Personal

A long time ago, I felt that perhaps I could expand into another medium. The idea was to create a web series called “All Too Convenient,” one where I reviewed TV shows and movies, me being the picky creature that I am. So I tried to make that happen, and despite some interesting lessons, it didn’t really work out. As a second attempt, I tried to simply create another blog out of it, but again, it just didn’t take. A few months after that, I tried to launch the blog again – but this time with a different approach. Rather than write in a serious fashion, I decided I’d let my humor run wild, and see how that worked. The main idea was to spend less time writing each post, and to have more fun while doing so. In that regard, I succeeded. The posts definitely had a different voice and energy to them, and it was quite liberating compared to the serious style of “Matt Refghi’s Blog.”

But yet, here we are, aren’t we? Despite that I succeeded in finding another style, the All Too Convenient blog was simply not getting updated often enough. It also prevented me from watching certain TV shows, as I felt that I should only continue with them once I’ve reviewed all episodes I’d seen. It’s not so much that I didn’t want to update it, but rather, I still felt that obsessive drive to perfect each post. Because of this, I needed to split my time between both blogs, which required twice the effort as before. Though I enjoyed writing, I didn’t want to spend multiple nights a week working on posts. Instead, I preferred getting life experiences that would easily translate into amusing posts – storytelling always came more naturally to me.

Thus, I must announce that the All Too Convenient project has been officially cancelled. It was, and still is a great idea (in my opinion) – but I haven’t found an approach that works for me quite yet. My attempts were useful in the overall learning process, though, and more importantly, it showed me that I enjoy writing with humor more than do in my serious tone. Each have their place, of course, but you can expect to see this new comedy influence more often. For example, my recent post titled “So Apparently I’m a Complete Slacker” makes use of this new voice to a certain degree – hopefully you’ll all enjoy it as much as I do.

You never know when the idea might re-surface… but for now, I feel I’m doing exactly what I need to do. If a project isn’t working, it’s important to put it down – rather than let it bring everything else to a crawl. The good news is that the two All Too Convenient posts have been migrated to this blog, and will hopefully entertain people despite the fact that their ship sunk:

• TV Review: Continuum – S01E01 – A Shift in Time
• TV Review: The Walking Dead – S01E01 – Days Gone Bye

Hope you enjoy.

I attended college at a very turbulent time in my life, and though it resulted in many negative experiences, it also provided me with great stories to laugh about and share with others. Today, I’d like to tell you about this one class that I had… I don’t remember the name, exactly, but it can be best described as a physical education class that focused on nutrition. In case you haven’t read my previous posts, I’ll set the stage by explaining that it took me somewhere between 1.5 to 2.5 hours to get to the campus in the morning, and the same at night. Because of this, most of my efforts were focused on my core Computer Science classes – the others weren’t my priority, but I certainly wanted to get decent marks.

So this gym class was actually simple, but varied. We did some weight training, cardio, figured out how to plan completely balanced meals, and were even taught to calculate our levels of fat in probably the most uncomfortable way ever: we measured our fat flaps. Yep, fat flap measurement is a thing, folks – there’s a better name for it, of course, but it evades me at this moment. I’m also fairly certain that nothing can meet the eloquence of “fat flap measurement,” so I won’t bother to find the right term. You’re welcome. But, altogether, it was a standard physical education class – I liked certain things, and wasn’t totally enthusiastic with others. However, I carried the torch like a good college kid, and always felt I did a pretty decent job in that class.

Fate had another plan, it seems. In general, I get along with most people I meet – but this teacher, we’ll call him Franz, was a bit different. It’s not that I had anything against the man, but I just felt that I didn’t really connect with him like I did other teachers. In college, I always tried to know my professors to at least a basic degree. My logic was the following: if the teacher knew me, they would be less likely to give me bad marks. Now, keep in mind, I wasn’t out to deceive or give myself an unfair advantage. I simply wanted my teachers to know how my brain worked so that they would understand that deep down, I meant well, and actually cared about my results. I mean, sure, I didn’t give my 100% in non-Computer Science classes, but I was still aiming to get decent marks, so there was effort invested. And the way I saw it, it was easier to flunk a guy that they never met and seemed to keep to himself, rather than “Matt Refghi,” the guy who’s in Computer Science and who appreciated weight training, and actually cared about the class – despite keeping to himself. But, alas, Franz was a weird one to get along with… so I mostly kept to myself and did everything that was asked of me. I wasn’t getting top marks, but I was doing decently in most assignments.

Then there was this one weight training class where we had to do bench pressing, among other things. When it was my turn, I found an area that wasn’t being used, and did my reps. The teacher had said that we could take 1-2 minute breaks in between sets, and since I was particularly tired that day, I was very adamant about using that time. So I would do a set, then sit, and monitor the clock. Though I never sat idle for more than 2 minutes at a time, it seemed that Franz had a tendency look my way only when I was resting, not when I was doing my reps. At one point, he even stopped by and asked me if I was doing anything, and I assured him that I was. But he just kept looking at the wrong moments. I laughed at the luck I was having, but I knew deep down that I had done absolutely everything that I was asked, and that I had followed his rules. My timing wasn’t even slightly off, by the way – I was taking 2 minute breaks, then immediately returning to my reps – no slacking. Unfortunately, Franz always seemed to look at the wrong time.

That was the first hint of trouble, in my eyes. Then came one of the field trips – we were to hike a local mountain, and do these treasure hunt type challenges while there. Given that I lived far away from the city, I had to get up really early to leave for such an event. Still living with my parents, I went to look in their fridge to see what was available to eat. In a hurry, and having found no appealing options, I prepared something really basic: two peanut butter sandwiches. I then ventured to Montreal, and proceeded to fulfill my hiking obligations. Since I didn’t spend much time in Montreal those days, I just did a combination of metro plus taxi to get me to where I needed to go that day. (When stressed, I often prefer simplicity at a cost, rather than complicating my life with bus schedules and stuff like that.) It was a rough hike for a guy who spent most of his time staring into a computer (especially back then), but I did it… even if it involved plenty of back and forth to wear us out. At lunch, the whole class got together to eat at a particular location on the mountain. Satisfied with my progress, I chewed like the triumphant computer nerd that I was, but then caught sight of Franz’s face.

Peanut butter sandwiches, two of them. Remember how I said Franz taught us NUTRITION? What’s nutritious about a lunch that comprises solely of two peanut butter sandwiches? Just from his expression, I understood: in that small moment, he had proof that I had not applied the stuff he taught in his class (building a nutritionally balanced meal). Once again, I proceeded to have a laugh internally, and tried to just shrug it off. I completed the day’s tasks, and arrived home where I plugged myself straight back into that glowing box. But you know what? I completed the hike, that day – Franz or not.

Then… the marks came in. Know what I got? 60%. SIXTY. PERCENT. You know, the lowest possible passing grade. I knew for a fact that I deserved to have more than that – after all, I remembered most of my grades from my assignments. In an effort to understand, I thought to back to where it could have gone wrong, and I always came back to the weight lifting incident, and the double peanut butter lunch. In those moments, he probably felt that he understood the essence of my being – a guy who didn’t really care, and just did whatever he needed to do to pass. He misunderstood, of course, but I began to see the 60% as what it probably was: Franz giving me the bird. He probably knew that he couldn’t fail me because I had the good grades, but he didn’t want me to do well either. There’s such significance in that specific grade; he made me pass, but only that… not a trickle more.

I was absolutely certain that I didn’t deserve such a shitty grade… but I was tired of fighting. I had way too much stress in my life back then, and my papers at home weren’t all that organized. The college allowed students to dispute their grades, but it was a gamble of sorts – three teachers would re-evaluate the grades, and a new grade would be elected. If the three teachers agreed that the grade should be lower, that would be the law. I had previously filed a dispute for another class, and it took my grade from a high 60 to a mid 80 – so I was confident in my instincts. But unfortunately, I wasn’t organized enough to gather all of my old assignments from that class, and I was stressed enough as it was, so I never disputed it. I also knew that my effort wasn’t as significant as it would have been for a core Computer Science class, so the potential gain was only about 10-15%. Still, to this day, whenever I see the list of my grades, I picture a tiny Franz next to the 60%, flipping me off. As always, it’s always better to laugh about such things – can you imagine the chances of him always seeing the worst possible moments of my performance? This world’s hilarious, at times.

Photo credit

First photo by Scott Adams.

Second photo by Jason Lengstorf.

Third photo by yaybiscuits123.

Fourth photo by Eamon Curry

Like many creatures of the web, I’ve been known to watch YouTube videos every now and then. For the last year or so, I’ve noticed something strange going on with Google’s advertising approach within YouTube. Initially, I just thought I was witnessing a mistake that their developers made, and I waited to see when they’d fix the issue. To my surprise, that day never came – so today, I’m going to describe the problem, as I perceive it. Let’s start with a screenshot:

Notice the message to the bottom right? It says “you can skip to video in,” and then has a countdown, in seconds. There’s nothing wrong with such an approach – in fact, it allows me to move my mouse to where I’ll have to click. When the countdown ends, here’s how the message box changes:

Do you notice anything different? The “Skip Ad” button is smaller, vertically. Why does this matter, you ask? Well, here’s the thing: sometimes, when I go to click the “Skip Ad” button, I find that I accidentally click the ad – not the button. How? Well, when the message changes to “you can skip to video,” I, as a user, usually move my mouse over the box, and eagerly await the moment it becomes clickable. The first few times I did this, I hovered my mouse pointer over it, and proceeded to click the box repeatedly, in anticipation. When it actually became clickable, it turned out that my mouse was hovering over the part that disappeared, and before I knew it, I had accidentally clicked the ad. If you’re doubting the significance of the box’s transformation, consider this comparison:

We’re not talking a minor difference here. A good ~40% of the “you can skip to video” box is lost, and instead the ad gains that territory. At first, I saw it as an attempt by Google to get more clicks – even though those clicks were most probably low in value. After all, if I click something accidentally, it’s extremely unlikely that I will be interested in the result of that click. And if it wasn’t about getting more clicks, then why did the box change size? As a company who (understandably) seems to put so much value into its advertisers, why would they do this? It was definitely an interesting question, to me, as it even had an impact on YouTube’s usability.

So I looked into it, and discovered that YouTube ads of that variety (Standard InStream Ads) were not being charged per click (CPC), and thus, the problem I noted above wasn’t as severe as it could have been. Still, I wondered why Google would make a design choice that would open the door to accidental clicks? After all, isn’t the amount of a clicks an important metric in the performance of an ad? Their documentation certainly brings attention to it (emphasis added):

Reporting Metrics

• Video Impressions
• Video Click Through
• 50% Midpoint Plays
• 100% Complete Plays

But, in the end, I’m certainly not an expert in Google’s advertising practices – so I could be wrong about this being a negative thing. Still, I’ll continue to wonder … so if anyone out there knows the truth, do let me know – I’m really curious. Oh, and you know what’s particularly interesting about this? YouTube’s new iOS app doesn’t have this problem – see the screenshots below. Could it have something to do with a mouse being more precise than touch? Fascinating question, in my opinion.

Now that I’ve dipped into the topic of Halloween, here’s a picture of me getting kicked by a guy in a SWAT costume:

Notice how I’m still holding a glass, despite being cuffed? I’m dressed as Julian from Trailer Park Boys, a character who always walks around with a glass of liquor. Even in the most ridiculous scenarios, he’ll keep his glass in hand. Given my hair color and overall body type, I felt I could do his character justice – the result can be seen below.

And finally, here’s a really specific reference to first Trailer Park Boys short that was ever created (which was in black and white). Important: While I’m pointing a toy gun at a cat, I am not advocating violence towards animals – those who saw the short will understand.

Some of you may remember that I wanted to expand into TV and movie reviews, with video as a delivery format. The idea was to have a review show named “All Too Convenient,” but despite some effort, I never seemed to find the right approach. It wasn’t a total loss, however, as it resulted in one YouTube video that detailed the experience. Today, I’d like to reveal another product of “All Too Convenient” experiments: a written review of The Hunger Games. I originally published it on April 20th, 2012, but it didn’t take long for me to pull the plug. It’s a good review, in my opinion, but I felt it took me too long to write, and I already had one blog that I needed to think about. To put it simply, the approach simply didn’t feel right, and I didn’t think it would be sustainable. Rather than let it disappear into nothingness, I thought I’d post it on this blog so it can at least be read by those that are interested. Enjoy!

Spoiler Warning: The review below should only be read after having seen The Hunger Games, as it contains massive spoilers. It was written for people who like to read an in-depth analysis after seeing a movie.

I approached The Hunger Games with no prior knowledge of the book, having never even seen a trailer. Instead, my introduction was from the movie poster, and a brief description. The premise reminded me of Battle Royale, a Japanese film that had students killing other students, controversial, as you can imagine. My only hope was that it would not follow the same formula, and instead provide a richer back story. In this regard, I was not disappointed. The Hunger Games story did manage to set itself apart from anything I’ve seen before. However, at a certain point, the movie took a turn for the worse, in my opinion.

It all started when the rules were changed to allow two people from the same district to win. This, in turn, triggered a romance, and in my opinion, it didn’t make much sense. Allow me to illustrate what I mean.

First off, consider the overall brutality of these Hunger Games, and how they have remained the way they are for a while. Early on, Katniss and Gale discuss the possibility of not going to the games, to help stop them from being successful. But the conclusion is that this would never work, at least from Gale’s perspective. The Hunger Games seem to be backed by many years of rituals and has an established procedure by which it functions. I found that the rules themselves were a big part of establishing a genuine sense of fear, allowing me to relate to the characters. So isn’t it a bit odd that the rules would change so easily, just because Katniss somehow triggered a riot in district 11? Seemed strange, at least to me. If I knew more about the previous Hunger Games, it might make more sense – perhaps they’ve done stuff like that in the past.

Either way, it made the Hunger Games producers (in the story) look like they weren’t really confident in what they were doing, almost like they were making emotional decisions rather than sticking with the proven procedures. Raw brutality is more interesting to me, because you can’t negotiate with it – survival instincts have to kick in. Peeta’s crush complicated things, for sure, and I wanted to see what Katniss would do about that. I was hoping for a creative ending that would suggest to the world that the games should be terminated. For example, Katniss is the only one left, and kills herself before she is released from the arena. That would make people think, especially if she said a few words prior to doing so, to clarify her motivations.

But, what can I say, the romance thing happened. What confused me the most was that she seemed particularly resistant to Peeta in the train, and yet, he had done something to help her, by tossing her the bread. Yes, it was similar to tossing bread to a pig, so it kind of degraded her, but still, he was helping in a desperate time. Katniss seemed pretty interested in Gale, and yet, as soon as the producers announce that the two people can win, from the same district, she immediately runs off to Peeta. She didn’t seem particularly interested in Peeta up until that point, at least not in a romantic way – but he was a friend from her own district. I can understand having an attachment to someone you know, but soon enough, she’s kissing him and all that. I guess you can say that the pressure of the game may have lowered her own resistance to Peeta’s affections. After all, when there’s a chance at love when all you have is death, why not opt for it? Well, for one, opting for it means you’re playing into what the audience wants, and as such, you’re kind of selling out. And what about Gale? It was pretty obvious that there was something there. It all seemed a bit too rushed, to me. If she had more time with Peeta, and was less resistant to him from the start, then yeah, I would have an easier time buying it. But no, it seems a desperate situation allows one to quickly eliminate such hesitation.

I also noticed two moments where characters made speeches before they actually took an action. I recognize that a lot of movies do this, but I’m not a fan. The best example is when Katniss was pinned by an enemy girl, and she brags about how they finally caught her, killed Rue, and now she’s next. Oooooooooo, scary. Then, of course, another tribute makes use of the conveniently long speech to pull her off of Katniss, and kills her in the name of Rue. While I liked that he did it in her honor, how did he know that Katniss was friends with her? Was he stalking them at one point? That question, in itself, is not a problem, but it did make me wonder. As for the dramatic speeches, they always make me roll my eyes. In this case, specifically, we’re talking life and death, with a very thin line in between. Why risk any time making a stupid speech? Once you have a chance to eliminate a threat that is looking to kill you, you don’t mess around, especially not after a big frantic fight where any person could have won. Survival instinct takes over, and the ego takes a back seat.

Having survived that close encounter, Katniss lives on to heal Peeta, and then they eventually had to deal with the finale. You know, those large beasts that looked like dogs. The cruel producers spawned a few copies of those just to spice up the action, while Katniss and Peeta rush to the structure at the center of the arena. When they get there, they climb onto the roof, and realize that another boy is up there. He and Peeta get in a fight, and there’s this big dramatic moment where the boy asks Katniss to kill him, so that Peeta can die too. I wasn’t quite sure how it happened, but Katniss shot the boy without Peeta falling with him. The dogs were happy to feast on his body for a few seconds, and then Katniss put him out of his misery. As soon as he died, the dogs lost interest, and wandered off. I found this particularly odd, as they still had two live targets on the roof. Just moments earlier, they were pretty interested in eating them, too. What changed? Surely, it couldn’t be the smell of blood, as the boy’s body had plenty. It made me think that perhaps the producers had called off their beasts, as the winners had been selected. Katniss and Peeta then have no problem jumping off the structure, despite the events that just occurred. I would have taken some time to catch my breath, and would have stayed in the vantage point, just in case.

I must also mention that I disliked some of the action scenes, as the camera work seemed particularly disorienting. With all the camera movement, the action was barely discernible – I would have liked a little more clarity into what was happening. Not a deal breaker in itself, but something I felt I should mention. As a whole, I liked the desperate brutality of The Hunger Games, and I felt that the initial rush for the weapons was particularly well done. It was a psychological exercise, and I enjoyed that. They did create an interesting universe, one that I hope to learn more about in future films, if they are made. There was a clear contrast between the rich, who were colourful, and the poor, who were not. There’s something to be said about that, and I feel that the film could have explored the political reasoning behind the existence of the Hunger Games.

In the end, I have to wonder if Katniss recognized the romantic potential as a tool for getting out alive. Perhaps she acted her part knowing that it would increase their chance at survival. It was all about sponsors, and gathering public approval, after all. I’d like to think that she was that intelligent, but without having read the books, I can’t conclude this. I recall a moment where she was speaking with her mentor, at the end, and he explained to her that she made the producers angry. This is probably the best proof against my theory, as I would have expected her to know that. Clearly, in that last scene where she and Peeta considered killing themselves, she must have realized that it was going to cause problems. Interestingly, this scene flew very close to being exactly what I had hoped, a suicide that would mark the games for what they are – an exercise in needless brutality, where there can be no true winner.

As you probably noticed, I’ve been mainly commenting on the story, without addressing the technical aspects of the film. This is because I was largely satisfied with the visuals, the audio, and the performances. I was specifically impressed with Jennifer Lawrence‘s portrayal of Katniss, as well as Elizabeth Banks‘ portrayal of the bizarre Effie Trinket. Woody Harrelson and Lenny Kravitz also did well in bringing their characters to life, so I’ll give them that. As I mentioned earlier, I have some problems with certain decisions made by the director, and clearly, I’m conflicted about the story. But aside from that, The Hunger Games is still a movie I can recommend to most people, flaws and all.

Rating: 7/10

Transcription

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Credits

Filmed by: Joseph Pereira

Transcription

Matt Refghi: Once again at Dragon*Con 2012, and I just had to stop to talk to Link right here because I was particularly impressed with his costume. I remember Ocarina of Time very well, and I know that’s not the standard shield – I remember this shield, it was very useful. I also recall that the tunic is normally green, so if you could tell us a little more about the costume, and your design, your decisions.

Aaron Granofsky: Alright. Technically, this is the Twilight Princess Zelda version, but I wanted to make the Ocarina of Time mirror shield, so I built the mirror shield and just added it to the Twilight Princess. But Twilight Princess typically has Zora armor, but I didn’t know that before making the costume, so I made a blue version like Ocarina of Time, so I kinda just swapped all the different games into one.

Matt: I see. Do you remember, because it’s been a while since I played this, do you remember the effect of the blue tunic?

Aaron: Yes, the blue tunic allowed you to breathe underwater without a time limit.

Matt: That’s it, okay. And the mirror shield allowed you to reflect light and things like that.

Aaron: Yep.

Matt: Is this completely your creation?

Aaron: Pretty much, yep, everything.

Matt: I believe you had a site you wanted to mention?

Aaron: Yes, I have site called Fiberglass Blades, and it has all the tutorials on how I make this, and other ways of getting a copy of this as well. (Note from Matt: Aaron sells a very limited amount of his creations off his website, check it out if you’re into high quality costumes.)

Matt: And are you from around here?

Aaron: I’m from the Maryland area, just figured I’d check out Dragon*Con, I heard it’s pretty big, just decided to see what it’s like.

Matt: Great, and your thoughts so far?

Aaron: It’s quite massive, it’s quite different experience than the typical anime conventions I’m used to. It’s pretty fun.

Matt: Excellent. I’m glad you’re enjoying it, and I hope you enjoy the rest. Um, your name again?

Aaron: Aaron Granofsky.

Matt: And so far, have you seen other Legend of Zelda costumes?

Aaron: I have seen a few Links and other ones, Princess Zelda.

Matt: So I take it you got plenty of photos with them, good times?

Aaron: Yeah, yeah, we’ve been going around, we’ve been teaming up and getting photos together.

Matt: Alright, excellent. So have a good time, and thanks a lot for taking the time to interview with us.

Aaron: Alright, thanks.

Matt: Thank you. (reaches to shake hand) Let me see if I can shake your shield hand there. (laughs)

Aaron: (laughs)

Matt: Thanks.

Credits

Featuring: Aaron Granofsky

Filmed by: Joseph Pereira

Transcription

Matt Refghi: Alright, we’re at Dragon*Con 2012, and I’m here with two cosplayers that I do not recognize, and I’m particularly intrigued because of the plunger. So if you could please tell me about your characters, tell me about yourselves.

John: I’m playing the Phantom of the Paradise which is from a 1970s movie directed by Brian De Palma as a musical version of the Phantom of the Opera.

Matt: Okay, not familiar, but still very cool. Yes?

Clara: I’m playing Major Kusanagi from Ghost in the Shell manga, it’s an old school version of her outfit.

Matt: Okay, alright. And the plunger, where does that fit in?

John: He attacks somebody with a plunger in the middle of the movie, and the action figure actually comes with the plunger, so I figured it was –

Matt: Is there a clog he needs to fix? Or what’s the –

John: No, he attacks him in the bathroom, so it’s kind of a comedy.

Matt: I see, alright. How long have you been coming to Dragon*Con?

Clara: This is my third year.

Matt: Third year? Me too! Great.

Clara: (laughs)

John: I’ve been here for five or six years.

Matt: Five or six years, great. And are you from the area?

John: What’s that?

Matt: (repeating) Are you from the area?

John: Yes.

Matt: Yes?

John: Yeah, about a mile away.

Matt: A mile away, that’s pretty close. What’s your favorite thing about Dragon*Con?

Clara: I love that it’s a gathering of my people. The nerds, the dorks, we were picked on in school, but now I feel like we rule here. We’re cool now. (laughs)

Matt: Now we thrive, that’s right. (to John) Same?

John: Yeah, nerds, and drinking – it’s my life.

Matt: Excellent. Is there anything you would recommend someone who hasn’t been to Dragon*Con?

Clara: Well, I think that they definitely should go. You gotta start raising your nerds, when you have kids, bring them here, you can be yourself here – it’s amazing.

John: Yeah, if you’re a nerd, and you live in the area and you want to come, you should come – it’s fun.

Matt: Great. And if would ask you “what’s the best costume that you’ve seen today?” is there anything that comes to mind, that pops out?

Clara: I love the multitude of Shepard from Mass Effect. The costumes have been amazing here, and there’s so many of them now.

Matt: Yeah, me too.

John: Yeah, I liked seeing Rocket Racoon and Groot from Guardians of the Galaxy.

Matt: Okay, I’m not familiar, but… good. Um, and you’re names, I don’t believe you’ve mentioned your names.

Clara: My name is Clara.

Matt: Alright, Clara. (to John) Yes?

John: I’m John.

Matt: Nice meeting you both, and thanks for taking the time to interview with us. And may we use this interview on YouTube?

Clara: Yeah, no problem.

John: Yeah.

Matt: Thank you.

Clara: Thank you so much.

Matt: Thanks. (to John) Thank you, plunger man.

John: My hands are wet.

Matt: And you’re holding a plunger.

John: I’ve been – this is brand new, but I’ve been sweating so much, I was like –

Matt: It’s okay, I appreciate it. Alright, thank you.

And now the blooper.

Matt: And I’m here with two characters that I do not recognize, and I’m very curious about, particularly because you’re carrying a sponger.

Matt: What am I saying? (to camera man) Let me restart.

Clara: (laughs)

Matt: (laughs) (to camera man) Let me restart, I’m sorry.

Matt: It was, uh – sponger, what the hell is a sponger?

John: (laughs)

Clara: (laughs)

Matt: A plunger! It’s a plunger. Okay.

Credits

Featuring: John and Clara

Filmed by: Joseph Pereira

Transcription

Matt Refghi: Alright, we’re at Dragon*Con 2012, and I’ve got four cats right here. So, is it your first time at Dragon*Con?

All: No.

Matt: Okay, so you’ve been here before. How many times?

Kitty 3: This is my third year.

Matt: Third year.

Kitty 2: This is my sixth, I think.

Matt: Sixth year.

Kitty 4: Sixth.

Matt: Very nice.

Kitty 1: Third.

Matt: Third? Great. And is this – what kind of costume is this – you just went creative and had a whole bunch of cat costumes?

Kitty 3: Well… do you watch Big Bang Theory?

Matt: Yes I do.

Kitty 2, Kitty 3: Soft kitty?

Matt: Oh, soft kitty! Of course!

Kitty 3: Yes!

Matt: Of course, soft kitty.

All: (singing) Soft kitty, warm kitty, little ball of fur.

Matt: (laughs)

All (singing) Happy kitty, sleepy kitty, purr, purr, purr.

Matt: That’s great, thank you. It’s a nice surprise, I thought it was just cats, but it was more than that, so thank you.

Kitty 4: We like the ones you’ve got to think about.

Matt: Yeah, no me too. I have – this costume, I don’t have all the pieces right now but it’s so – it’s a Canadian show, ’cause we’re from Canada, we flew down. So it’s a Canadian show, and no one recognized it yet.

Kitty 3: Aww.

Matt: Maybe, maybe eventually.

Kitty 4: What’s the show?

Matt: Trailer Park Boys. We’re not really recording, but –

Kitty 4: No haven’t heard about it.

Matt: Haven’t heard about it, it’s okay, it’s fine. His only gimmick, the character, his main gimmick, is that simply carries a glass around, with alcohol, never puts it down. So I just drink stuff that looks like alcohol.

Kitty 3: Ah okay.

Kitty 4: So you just drink all day long and call it your costume.

Matt: Right, but I use –

Kitty 4: (laughs)

Matt: (laughs) It’s a great costume, it’s a great costume.

Kitty 4: Hey, it works, it works!

All: (singing)  Soft kitty, warm kitty, little ball of fur. Happy kitty, sleepy kitty, purr, purr, purr.

Credits

Filmed by: Joseph Pereira

Transcription

Matt Refghi: Alright, we’re here at Dragon*Con 2012, and I’m here with Jason who’s dressed as Thor. Hello Jason, so how many times have you come to Dragon*Con?

Jason: This is my seventh year.

Matt: That’s great – what costumes have you worn before?

Jason: I’ve been a Hellraiser from Cenobite, or Cenobite from the Hellraiser movie.

Matt: Very nice.

Jason: Scottish highlander wearing a kilt, and of course Thor, one of my favorites – so this is my second year in a row being Thor.

Matt: Right. I noticed that that hammer is not just a regular hammer –

Jason: Yes.

Matt: I’ve seen many Thors, but that’s one strong hammer. Can you just tell us about the hammer?

Jason: Yeah, I’m a sheet metal worker, and I do sheet metal fabrication and everything, and this is a stainless steel channel and it weighs about thirty pounds, mirrored stainless steel. I completely welded it all together, polished it, wrapped the handle in leather, had it engraved, and I’ve had it for about fifteen years now.

Matt: Very nice. Do you have a website you’d like to mention?

Jason: Uh, no I do not.

Matt: Okay. Great. Alright, so there’s that, and then – what would you say is the best part of Dragon*Con to you?

Jason: Everything. There’s just so much phenomenal stuff about this, that’s why I keep coming back every year, the people, the fun, and I think the best thing to me is: I have children, so having other people’s children run up to me, and want their picture with me, is just the coolest thing in the world to me.

Matt: That’s great.

Jason: Because I know my children have done it as they were growing up, so I can kind of give back to them now, being a character that the children kinda look up to, and I have five-year-old children running up to me, wanting their picture with me, so yeah, that’s pretty neat.

Matt: Great. Are you from the area?

Jason: Yeah, I’m from Dallas, Georgia, about 45 minutes away.

Matt: Great.

Jason: Yep.

Matt: Okay, sounds good, so very nice meeting you.

Jason: Absolutely.

Matt: Thanks again.

Jason: Thank you, Matt.

Credits

Featuring: Jason

Filmed by: Joseph Pereira