Off the Charts: Karl’s Travel Diary for Idiot Abroad Series 1

On September 19, 2012September 19, 2012 By James CastroIn Opinions, Projects, Random Fun, ReviewsLeave a comment

In the last post I discussed Idiot Abroad Series 1 where Karl visits the seven wonders of the world. In addition to the documentary that was made, Karl also kept a travel diary, logging his thoughts and experiences. I found a UK edition on Amazon and picked it up after watching the show. It’s a great addition to what’s seen during the series..

Karl started keeping a diary when he visited Gran Canaria years ago. Passages of it were read on The Ricky Gervais XFM radio show and were absolutely some of my favorite moments from the podcasts. This diary is different as it is more observations of a trip rather than observations of everyday life.

Much of what is said in the diary is said in voice over or interview on the show, but there were some real surprises.

The first surprise was the episodes weren’t shown in the order they were filmed. The diary starts with Karl getting his shots before travel and heading…to Egypt. Those of us who watched the show on TV or on DVD were probably expecting China to be first as it’s the first episode shown. He then goes to Brazil, India, Mexico, China, Jordan, and finally ending with Peru, just about the only episode shown in the order it was produced. I’m not sure why they were shown out of order, but seeing the journey from beginning to in from Karl’s personal perspective provides a better view of his travels.

There were also sections Karl mentions in his diary that do not appear in the show or in the deleted scenes. One was Karl learning to drive a rickshaw in India. Anyone who knows how much Karl likes bikes would have known how well he’d do that but he was told he drove too fast by the instructor. Another memorable incident is the dog farm he visited in China. Dogs are raised for food and sold for that purpose. Karl raises the concept that cows and chickens are raised for food and it doesn’t seem so different. He found it more strange that the owner of the farm had a dog as a pet that he would never cook and eat.

Other items were expansions on things we did see in the show, but provided a better glimpse at Karl and his personality. One moment, that was actually rather touching, was Karl’s interactions with Ashek, the rickshaw driver and restauranteur in India. In the show it appeared as Karl didn’t want to stay with Ashek in the back of his shop and jumped at the chance to stay at a nicer place owned by Ashek’s friend when it was offered. In the book (which contains a number of transcriptions of recorded conversations Karl had, including interactions with locals and phone calls from Steve and Ricky) you see Karl’s compassion for Ashek. Ashek was ill, barely showed up to meet the Idiot Abroad team, and yet still worked both his jobs. Instead of Karl immediately leaving Ashek’s crowded one-room home as shown in the program, Karl initially offers Ashek the nicer house. He tells him, “How about this: I leave you to have a nice night’s sleep? You’ve been working hard all day. Why don’t you stay at your friend’s house, and we’ll stay here…I want you to have a bit of goodness in your life.” Ashek, true to his customary hospitality and courtesy, refuses repeatedly and they eventually go to the nicer residence.

The diary, to me, only works as a companion to the show. It might make sense and be a fun read for those who haven’t seen the show, but in my perspective some of the fun is left out if you can’t picture where Karl is and what he’s doing. It does provide a much better view of the entire show, and is a terrific addition for fans, not only for what it adds to what’s on screen, but to what it adds to what fans may know of Karl’s personality. It’s also a VERY quick read and well laid out. The beginning of each “wonder’s” chapter has a famous quote from a philosopher, historian, or explorer about the wonder juxtaposed with one of Karl’s making for a great intro to each locale.

I’ve seen and enjoyed the second season of Idiot Abroad and Karl kept a diary for that trip too. I know, having enjoyed this one, I’ll definitely get that one too.

If you were unfamiliar with the weird world of Karl Pilkington I hope this was a decent introduction. It’s a consistently funny, sometimes enlightening, frequently confusing, and always entertaining place to visit!

Karl, Steve, and Ricky

Off the Top of My Head #4: The Unconventional Wit and Wisdom of Karl Pilkington

On September 5, 2012September 5, 2012 By James CastroIn Art, Opinions, Projects, Random Fun, ReviewsLeave a comment

Genius is an objective concept. What might seem like genius to one person may seem absolutely ridiculous to another. What might seem simplistic may be brilliant. What is absurd and what is genius can be blurred by perspective and not all of us agree on what is profound and what is nonsense.

Enter Karl Pilkington.

A friend at work told me about the show Idiot Abroad and frankly due to the title and my lack of interest in the concept I resisted watching it. I since have seen the show, The Ricky Gervais Show HBO episodes, and read two of Karl’s books. Despite what Ricky Gervais believes, I think Karl is a kind of genius (which according to Ricky makes me an idiot too…), but like Ricky…I can’t get enough of his peculiar form of brilliant insanity. I’ve included several of videos featuring Karl in this post. All are hilarious, but be aware there is some typical Ricky Gervais-language in them.

For those who don’t know him, Karl Pilkington was a radio producer on Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant’s radio show. They found his unique outlook and simplistic views on things to be so entertaining they have since put him in their podcasts and twice sent him around the world.

Ricky refers to Karl as a “moron, he is a round, empty-headed chimp-like, mank moron. Buffoon. Idiot…but absolutely lovable.” Stephen Merchant states Karl is, “Some kind of real-life Homer Simpson…small minded, petty, but at his core a good person.”

I find Karl to be rather more intellectual and philosophical than idiotic; albeit in quite an unconventional way. Karl can ponder the functions of the human mind, the future, and discuss the nature of virtual life vs. real life. At the same time he believes dolphins with rifles escaped during Hurricane Katrina; that longer days on Mars are the cause for Martian technological advancement; and that monkeys can steal cars, serve as doctors, and fly spaceships via training with a banana chute.

Hearing Karl’s unconventional and sometimes seemingly mad ideas (like population control could be accomplished by having old women give birth to the next generation right before they die) it’s easy to jump to the conclusion that he is an idiot as Ricky describes. To me, despite his sometimes pessimistic tendencies, he seems to think with a positive attitude, meaning when he finds a story that interests him he doesn’t come at it from a perspective of, “this can’t be true.” Instead he comes at it from the angle, “why can’t this be true?” He approaches the stories he reads with a certain level of naivety, accepting what is presented simply because he “read it.” This can lead him to very unusual conclusions, and it doesn’t help that even legitimate stories he reads get, as Karl would say, “bungled in” with other stories and facts (like Mt. Everest growing and a piano being found on top of it.) I find his willingness to accept unrealistic concepts as refreshing and creative (even if he doesn’t always see it as creativity). Also, as he says when he selects a dictionary as the book he’d most want to bring to a desert island, he isn’t always able to express his thoughts in the clearest way. I know I’ve been there, so I identify with him when he struggles to put his thoughts into words.

His views are also completely void of vitriol or malice. When he talks about unusual people (he calls them all “freaks”), other cultures, poetry, and vacationing in other countries he doesn’t express a hateful opinion just his honest one. I actually prefer his honest, yet sometimes ignorant, perspective far more than the crowd-pleasing, phony, politically correct beliefs we see from most pundits.

It’s like Karl lives in his own world, and that would be a fascinating place to be…

If you are unfamiliar with Karl, look him up on the internet and/or get a copy of The Ricky Gervais Show on podcast or video. Even if you don’t think he’s a modern day philosopher (as I do!) you’re bound to laugh at his antics.

My next post will be a review of the first season of Karl’s travel program, An Idiot Abroad. A terrific show that puts an unconventional man in unfamiliar surroundings and hilarity ensues. For now, enjoy this, one of my favorite videos!

And check out Karl’s official site here!

Off the Top of My Head #3: How I Spent My Summer Vacation, Painting and the Balrog of Moria

On August 22, 2012August 21, 2012 By James CastroIn Art, Games, Projects, Random Fun1 Comment

I posted in my second “Off the Top of my Head” some of the 40k figures I painted. While I started painting with the five “came with the paint set” marines, the second model I painted wasn’t a Black Reach Ork but a Games Workshop, Citadel Balrog of Moria. I love the Lord of the Rings movies, but I don’t have much interest in the game (I like the grim darkness of the 41st millennium). This model was given to me by a friend I work with. His son loves the Lord of the Rings figures. He found this particular to be a little too advanced for him and offered it to me as a thank you for locating some hard-to-find movies and toys online (he calls me “the finder of lost items”). The weekend before my vacation I decided on a weapon for the Balrog, primered him, glued him and started painting him.

After painting it I decided, since I don’t collect the LOTR figures, I would return it to the young man who gave it to me. He was very happy to get the completed Balrog back and I received the ultimate kid compliment for my work: I was invited over to view his collection of Lord of the Rings miniatures and play video games. I take it as high praise!

Barlrog Full — My Balrog. Chaos Black primer, washed all over in old Baal Red, then the fire parts were painted white and washed in Casandora Yellow. I used some Troll Slayer Orange for the darker fire parts and washed it in Bloodletter Glaze

Balrog Right — Full Balrog from the right. The whip used the same technique as the fire, painted white then washed in yellow with orange details glazed in red.

Balrog Left — Balrog from the left. My *Horus Heresy* and 40k books made a good backdrop.

Balrog Base 1 — The base was the most fun to paint. I liked the detail of the skeleton in armor with an axe. I painted it Runelord Brass, Moonfang Brown, Bugman’s Glow, and Screaming Skull then washed the whole thing in Earthshade.

Balrog Base 2 — Base of the Balrog showing the bony hand with axe. I didn’t put the orange detail on the Balrog’s arms. I probably should have but I was eager to get to that 40k army!

Balrog's Face — The face of the Balrog. His horns are drybrushed with Praxeti White.

Life Lessons Learned from Video Games #4: A Love Letter to Old School Sega

On August 15, 2012August 15, 2012 By James CastroIn Games, Random Fun5 Comments

Though I have very little time to just kick back and play games like when I was a kid, I still follow the culture and play when I can. I do have a current-gen PS3 but I find the most joy playing the games from my youth. As I said in previous posts, I started with an Atari PC (and was roundly mocked by all the Nintendo kids), but eventually got an NES for Christmas. I loved the system and played its games religiously. Nintendo was so dominant, I didn’t even know what the “Sega Master System” was until I got a Sega Game Gear and it came with an attachment that let me play Master System games.

Shortly after acquiring my Game Gear in the early-mid 90s I discovered the Sega Genesis. Unlike many, I don’t recall ever seeing the “Nintendon’t” or “Blast Processing” commercials. I do remember seeing Sonic the Hedgehog and Streets of Rage 2 on the demo unit at Target. The Genesis looked cool and the games were a lot of fun in the store. I was sold. I pawned my NES, all my games, and used some birthday money to buy a Sega Genesis (with Streets of Rage 2 included!!) I loved the system, and began a rabid support of Sega.

Genesis Games — NES fans…I have nearly every great, classic NES game…and I think this collection is every bit as classic and no where near as complete…

In the early-to-mid-90s gamers were divided into Sega people and Nintendo people…I was a Sega person. I played the fighting games, the Mutant League games, I LOVED the Genesis Shadowrun, and fought viciously with those who compared SNES franchises and graphics. I so supported Sega I got a Sega CD one Christmas, and a 32X the next. And I even enjoyed those systems. I played and beat Sewer Shark; I was obsessed with Sonic CD and it remains the best Sonic game EVER in my opinion. I had Doom on the 32X and a great little unknown game called Kolibri, a horizontal 2-d shooter where you and a friend can play as hummingbirds. Don’t laugh…it was terrific… I eventually bought the Saturn, which for its time was by FAR the best system out there. It was well-supported and had great tech-specs, but lost out eventually to the N64, and eventually was crushed utterly by the new Playstation. I even bought a Dreamcast…and only ever played Resident Evil: Code Veronica on it…before the PS2 did it in.

Sega Nomad — My handheld Nomad Genesis system.

Sega CDX — How I currently play my Genesis and Sega CD games on my TV. And a Slime PS2 controller. Because that’s where he lives and he’s photogenic.

Despite all their mistakes in business (Sega was obsessed with hardware and put games and software support secondary, blinded by competing with other companies they forever sought the “best tech” and rushed it out before the market was ready…barely supported it…then rushed out the next one and barely supported it) I have a lot of love for Sega. After I set up my PS3, I played some Oblivion then, while filing the game away I found my Sega Nomad and spent the rest of the evening playing…you guessed it…Streets of Rage 2. Still beat it too. Sega lives in my gaming consciousness. I still remember the Mortal Kombat blood code (Down-Up-Left-Left-A-Right-Down…memorizing codes from magazines in the grocery store…those were the days…), and playing as a raptor in Jurassic Park. The GREAT X-Men Genesis games are still loads of fun to play and I still plan to invest time into eventually beating Shadowrun…if it’s possible.

Sega CD Games — To all those who criticize the Sega CD I thought I’d produce a STACK of some great Sega CD games. This pile doesn’t even include the great Terminator game…

Saturn Games — Some of my Saturn games. I don’t have the Panzer Dragoons (though I beat the first one in high school) nor do I have the fantastic “Children of the Atom” X-Men fighting game. I put plenty of time in on that in the 90s too.

Sega is now in software only and is a shadow of its former self. With the Sony vs Microsoft competition dominating the market now it seems like history is repeating itself. Sides are being chosen, graphics comparisons are appearing in articles, libraries are being compared, and tech specs have appeared in countless posts and forums. What seems to be lost is competition is actually good for the market. I see posts on game sites where rabid fanboys declare their hope that their side puts the other out of business. Does anyone think that would be good? A monopoly on game technology would only reduce quality and innovation. The Wii’s motion control and rapid sales incited Sony and Microsoft into motion controls as well. The handheld war continues with new innovations like 3d, HD graphics, and wi-fi capability. Social gaming has gone from a second controller and split screens to worldwide gaming. I for one am hoping the “big three” continue to produce successful systems and franchises for several “next-gens” to come. And here’s hoping that none of them, like Sega, become lost relics, sacrifices to the gods of greed and commerce.

But for now I say, long live the memory of Sega. Plug in some 16-bit fun some time. The Genesis is every single bit the great, classic console the NES is. And I’ll GRAND UPPER anyone who says otherwise!

Grand Upper! — GRAND UPPER! Forward-Forward+B. You can beat the whole game with this one…

Mutant League Hockey — And I don’t care who you are…this is AWESOME…

Off the Top of My Head #2: How I Spent My Summer Vacation, Painting and Warhammer 40k

On August 8, 2012August 8, 2012 By James CastroIn Art, Games, Projects, Random Fun8 Comments

As I mentioned in a recent “artboard” post I’ve recently become interested in the intense, deep, gothic sci-fi table-top wargame and fantasy book series Warhammer 40k. I love it. The lore, the races, the strategy. It’s everything I’m interested in all rolled into a compact expressive, creative package.

Admittedly I only became interested after playing the excellent Space Marine on PS3 (my favorite game of last year) and became more obsessed after I played through the Dawn of War series, read some Black Library books and an old 3rd edition rulebook from a local used book store.

Like Hans Gruber from Die Hard (maybe not the best role model…) I always enjoyed models as a kid but hated painting them. All those tiny parts with horrible paint that never went on cleanly… I just wanted to put my tank together. Putting together Citadel miniatures has been a new experience. Not only do I like putting them together but I actually enjoy painting them. It requires a lot of focus, steady hands, and patience, which thankfully I do actually have (thanks to years of drawing and old-school gaming…) Though I have a couple of battleforces in boxes ready to emerge onto the battlefield, I started with the easy-to-put-together miniatures that came with my starter paint set.

These guys were supposed to be Dark Angels but because I grew to love the Dawn of War Blood Ravens characters I decided to go with that paint scheme. They aren’t finished (I haven’t put any wash on them and I plan to print off some chapter-specific insignia) but I thought I’d share my progress!

It’s my first time painting anything like this…definitely anything this small so there’s nothing but room for improvement but I’ve enjoyed it and I hope the future models will only get better.

Marine — This was the first guy I ever painted. I primered in Chaos Black, air brushed in Mephiston Red and layered from there!

The Dawn of War series also introduced me to the Orks and I love those guys. Their gruff, simple demeanor. Their remarkably descriptive slang. Their ultimately unruly appearance and junkyard tech. Gotta love orks. Because I’ll mostly be playing with myself (hey, you in the back, stop laughing. Care to share what you thought was so funny with the rest of the class?) to learn the rules and get used to the complicated ins-n-outs of the game I bought Assault on Black Reach at a local hobby store and started painting the Orks as well. Not only are they a lot more details in their equipment and appearance than vanilla marines, but they also present a lot of variety and possibilities in painting. I’ve only painted some of them so far, but I feel my abilities and techniques have improved from what I did with the Marines. They are still very beginner but I’m happy with them so far!

Warboss1 — I didn’t follow the model in the Black Reach book and went my own direction on a few aspects, like the checks on his orky belt buckle.

Boss Back! — The twin guns and boss pole on the back of the warboss. I used the new Citadel paints as well as a couple older ones. Then drowned them in Nuln Oil. I figure I’ll get the hang of shades by the time I get to my Zagstruk finecast…

Orks Mob — The start of my little Waaagh! The warboss, a couple of boyz (one wiff a big shoota) and a nob. I decided to make them Goffs, not only for the color scheme but because I like the idea of a horde of infantry.

Deffkopta — The side of my first deffkopta. This one took some time and didn’t come out perfectly…but I was still pleased with my first vehicle effort.

A pic of my Nob (you again? I said stop laughing!) It was the first chain weapon I painted and I liked the messy splatter effect.

Boy with Chainsword — Drawing inspiration from the bigger ork, I painted this littler guy up to match him.

I hope you enjoyed my first painting attempts. As I go on and get a little more experienced I plan to share more. Once I get into live firefights I’ll be posting on those as well!. It’s been a fun, and fascinating entry into the 41st millennium so far!

Off the Artboard #2: And They Shall Know No Fear…

On July 25, 2012July 29, 2012 By James CastroIn Art, Games, Movies, Projects, Random Fun2 Comments

2D or otherwise!

Anyone who has read my section in “About Us” knows I have of late gained a massive interest in Warhammer 40k. Thereby giving me +100 to my “King Dork” abilities.

Honestly, I didn’t even know much about it until “Space Marine,” which was my favorite game from last year. Purists might scoff at my console-game entry into this vast universe, but, to quote James Rolfe: “To be a fan of anything, you have to be exposed to it first.” Since discovering the incredibly deep and detailed world of the far future, I have read several novels, collected many art books, played through the Dawn of War series, watched the fun Ultramarines movie, and even started my own army (pics of my first painting attempts coming soon!).

Though I began my knowledge with the Ultramarines and read books about both Space Wolves and Grey Knights, it’s the Librarian-Knowledge-Centric Blood Ravens from Dawn of War that appealed the most to me.

I utilized this overwhelming interest to exercise more of my recently acquired, albeit limited, Illustrator skills. While I’m still in the “look what I can do with polygons” phase using only the limited tools that come with Illustrator (the preloaded color options, shapes, etc), and creating objects and/or figures that just stand there, I was impressed with how much could be done using just what was learned in a few Google-found tutorials. This has been a fun exercise in making something I’m interested in to try and learn to operate Illustrator and make using all the tools and functions second nature. It was also an exercise in mass-production as I started with the basic marine and used parts from that piece to create the others. I also created two artboards of “stuff,” weapons, insignia, and symbology that could be used over and over in various places to prevent having to re-create anything.

How impressed I’ll be with these early efforts next year only time will tell, but for now I give you my 2D squad of cartoon-style Blood Ravens!

Tactical Marine — My first effort. Basic tactical marine all cartoon’d out. I gave him a standard bolter and a couple of grenades.

Assault Marine — This one was a nice exercise in different equipment. Making that chainsword was a blast and the first part of the Blood Ravens’ motto can be seen on its blade.

Devastator marine — A heavy-support devastator marine with heavy bolter. This one proved tricky and needs the most correcting. I made him a veteran just to mix up the colors a bit.

Captain/Chapter Master Gabriel Angelos — Captain Angelos with the Godsplitter. Making the artificer parts of his armor were an immensely fun challenge. Also he’s the only one with a human face. He’s still a cartoon but mostly recognizable!

The final piece of the squad, Davian Thule as a Venerable Dreadnought. This one was obviously the most difficult, I could borrow very little from the others. It was also the most fun to build! There’s some canonical text on his armor. Davian Thule was my favorite character in the *Dawn of War* series. I wanted to ensure his venerable dreadnought state got the respect it deserved.

These were fun creations and made for nice self-taught Illustrator tutorials. They’re still 2D flat objects, but are pretty far from my first “magnifying glass” creation, even though they were created essentially using the same concepts. Next I’m going to try some expressive orks and maybe more dynamic character art. These were fun though and hopefully they’ll be enjoyed!

Revenant Publications

Category: Random Fun