Biography

     I've been focusing on the rich darkness of horror of late, reveling in the exploration of fear, reading some Lovecraft and some indie short stories, as collected in Cutting Block Press's Horror Library anthology series, but terror and grotesquery are far from my only areas of interest. I, like so many other, ahem, geeks in my age-range (I am finding), fancy myself something of a movie collector, though the introduction of Netflix streaming into my living room has slowed my rate of acquisition some. Still, I crazy over collector's additions, extended cuts, and even the simply hard-to-find rarities. As far as taste goes, my wife's obsession with horror means lots of tension and gore play out across our screen, which I certainly have no problem with, though anything heavy with special effects will get my attention. So, obviously, sci-fi, fantasy, crazy action, or any  blending thereof, though, at the risk of getting philosophical, or even unbearably pretentious-sounding, I've not lost sight of the fact that the art of the moving picture show is, in itself, a kind of special effect as well.

     To that end, I've come to be drawn to those pieces of cinema that have gone on to be recognized as informing, and sometimes redefining, the idea of just what film is and what it's capable of, as well as having a particular soft spot for any movie that attempts to celebrate the very tangible affect film can have. Also, I own Joe Dirt, because sometimes you have to eat a fast food cheeseburger to appreciate Filet Mignon, and sometimes you have to watch Joe Dirt to appreciate a fast food cheeseburger. So there's that.

     I try to view movies as art, no matter what the people that made them view them as, and see them in terms of what the film makers were trying to accomplish, no matter what they might have achieved inadvertantly. To that end, some of my favorites are (in no particular order): Casablanca, because I love the contrast of personal drama and duty to a greater cause; Starship Troopers, because Paul Verhoven knows how to make violence make a point; Return of the Living Dead, because sometimes violence is just fun; Star Wars, because I'm a geek; Be Kind, Rewind, because I'm a movie geek; Anchorman, because not all humor needs to be highbrow; and too many others to list. Those are just the big, obvious loves, mind you. Keep an eye out for a blog page to get set up soon for reviews of titles both new and old!      

     Other hobbies include the obvious of makeup effects, sculpting, painting, and painting what I sculpt. I developed a knack for customized piggy banks a few years ago; I'm really not sure how that came about, but it's great fun. And I while I've never been very good at table-top role-playing games in general (too many rules, too many dice to roll), I am a pretty steady hand when it comes to painting the miniatures. So what do you do with miniatures if your not going to play D&D? Board games! Though, admittedly, my favorite board game is Risk, despite its rather dull miniatures.

Copyright © 2012 by Joseph Geidel. All rights reserved. No part of this document may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior written permission.l rights