Metropolis!

   A while ago I bought a cheap three feature DVD of silent horror films. Nosferatu, The Phantom of the Opera, and Metropolis. I was enthralled by the art deco futuristic imagery and crazy things that happened. The film was made in 1927 and Joh Fredersen makes a video call! And of course there is the robot.

   I got the book, read it and loved it. There were a lot of scenes and plotlines in the book that were missing in the movie. Then I found out there was a “complete” Metropolis. So I bought that. Most of the missing stuff is included in this amazing restored version that includes lost footage that was recovered from a vault in Argentina. Joh Fredersen’s mother is still missing, but that’s okay, I guess. Can’t have everything.

   This version really helps clear things up, especially Maria’s dance scene. The first time I watched it, I was confused. Then it made sense when I read the book. The book is full of really beautiful language and the movie is full of beautiful imagery. And sound.

   The best part about the “Complete” version is the original score by Gottfried Hubbertz. The other version had some nice classical music tacked on that didn’t always fit the mood. Now the flood scene is much more dramatic and the music for Yoshiwara and the dance is far more atmospheric (gives us a little jazz age vibe). The score was instrumental in piecing the “Complete” version together since there are no screenplays of the original Metropolis as it opened in Berlin before being chopped up by Paramount. The score was used as a guide to put the footage back in the order it was first arranged in, with the help of some notes written on the score by Herr Hubbertz.

   The end result is amazing. There are two short spots where footage was lost for good and titles explain what’s going on, but they are very brief.

   Anyway, I’m in love with this movie. It is awesome.

   

   Check out the Gottfried Hubbertz score:

   Now for some Metropolis inspired art!

   This is a watercolor and pen mixed media type piece. I was going for a kind of 20s style poster look with maybe a little propaganda poster vibe. And I added a Zeppelin because I love Zeppelins. Something went terribly wrong with my biplane...both wings ended up on top somehow.

And here's a sketch I did prior to the painting above as a practice. It's face is more true to the movie, the painting is after the original poster where it had that weird forehead piece.

 The maschinemensch is obviously an ancestor to C-3PO. My brother and I did a drawing contest where we pulled subjects out of a hat. The subject we got this time (we both put subjects in the hat, this one was mine) was a female version of C-3PO (I think the wording was more like: C-3PO post sex change operation). Here are our drawings:

Bh'Tane's pen (?) drawing

My color pencil drawing

   We never decided on a winner.

   Until next time...adieu!

"Zeus Split" from the poem by Jamie Evans

This painting is inspired by Jamie Evans' poem "Zeus Split," which you can read here.

I read the poem and was struck by it. I decided to paint it but wasn't entirely sure how to go about it. The poem evokes all kinds of imagery so it was hard to decide what to go with. I finally decided to take the 'glossy sky' and contrast it with the sea and sand. I'm not too sure about my marshmallow clouds...

Blog Tour Shake-up

SOMETHING MISSING

 BOOK ONE OF THE TRUE LOVE SERIES     by Hazel Robinson

When Susan is left orphaned, she begins a harrowing journey through the care system. Left with both mental and physical scars, Susan approaches adulthood with a self-destructive impulse. However, there is hope in the figure of her childhood friend, Max; the first boy she ever kissed.

Now a grown woman, Susan returns to her childhood home of Winchelsea, where she hopes she will find the answer to the gap in her heart that she’s carried with her since she left. With Max by her side, she attempts to find the path her life should have taken, to build a home, to heal old wounds, and to finally create a family that will stop the terrible feeling of something missing.

But Max has a secret, one that risks destroying all hope of a happy ever after, unless they can find a way to heal one another.

Watch the trailer for ‘Something Missing’ below

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1M0bOrUJ9s

Buy links

Kobo- http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/something-missing-7
Nook - http://m.barnesandnoble.com/w/something-missing-hazel-robinson/1121103954..
ITunes - https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id960750198

Amazon.co.uk - http://www.amazon.co.uk//dp/B00K08ROEC/

Amazon.com - http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00K08ROEC/

Susan breathed in deeply; even now the emotions were raw. “A long time ago he was my best friend; we were inseparable. From the age of like, two, we never went anywhere without each other. When my grandmother died he protected me from the pain. But after the funeral they came to take me away. Max wanted me to run away with him but I said no. We were just children. There was no way that we could have made it on our own.”

Hazel lives in the small town of Rishton in Lancashire. England, with her husband, three children, two cats, dog, rabbit and lizard. She fills her days dashing between school runs, pets and housework and at night she comes to life either writing or watching her favorite program ‘Supernatural’ (yes she is Supernatural obsessed)

Her road to writing started with a love for paranormal romance novels, and after finding a passion for tragic romance she set out on the mission to share her own story. After long nights writing and a lot of ‘Supernatural’ episodes she is finally ready to share ‘Something Missing’. Hazel loves nothing better than sitting with a cup of tea, a chocolate biscuit and a good book.

Keep an eye out on her social media sites for more work coming 2015 including her Anthology

Hazel Robinson at h.f.robinsonbooks@gmail.com

FACEBOOK PAGE https://www.facebook.com/HazelfRobinson

WEBPAGE www.hazelrobinsonbooks.weebly.com

And my review from Goodreads!
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1077140702
3 0f 5 stars
It was pretty good...for a romance. I really shouldn't say anything about this book because it's definitely not my genre. I will say that I really liked the characters. Sometimes the plot seemed a LITTLE predictable, but it also had some good twists that I did NOT expect. So even though it didn't convert me into a romance fan, I think it was a pretty good sample of the genre for a non-romance reader. I'd recommend it to fans of the genre ( If I may? ), it is really sweet.