak Spanish!
Should be good fun as I've always wanted to speak Spanish!
But instead of drawing animals, I've now gotto draw "cool kids". What does an old, grumpy and cynical jazzbo know about cool kids? Do the kids still even say "cool"? It's like they speak another language!

I'm having a bo-peep at manga style- or more specifically- spanish manga style.

IN OTHER NEWS:
I'm moving house on the weekend! After 8 months of traveling, hotels, couch hopping & house sitting I'm finally getting a pad of my own. Mine and 3 foxy women. But my name will be on the lease- so Hobo Frase TRULY no more!
Moving to a funky flat in an ex-council flat. (you should've seen some of the crackhouses and ghetto's we looked at!)
Will be in the suburb of Borough, down the road from London Bridge and a stones throw from the cbd.
So... all those good samaritians who've sheltered me in the past- I can now recipricate.
Sam & Dave, Barry & Squeeze, Doug & Jen, Iris, Dave & Shan, Cat, C-man, Leah, Doris, Anika, Sarah, Ed, um..... I know I've probally forgotten some one..... but if you're ever this way- drop me a line!

....cool...?

Best of the Best!

From the media release:
Blue Rocket Productions featured at the prestigious 2006 Australian Interactive Multimedia Industry Awards in Adelaide on Friday night. Blue Rocket’s latest broadband project, The Dog and Cat News won the award for Best Children’s and also the peak award, Best of the Best.

The Dog and Cat News website was produced through the AFC/ABC Broadband Production Initiative with major funding from the TECC (Tasmanian Electronic Commerce Centre) and Telstra’s Broadband Development Fund.

Based on Blue Rocket’s TV series of the same name (co-produced with Bayerischer Rundfunk and Telepool Gmbh, Germany and Screen Tasmania), The Dog and Cat News website is hosted by ABC Online (Australia) and has continued to pull increasingly high traffic since its launch in April 2005. The two TV series are broadcast on ABC2 in Australia and also streamed directly from the website.

The Dog & Cat News producer, Alicia Rackett, acknowledged the contribution of many people to the success of the project. “From the hugely talented creative and technical team at Blue Rocket, the support of the project partners, through to the countless kids that submitted stories about their pets, these two awards will be celebrated by everyone involved in the project.”

It's an honor just to be nominated, and it's pretty rad to win your category. But to also win Best Of The Best is totally awe-SOME!

Spring

Hahahaha- sucked IN everyone else not living in the northern hemisphere!!

Yesterday was the first day of Autumn for you ALL- and that means that WINTER is almost upon you!

Hahahahhaha- how I've waited jealously for you to stop whining about the heat!

BUT for me it means the first day of SPRING and that summer is almost here.
Sweet, sweet summer!
It was a brilliantly clear blue sky yesterday... but bitterly chilly... so chilly that it snowed... and my ears were in pain from being exposed to the crisp, cold air.

Some days it doesn't pay to have big ears and a sharp, trim haircut.

I could...

The D wanted me to update my blog as it was "getting old". It's sunday night and I'm feeling pretty tired after an exhaustively fun weekend- so I'm not really in the mood to type much.
I could write about friday night and how The London Girl and I went on a date as part of my Birthday present. Dinner and a west end show. (We saw The Rat Pack).
I could write about the show- and about The Rat Pack- but, seriously, I could crap on for days about them- so it's a can of beans that's best not opened.
I could talk about how I'm enjoying the Jamaican beer- Red Stripe, even though I've cut down on my drinking lately.
Speaking of drinking- I could I tell you of the hassle and epic travels I went due to my intitial laziness to pick up my birthday present from Tee, Doug and Jen. And how it seems that my friends tend to give me alcohol.
I could write about how I bought the Firefly on dvd today and watched 2 eps already.
I could write about how my job is progressing and how I got attacked by geese last week when I was outside on the phone.
I could write about the fact that we really HAVE to find a new place to live real soon, and what areas we've been looking at.
I could write about stuff thats been happening in the news lately. The £40 million heist in London last week. The head of NY crime family being indited. The shitty comments being made by Australian PM and others about Australian Muslims. M.I6 making payouts toBritishh soldiers for subjecting them to LSD during the 50's.
I could explain why I'm postingdifferentt things from my blog to my LJ.
I could talk of how I'm really, really digging the first track of the new Franz album- "The Fallen".
I could write about the weather in London lately- and how it's been haling, sleeting and snowing.
I could write about the 1.15 hr commute EACH way to work and the things I do to entertain myself.
Or, hell. I could even dip into the DIGGSVILLE content reserve and write about when I was four years old I was bitten by a Lion cub. True story.

I could- but I ain't.

My Birthday

My 31st birthday as come and gone.
It was (obviously) my 2nd birthday of my 3 decades.
I really, really enjoyed turning 30.
But 31- was just a ok. I'm feeling my age!

Of course with the help of a mix of old and new friends I celebrated it in style and much fun, food and alcohal was consumed.

The Wonderstuff

The Wonderstuff are playing in London on the 15th March.

I'm pretty sure I want to go.

My hesitation? They're getting on a bit. I fear that watching them will make me feel old.

Word UP!

Just a few things i need to share with you:

1. Sunday 19th of Feb is my 31st birthday. I know I've left it a bit late for you international readers to send my my presents in time. But thats ok. I can wait!

2. My dad jaunted over to Europe last weekend and I managed to catch up with him. Along with a bottle of duty free scotch (stout fellow!), he also gave me copies of DOLLBOY #1-4. I haven't read these in ages.
Nostalgia a go-go!

I hesitate to even mention this, but it got me thinking about re-doing the series. I spent most of the time re-reading thinking "I wish I could do this again....".
Should I even go back there?

3. It's a strange, strange feeling when I come to the point of realising that what I do for a job, for a career, what my specilaty is, what I do to get money in the bank and food on the table and beer in the hand is..... draw goofy animals.

At the moment I'm drawing and animating monkeys dancing The Robot for the BBC.
Sneak peak:


(I'll try and show you the finished animated version when it's done!)

The Frase Zombie

What I'd look like if I was a zombie.

I have no plan to escape a zombie plague over here in the UK.