Someone I Admire

There were many beautiful things that I saw during my trip to Europe, and one of them was the statue of Jeanne D' Arc in the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, France. It was in this cathedral where they "beautified" Joan of Arc in 1909, roughly 500 years after her death. (She'd not be declared a saint until 1920.) I've googled the statue and have yet to find any information on who exactly made the statue or when it was added to Notre Dame in Paris.

I suppose most of the appeal of the statue is her pose, one reflecting her close connection to God with her beloved banner. The statue has her mostly in armor except for her hands which helps keep a feminine look to the statue. The face is pleasant but honest and not romanticized. There is a lot of detail on the armor, though my pictures came out pretty soft-looking. There wasn't a lot of lighting in the cathedral, and I had to eventually use Photoshop to lighten the photos.



It's interesting that the sculptor choose to keep the helmet on Joan's head. One possible reason was that Joan wore short hair and back then, woman with short, "manish" hair was still controversial. After all, there are paintings incorrectly depicting Joan of Arc having long hair. (Others with her brandishing a sword, but I digress.)

In other words, it's a fitting tribute to someone I admire.

First Deadpool, Now Green Lantern

It's official. Ryan Reynolds will be Hal Jordan in the new live action Green Lantern movie, directed by Martin Campbell.

This must be Reynolds' summer. Reynolds was just picked to do a Deadpool spin-off movie based on his modest cameo in the Wolverine movie, and now, he will also be portraying the most famous Green Lantern in Warner Brothers' upcoming movie.

Well, at least it's not Justin Timberlake...

Preview of "Forbidden Temple"

Yes, I am still working on the sequel. Been out of town recently so not a lot of writing has been going on. To prove that I am doing SOMETHING, at least. Here is a preview with Maura Tierney as Sara and Bryce Dallas Howard as Zoey, the heroines of the new serial.

Isn't Photoshop grand?

CD Review: Biohazard 5 "Limited Edition" Soundtrack

Biohazard (known in the States as Resident Evil) has come a long way since Capcom introduced the first (somewhat campy, low budget) video game that has grown and survived for ten plus years. The latest game, number 5 in the series, brings back old characters from the series' rich history but also introduced a new team of composers to work on the game's score.

The team is head up by Kota Suzuki who was assisted by Hideki Okugawa, Akihiko Narita, and Seiko Kobuchi. Wataru Hokoyama was also on hand to arrange the twenty-odd minutes performed by the Hollywood Studio Symphony. Yes, orchestra music in a video game. Unfortunately, those tracks are not on the 3 disc (160+ minutes) soundtrack set release by Suleputer. No, we are only left with "digital versions" that adequately convey the music but is just not as rich as the "original versions."

Disc one opens with music typical of a Biohazard game. Want an eeiry track filled with foreboding creepiness? Look no farther than "The Town." "Voice of Darkness," in my opinion, best emplifies the rich, moody texture of a good Biohazard soundtrack. But Biohazard 5 is not like a typical Biohazard soundtrack. As you continue to listen the rest of disc one, as well as the remaining discs, you'll notice the predominance of action cues throughout the score.

The "Majini" tracks are various encounters with the main antagonists. My favorite's "Majini II," with a good balance of dissonance. "Majini IX" is strangely heroic sounding. But the main appeal is the boss battle music. "An Emergency" and "Wind of Madness" are the main reasons that I got interested in the soundtrack in the first place.

"Pray," the end credits song (sung in English) provides the main theme of the soundtrack. This theme is used sporadically through the soundtrack, but it does appear in both soft ("Excella and Wesker," "Plan of Uroboros") and loud ("A Big Despair," "Wind of Madness") tracks.

If you're looking for the atmosheric music of Biohazard 4, then you may not prefer this soundtrack, but it is a testament to the evolution, not only of the Biohazard series but of video game music in general. B+