Mercury Studios

Merry Christmas and other Happy Holidays

I can’t believe it’s that time again, a time to say happy holidays, merry Christmas to people you don’t know or can’t remember, but it’s polite so you have to do it. So, Happy Christmas people of the internet! Look in the next couple of days for my music review of the year. And in the New Year expect some updates for the portfolio and also some new Darren Shan quizzes based on his newest series the Demonata (I’m prepping them right now!). Also ill have some reviews for concerts I’ve been too this summer and fall, including the Fratellis, Fall Out Boy, Gym Class Heroes and Streetlight Manifesto. Enjoy the holiday season for right now, I know I will.

Now Listening To: Three Days Grace, One-X

Reading Now: Darren Shan, Slawter

By David, 12/24/2007 1:15pm

Juno

No, not the city in Alaska, the indie film touring film festivals and gathering awards right now. Thanks to Hartford’s 106.9 the Rock WCCC, I was able to attend a preview showing for this film. I was excited going in; loving the cast selection for one thing (Michael Cera and Jason Bateman back together again since Arrested Development) and also it’s a movie by the director of Thank You for Smoking (another great movie). It was a good movie overall, well acted, paced and especially well written and smartly written for that. You can’t beat lines like, “That ain't no etch-a-sketch. That's one doodle that can't be un-did, homeskillet,” which Rainn Wilson’s character (Rollo) puts so eloquently. Or “You should've gone to China, you know, 'cause I hear they give away babies like free iPods. You know, they pretty much just put them in those t-shirt guns and shoot them out at sporting events,” Which Juno, excellently played by Ellen Page, bluntly says. Overall it was the performances that carried the movie, Ellen and the other actors couldn’t have hit the timings and emphasis more perfectly.

Recently Seen: Juno

By David, 12/17/2007 11:42pm

Mercury Studios Version 5

Since the spill I’ve been talking about the redesign. Well here it is; beautiful, right? Same basic navigation as the previous sign, same content pretty much but everything else is new. New coding, new css, new images, new colors, new ideas, new effort, new design. I’m very pleased with the way it came out, and now it’s just down to me keeping it updated, and creating new content for it. Hope you enjoy it, because personally I do. Oh, and the Christmas/winter theme is up right now (one of the new pluses to this design), it isn’t blue all year round.

Recently Seen: Hitman

Now Listening To: Mark Ronson, Version

Recently Read: Stephen Colbert, I am America (and so can you!)

By David, 12/07/2007 10:04pm

Saw IV

Ok, so just a little review on a movie I just Saw (IV). I have to say that overall it was decent, probably about a 7, perhaps a little lower in my book. In terms of creep-out/gross out factor the most horrific scenes for me were probably the first few minutes in the autopsy (of, as you probably know by now, John Kramer). At this point it’s the same regurgitated sick traps, while shocking, gruesome and bloody, they don’t have the same effect as when we first saw them in saw I. Without trying to give anything away this sequel fills out a lot of the characters pasts, well, at least one of them. The classic saw twist is good; I have to say though that I liked the twists at the end of I, II and especially III more than that of IV. Without at doubt the writers and directors have renewed the saw formula of blood, story, moral and twist and created a fitting sequel to a never ending saga.

Recently Seen: Saw IV

Now Listening To: Reel Big Fish, Monkeys for Nothin', and the Chimps for Free

By David, 10/30/2007 9:43pm

Mercury Studios and whats to come

Still suffering from the spill from earlier in the year, ill continue to update the site sporadicly and restart work on a redesign (being as a lost all my files) as soon as i have some more continuous free time.

By David, 08/18/2007 5:18pm

Harry Potter, a quick review

So Harry Potter the seventh and final book in the series, the deathly hallows. Now there was alot of hype surrounding the release, the series of course being coveted by millions of children and adults alike around the world. But honestly the book wasnt that good. Without giving away too much, the first half of the book was slow, misserable and filled with self-loathing; and the second half was too fast, leaving characters in its dust. To her credit, J.K. Rowling does create a couple of good chapters with great story telling like A Princes Tale. Dispite its downfalls i did enjoy reading it, simply for the fact that it is the final Harry Potter book.

By David, 08/18/2007 5:18pm

An Uh-oh

So I Spilled my drink on my computer and it went pop. ive lost all of my files and programs so give me a while to put it all back in to place. im putting this up through notepad! let this be a lesson, keep drinks away from computers.

By David, 05/28/2007 6:08pm

New Website: Game Day

I added my latest project to my portfolio page today. For my class I had to create a shopping website. We had to integrate working JavaScript to a products page and feedback page as well as flash video and animation. Even though the games are not truly for sale, the site as a whole works. Look for the new animation (Brown Eyed Girl) next week.

By David, 05/9/2007 2:46pm

Spiderman 3

We saw Spiderman 3 opening night (there were tickets available and Thursday can be boring). To say it’s the worst movie ever made isn’t right, but its not the best made ever either. For one thing the special effects are amazing; swinging through New York City above the traffic looked too real. And the creation of Sandman was incredibly detailed. The fight scenes were good too, greater in number than the first two movies. But the acting and script were pretty terrible. Maguire and Dunst were both pretty bad with their lines, especially Maguire. The only truly good actors were James Franco and Topher Grace.

By David, 05/9/2007 2:41pm

As the Title States

Favorite Worst Nightmare, the Arctic Monkeys second full length studio album, and is exactly as the title states Favorite but at times Worse Nightmare. Overall it’s a good album, perfect to follow up the smash hit of 2006 Whatever You Say I Am Thats What Im Not and an awesome second album. With insane guitar parts and fast spit and intelligent lyrics just as the first album, the Arctic Monkeys leave a heavier, more emotional feeling inside the listener this time. Launching into an awesome song, Brianstorm, with a set of frantic first chords and heavy drum beat and a handful of awesome rhymes I found myself within a classic Arctic Monkeys track. Other Awesome songs include Fluorescent Adolescent, sweet guitar melodies and fast paced, tongue tripping lyrics that make it my favorite song on the album. Examples including "flicking through a little book of sex tips, remember when all the boys were electric." As we depart from the favorite we found ourselves in the Worst Nightmare. Truly awful songs like 505 that have no point of existing on this album. If you can get past the Nightmare of songs like 505, there is a wealth of good Arctic Monkeys on Favorite Worst Nightmare.

By David, 05/2/2007 7:41pm

Updates

As I Mentioned in one of the previous posts I started work on a new short for my design class. Well, between that post and this one I dropped that idea and started a new one; using a Reel Big Fish cover of the song Brown Eyed. I’m not totally done with the idea of the first short and I might revisit it. But expect Brown Eyed Girl before Hang Me Out to Dry. Also look for a new website and a type-image project in my portfolio in the days to come.

By David, 05/2/2007 7:22pm

New Short in Production

My Design class began a new project this week, a flash animation. Hopefully ill get something good out of it and some motivation to go along with that. Expect the animation to be out in about 2 and half weeks. By the way its set to the song Hang Me Out to Dry by the Cold War Kids.

By David, 04/18/2007 4:00pm

Shine On

I Saw JET last Thursday night in New York City, Webster Hall. It was my first time seeing JET and my first time in Webster Hall, both of which were impressive sights. The thing I liked most about jet was how good their music still sounds live. With some bands you find yourself complaining about the overproducedness of albums and of artist sounding crap on stage, but jet was brilliant. They, of course, played the classic sounds of Get Born (Cold Hard Bitch, Are You Gonna Be My Girl, Look What You’ve Done) and mixed it up with the more well known new music from their new album Shine On (Put You Money Where Your Mouth Is, Shine On) as well as some of the really good unappreciated music from Shine On and Get Born (Stand Up, Last Chance, Skin and Bones, Bring it on Back, Move On) and finishing up the set with an amazing performance of Roll Over DJ (which is apparently Nic Cester favorite song). So all in all, really pretty damn good and I might be going to see them again in the beginning of May up here in Hartford. Oh, also, Happy Easter / Passover / Whateverday. jettheband.com

By David, 04/11/2007 7:16pm

Weekly Favorite

This week I just wanted to emphasize one part of my site, just explain it, you know. If you scroll down on the main page youll see in the side bar a feature called ‘This Weeks Favorite’. This section features a piece of work by another creator, whether it be flash, game or website that I want to share that I had found in the past week. At the point of writing this it’s an inventive game by Jared Riley called Bubble Tank, but it changes every week (generally on Wednesday). Take a look once in a while, you might find something you like.

By David, 03/28/2007 1:39pm

Madame Tussauds

Theres something cool about a wax museum. Whether its seeing the incredible likeliness of wax figures to their actual counterpart or just getting to pose with people that you probably wouldnt meet in everyday life. Wax museums can be fun with your parents, the "ohh, look at how well Oprah is done" and the "hey look its George Bush", but going with you friends that a whole other experience. It becomes "ohh, I just grabbed Oprahs ass" and "Pull my finger George Bush". So yea, I had a lot of fun, the wax museum is what you make of it.

By David, 03/21/2007 3:16pm

Got Ma Nuts from a Hippy

The Fratellis Costello Music dropped this week, and Ive been waiting for it for a while now. Last summer I heard the drop you things, jump up and down, scream the lyrics, do whatever you want record Chelsea Dagger and have been anxiously wanting a full 12 more songs that make up the album Costello Music. From its four song debut, including Chelsea Dagger and Flathead (the itunes commercial song), through its brawly middle to the triumphant end every song contains one hell of a mouthful of lyrics, a good hard drum beat and cool guitar riffs. Over all there is really no song I would skip on this album as each is individual yet each represents the overall rhythm and contrast of the album as a whole and The Fratellis.

By David, 03/15/2007 6:32pm

Weekly Favorite

Nothing really new going on in mercury studios; the majors being sickness and addition to StumbleUpon. Im just saying Im still here, and theres a new weekly favorite, this time by a pretty popular artist.

By David, 02/22/2007 4:46pm

Grammy Week

Another weekly favorite, this time blank by blank. Just a note on the Grammy Awards this last Sunday night. I don’t think its right for a single artist/group to win all top three awards (that is, record, song and album of the year). In fact for all five Grammy’s the Dixie Chicks were nominated for they won. Now I’m not a big fan of country, but am I wrong in the fact that just a couple of years ago they had their albums burnt in the street! I guess it was a year of returns for the grammy’s and, while I would liked to have seen some of the newer artists get some credit, I can appreciate the credit given to the Chili Peppers(rock song and rock album of the year), John Mayer’s new album and even Mary J Blige’s new album(though not her 59 person acceptance speech).

By David, 02/14/2007 12:50pm

Week 2

Week two of mercury studios is here, so my weekly favorite has changed, this time to a piece by a New Zealand artist called Dumbbell. Also I just like to comment on the social irregularity that is the superbowl, how can one program screw up television so much—since when did we watch a tv show for the advertisements. It makes now sense; in a regular day we have things like tivo to skip the adverts, but it’s completely backwards on this one day. Oh and by the way: best commercial was, by far, the bud light slap.

By David, 02/07/2007 1:45pm

mercury-studios.com

Welcome to Mercury Studios dot com. That’s right, were live and the website is at least 3 and a half times better than Mercury Cartoons. In the future look for the about page, possibly a breadcrumbs-style navigation system and possibly some unobtrusive ads to pay for a bit of the hosting.

By David, 02/02/2007 6:45pm

Happy New Year

I Just wanted to say ‘Happy New Year’; its 2007. Oh my god! The sites set up for my ideas in 2007, whether that’s new flash—which is sort of my new years resolution as the production of 2006 and to an extent 2005 was miserable—interactive material or new sites. I have some ideas for new flash and my classes at school should hopefully yield some more sites, if not interactive substance.

By David, 01/01/2007 3:37pm