Posted by Rolando Garcia on Dec 30, 2010 in
Uncategorized There are few, if any, characters in modern culture that are more perfectly designed than Star Wars’ Darth Vader. So, hey, why not take a stab at redesigning him?
My buddy Matt sent me a link to the The Swedish Bed (a pop culture blog, despite that suggestive name) which had great illustrators reimagining the famous villain’s look. The catch was to work off the description in the original script. I thought that sounded like a fun idea for a snow day. Here’s the excerpt from the script:
INTERIOR: REBEL BLOCKADE RUNNER — MAIN HALLWAY. The awesome, seven-foot-tall Dark Lord of the Sith makes his way into the blinding light of the main passageway. This is Darth Vader, right hand of the Emperor. His face is obscured by his flowing black robes and grotesque breath mask, which stands out next to the fascist white armored suits of the Imperial stormtroopers. Everyone instinctively backs away from the imposing warrior and a deathly quiet sweeps through the Rebel troops. Several of the Rebel troops break and run in a frenzied panic.
And here’s what I came up with (click to enlarge):
Clearly, I was very drawn to the idea of the robes. With the first one (on the left), I imagined those layers of robes which could be pulled back to reveal the large, imposing figure beneath them. I went for the strips because I imagine him as a kind of whirling dervish in battle: fast and brutal, overwhelming your senses. However, I think I prefer the second design (on the right). Instead of going for imposing in the heavy, physical sense, I tried using the robes and breathing device to create a techno-angel-of-death. I wanted him to be more of a wraith. When he walks towards you it’s quickly and graceful; without being able to see his limbs you may think he’s floating. He’s scary because you fear he could kill you with a simple touch.
Posted by Rolando Garcia on Dec 24, 2010 in
Fiction,
Script,
Serialized,
The Omega Kid Previous Chapters: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5
LAST TIME ON THE OMEGA KID: Despite Alfie’s best laid plans, The Omega Kid’s friends took to the skies in the spirit of Saint Nick, bringing more goodwill that ever. But it was the Omega Kid’s own declaration of belief that finished tilting the scale in their favor, releasing the one and only Santa Claus! And now, the conclusion…
EXT. NORTH POLE – NIGHT
Alfie lays in the snow, seemingly helpless, looking up at The Omega Kid and Santa Claus. He reaches into his diaper and whips out a laser gun. He fires it at Santa!
ALFIE
Die Claus! Die!
Santa merely lifts his hand and deflects the laser back at Alfie, knocking the gun out of his little hands.
ALFIE
You’ll never take me alive!
Alfie, still too small to walk, crawls away. It’s not exactly effective. Santa walks over and picks him up, cradling Alfie like the infant that he is.
ALFIE
You fat jerk! I demand you let me go!
Santa creates a pacifier out of thin air and sticks it in Alfie’s mouth.
Blargh, ever the loyal henchmonster, makes a run at Santa but is intercepted by The Omega Kid!
OMEGA KID
I’ve had enough of you.
Omega Kid nails Blargh with a massive right hook that lays out the monster. Then, The Omega Kid grabs Blargh by the feet, swings him around and launches him into the stratosphere! Blargh flies higher and higher until he’s out of sight.
EXT. SPACE – CONTINUOUS
Blargh is literally in orbit.
BLARGH
Blargh?
EXT. NORTH POLE – MOMENTS LATER
The Omega Kid turns to Santa, who’s still cradling Alfie.
OMEGA KID
I’m sorry.
SANTA CLAUS
For what?
OMEGA KID
I didn’t believe. I was ready to let Alfie come up here and not do anything about it.
SANTA CLAUS
You’re too hard on yourself. “Santa Claus” is a pretty ridiculous idea anyway.
OMEGA KID
So is being a superhero and yet, here I am.
SANTA CLAUS
(laughing)
Good point.
Santa extends a hand. The Omega Kid shakes it.
SANTA CLAUS
Thank you.
Alfie squirms indignitantly in Santa’s other arm.
OMEGA KID
What about him?
SANTA CLAUS
He’ll get just what he deserves this Christmas.
INT. ALFIE’S HOUSE – CHRISTMAS MORNING
Alfie sits, very frustrated, under a Christmas tree. ALFIE’S MOM and ALFIE’S DAD sit next to him giving him present after present. They’re all ridiculous, remedial baby toys. To add insult to injury, they speak to him in baby gibberish.
ALFIE’S MOM
Alfie’s our special wittwe baby!
ALFIE’S DAD
Yes you are! Mewwy Chrwistmas!
Alfie is displeased.
INT. JERRY’S BEDROOM – CHRISTMAS MORNING
Dania walks in, carrying breakfast on a tray. Jerry snores. She gently wakes him up. Jerry immediately goes for his coffee. After taking a sip, he breaks into a big smile.
JERRY
Do you hear that?
DANIA
What?
JERRY
Silence. Blessed silence.
Dania rolls her eyes. Jerry beams.
INT. LAWRENCE’S ROOM – CHRISTMAS MORNING
Lawrence is fast asleep. He rolls over, something digs into his back, jolting him wide awake.
LAWRENCE
Ow!
He looks behind him and finds a neatly wrapped gift box on his bed. His eyes light up as he rips off the paper. It’s… a brand new X-Station! He looks around his room notices that it’s filled with toys once again!
LAWRENCE
Awesome!
He jumps out of bed and dances around the room.
INT. RICK’S ROOM – CHRISTMAS MORNING
Snow falls outside the window. The covers are over Rick’s head. He pulls them off, sits up and lets out a monster yawn. It’s been a long night, after all. He swings his legs out of bed and gets ready to stand up, only to notice there’s something on his nightstand: a glass of milk and a plate of cookies. Next to them is a card. He picks up the card and opens it. It reads:
“I believe in The Omega Kid.”
Rick smiles. From under his bed he takes out a small shoe box. Inside the box is The Omega Amulet. He puts the card next to the Amulet and slides it under the bed again.
There’s a knock at his door.
NATALIE (O.C.)
Rick are you awake?
RICK
Yeah!
Natalie opens the door.
NATALIE
Merry Christmas!
RICK
Merry Christmas, mom!
He runs out of bed and gives her a big hug.
EXT. SMALL TOWN IN TURKEY – CHRISTMAS MORNING 2010
Despite the centuries and modern architecture, the geography makes it clear this is the place where Myra stood centuries ago. It’s a bustling, modern day town. Cruise ships are docked at the port. The streets are paved. And on the spot of the old butcher shop is a small house.
INT. HOUSE – BEDROOM – CONTINUOUS
A man lays in bed. His back is to us, so we can’t see his face. On the nightstand next to him is a small present, beautifully wrapped. The man wakes up and spots it. He pulls off the wrapping paper to reveal:
A lump of coal.
The man looks up and we see he’s The Butcher. Still alive after all these centures. And still miserable.
Somewhere in the distance a familiar, joyful laugh echoes.
SANTA CLAUS (O.C.)
Ho ho ho! Merry Christmas!
THE END. Thanks for reading!
(Credit: the star field I used as a background for my artwork was from this site)
Posted by Rolando Garcia on Dec 22, 2010 in
Non-fiction So I just filled out a job application. They had three little tasks to complete as part of the process. This is what happens when I decide “let me just go ahead and be myself.”
Ok, the first task: write a haiku. Well, Steve Jobs certainly knows I’m a poet. For this one, I challenged myself to tell the story of Batman, from a disturbing angle. I mean, if that doesn’t scream “Rolando!” I don’t know what does.
Next up: they asked us to play the refrigerator word magnet game. They said to play it like we do at home. I took that literally. I’ve never written anything with fridge magnets that isn’t filthy. I… I just can’t help myself.
The last challenge was to draw something. Remember when I said if the Batman haiku doesn’t scream “Rolando!” I don’t know what does? I lied. This does:
Because Back to the Future fucking rules. I’ve even
written about it in the past, with diagrams and everything.
I know for a fact that I’d hire me. Seriously, that DeLorean picture? Awesome. I think I’ll make it my new desktop.
Posted by Rolando Garcia on Dec 20, 2010 in
The Omega Kid Previous Chapters: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4
LAST TIME ON THE OMEGA KID: The Omega Kid faced off against Alfie in an icy sanctuary beneath the North Pole. With his amazing intellect, Alfie tricked The Omega Kid into increasing the size of the throne-capacitor that holds “Santa Claus” before capturing the hero in unbreakable chains. But luckily Lawrence managed to escape…
INT. JERRY’S APARTMENT – NIGHT
Jerry and Dania sit, alone, drinking coffee.
DANIA
I hate this part.
JERRY
You mean when they’re off saving the world and we’re left alone?
DANIA
Yes.
JERRY
It’s my favorite part.
Then: A KNOCK AT THE WINDOW. Dania runs to it. She opens the blinds to see Lawrence’s face pressed up against the glass.
LAWRENCE
(muffled)
Let me in!
INT. JERRY’S APARTMENT – A LITTLE LATER
LAWRENCE
…And so I flew the sleigh back here. We have to do something!
JERRY
Well, we certainly can’t leave that thing parked outside my window.
LAWRENCE
No! About Rick! And Santa!
DANIA
If the capacitor is twice as large, that means we’d need twice the goodwill to release it.
JERRY
And how do you suggest we do that?
The three of them fall silent and contemplate the situation.
LAWRENCE
Toys!
JERRY
Do you think about anything else?
LAWRENCE
No! Toys. There are all sorts of kids out there not getting anything for Christmas, like in Saint Nicholas’s time. Why don’t we just do what he did?
JERRY
That’s a ho-horendous plan.
DANIA
Actually, it could work. But where are we going to get that many toys?
INT. LAWRENCE’S HOUSE – NIGHT
It’s a two story Brooklyn brownstone. Lawrence comes bursting through the front door, with an empty sack, and races up the stairs.
LAWRENCE’S MOM (O.C.)
Lawrence is that you?
LAWRENCE
Yeah, mom! Just grabbing some toys to donate to charity for Christmas!
LAWRENCE’S MOM (O.C.)
That’s nice.
INT. LAWRENCE’S ROOM – CONTINUOUSLY
This room is crammed with toys of every kind. Electronics, actions figures, videos, music players and more. Lawrence begins throwing stuff into the empty sack.
INT. NORTH POLE SANCTUARY – CONCURRENTLY
The Omega Kid hangs upside down from the ceiling of the icy sanctuary, besides the now huge throne. Alfie and Blargh look on as the ball of energy slowly increases in size but is still dwarfed by the throne.
ALFIE
How does it feel to know you’re responsible for capturing Claus?
Alfie laughs maniacally! The Omega Kid looks concerned.
INT. LAWRENCE’S ROOM – MOMENTS LATER
The room is bare… almost. They only toy Lawrence hasn’t put into the bag is his X-Station video game console. He reluctantly takes it, stuffs it into the sack and leaves.
EXT. MANHATTAN – CLOUDS ABOVE THE CITY
Lawrence drives the sleigh, Dania navigates from the passenger’s seat. Jerry sit in the back seat. He’s taking presents out of the sack and attaching little parachutes.
DANIA
We can use the onboard computers to pinpoint the most impoverished areas. Then we fly by and drop the presents. Simple.
LAWRENCE
Something’s missing, though.
JERRY
Common sense?
LAWRENCE
No, that’s not it. Hmmm… (beat) I know!
Lawrence digs under his seat for something. He comes up with the Saint Nicholas’ red robes and stocking cap.
LAWRENCE
Someone’s gotta play Santa!
Dania and Lawrence look at Jerry.
JERRY
Oh, no. No way. No chance.
They keep staring. Jerry sighs and puts out his hand. Lawrence smiles and gives him the robes.
EXT. NIGHT SKY – MEDIUM SHOT
The sleigh flies through the sky like a streak of light. Jerry, in Saint Nick’s robes, tosses gifts over the side. Much like in the old Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer cartoon, they float down to earth on their little parachutes. Lawrence and Dania laugh.
INT. NORTH POLE SANCTUARY
The ball of energy on the throne begins to grow! Alfie swoops over and scans it, concerned.
ALFIE
This can’t be right… it’s increasing beyond the original threshold.
OMEGA KID
Worried?
ALFIE
Of course not. Your friends would have to double the goodwill energy. They’re not that good!
EXT. NIGHT SKY – INSIDE THE SLEIGH
They’re still flying and dropping gifts.
LAWRENCE
Dude, you have to say it.
DANIA
He’s right.
Jerry gives them a dirty look then belts out:
JERRY
HO! HO! HO!
EXT. NIGHT SKY – WIDE SHOT
Jerry’s Santa-laugh echoes, loud and cheerful.
INT. NORTH POLE SANCTUARY
The light grows! Alfie’s breaking out into a sweat.
EXT. NIGHT SKY – INSIDE THE SLEIGH
Jerry pulls out the last toy in the box: The X-Station.
LAWRENCE
Wait!
He takes it from Jerry and caresses it. He looks like he’s going to cry. It’s his favorite toy! But finally he hands it back over to Jerry, who tosses it over the side.
JERRY
I ho-ho-hope that’s enough.
INT. NORTH POLE SANCTUARY – CONTINUOUS
In one final surge, the ball of energy grows bigger and brighter! Alfie shields his eyes, expecting something big.
BLARGH
Blargh?
Alfie slowly uncovers his eyes and slowly realizes nothing is going to happen. He bursts into laughter.
ALFIE
It wasn’t enough! Claus is still mine!
Alfie gives Blargh a triumphant high-five. He turns to face the Omega Kid who looks calm despite the dire situation.
ALFIE
Any last words, my defeated enemy?
The Omega Kid smiles.
OMEGA KID
Yeah. I believe in Santa Claus.
Suddenly, with Rick’s declaration, the energy expands one last time! The throne-capacitor trembles and quakes, then the entire sanctuary begins to collapse!
ALFIE
Uh-oh.
EVERYTHING GOES WHITE.
EXT. NORTH POLE – MOMENTS LATER
Alfie and Blargh lay passed out on the snow. Slowly they begin to wake up, confused.
ALFIE
What happened? How’d we get out here?
He hears footsteps behind them, rolls over and looks up. The confusion on Alfie’s face turns to sheer terror.
REVERSE OVER HIS SHOULDER TO REVEAL: SANTA CLAUS! The real thing. Fat, jolly, white beard, red cap, the whole nine yards. Standing next to Santa, smiling, is The Omega Kid.
OMEGA KID
Merry Christmas.
SANTA CLAUS
Alfie, you’ve been bad this year.
CONTINUED HERE!
Posted by Rolando Garcia on Dec 17, 2010 in
The Omega Kid Previous Chapters: 1 | 2 | 3
LAST TIME ON THE OMEGA KID: Rick and Lawrence learned the secret history of Santa Claus. With Alfie, aka The World’s Most Evil & Smart Baby, on his way to the North Pole, The Omega Kid and friends must decide on their next move! And now Part 4:
INT. JERRY’S APARTMENT
DANIA
No. You’re staying here with us.
LAWRENCE
I’m not missing my chance to meet Santa Claus. Imagine all the presents we’ll get if we save him!
JERRY
What a lovely way to look at it.
LAWRENCE
Tell ‘em, Rick.
RICK
It will be safer here.
Lawrence looks at all three of them. They look back. He furrows his brow and stands his ground.
LAWRENCE
I’m going and that’s that.
EXT. MANHATTAN – CLOUDS ABOVE – NIGHT
Up here in the clouds, the city looks peaceful. It’s perfectly silent and serene.
LAWRENCE (O.C.)
Whooooooo-hooooo!!!! Yeeeeeahh!
Rick, now changed into The Omega Kid, burst through a cloud, flying at top speed. Hold onto his back is Lawrence. While Lawrence smiles and hollers uncontrollably, The Omega Kid looks less than thrilled.
OMEGA KID
You’re not going to do this the whole way, are you?
LAWRENCE
Probably. Waaaaaaaah!!!!
The Omega Kid frowns as they fly off.
EXT. NORTH POLE – NIGHT
It hasn’t changed much since 321AD. An icy, barren landscape. Nothing but snow and darkness.
The silence is disturbed by the rumbling sound of an engine. Slowly a craft that looks like a cross between a small plane and a sleigh descends from the sky. When it lands we see the pilot is Alfie, sitting in a car seat. He’s all bundled up for the cold. In the seat beside him is Blargh, whose fur keeps him plenty warm.
ALFIE
The North Pole, at last!
Blargh gets out of the sleigh. From the back seat he takes the flying baby walker, unstraps Alfie from the car seats and helps him into it. Alfie presses a button on the walker’s control panel and a little screen pops up.
ALFIE
If my calculations are correct, the workshop must be right beneath us. Blargh, let’s make an entrance.
Blargh begins pounding on the icy ground. It cracks and give way. Finally a fissure opens up to reveal an icy staircase. It leads deep underground.
ALFIE
The fat man’s jig is up!
Alfie flips another switch on his walker and headlights turn on. He leads the way down the stairs, Blargh follows.
INT. NORTH POLE SANCTUARY – MOMENTS LATER
Alfie and Blarge reach the bottom of the stairs. It opens into a crystal sanctuary. In fact it greatly resembles Santa’s Village from the department store, only made of beautiful crystals.
Two things draw our immediate attention: a display case inside of which we see what appears to be Saint Nicholas’ red robes and stocking cap, well preserved through the centuries. And then there’s what looks like a crystal throne. Resting on the seat is the ball of energy we saw before. Only smaller.
ALFIE
Jackpot, Blargh! The readings are off the charts!
Alfie approaches the throne. He looks down at this little screen and checks the readings.
ALFIE
Fascinating. It’s like this little ball of energy is made of pure light. And this throne appears to be a capacitor of sorts.
The ball of energy begins to grow, ever slightly.
ALFIE
Of course! As we approach Christmas the energy seems to increase. When it reaches a critical point the conductor releases it. That must be when Claus comes out. To keep him as our prisoner we’ll need to increase the size of the capacitor. Any ideas, Blargh?
Alfie turns around. Blargh has opened the display case. He’s wearing Saint Nicholas’ robes and stocking cap, only they’re way too small for him.
BLARGH
Blargh?
EXT. NORTH POLE – CONTINUOUS
The Omega Kid and Lawrence swoop down from the sky, landing beside’s Alfie’s sleigh and the opening in the ground.
OMEGA KID
Looks like they’re hear already.
Lawrence has wasted no time climbing into Alfie’s sleigh. He’s poking around at the controls.
OMEGA KID
Be careful!
LAWRENCE
Careful? The controls look like Nintendo designed them. A baby can figure this thing out. Which I guess makes sense.
(beat)
What with Alfie being a baby.
OMEGA KID
Let’s go.
Lawrence hops out of the sleigh and looks down the staircase. He pats The Omega Kid on the shoulder.
LAWRENCE
Superheroes first.
INT. NORTH POLE SANCTUARY – MOMENTS LATER
Alfie is chastising Blargh.
ALFIE
Take that ridiculous outfit off!
Blargh looks upset as he takes it off and hands it to Alfie who angrily tosses them aside.
The robes and cap land by the end of the staircase, right as The Omega Kid’s foot reaches the last step. Alfie and Blargh are too busy checking out the throne to notice.
OMEGA KID
(whispering)
Stay back. Don’t get involved.
The Omega Kid walks into the santuary. Lawrence picks up Saint Nicholas’ robes and actually listens, hanging back.
ALFIE
I need to figure something out before Christmas or it’ll be too late.
OMEGA KID
It’s already too late!
Alfie turns around, once again taken by surprise.
ALFIE
Always you! Maybe if you had more clever one liners, though, it would be less annoying.
OMEGA KID
Everyone’s a critic.
Blargh gets ready to go into battle with the Omega Kid.
ALFIE
No, Blargh! Get the throne, it’s small enough for you to move it!
Blargh changes direction and heads for the throne. The Omega Kid launches himself towards Blargh, bodychecking the huge monster. Blargh slips on the ice, away from the throne and slams into the ice walls of the sanctuary.
OMEGA KID
Clever baby. But I’m smarter. I can just make it bigger.
The Omega Kid puts one hand on the throne and the other on the icy floor of the cave. The Omega Amulet begins to glow. The throne and the icy floor morph. He’s using the ice on the ground to make the throne bigger! It doubles in size!
ALFIE
Thanks for that, Kid! Blargh!
Blargh grabs The Omega Kid from behind and tosses him away from the throne. Alfie presses another button on his walker’s control panel. From the back of his seat a compartment opens and out come the red and green Christmas chains the Omega Kid made to capture Blargh earlier. Alfie flies around the dazed Omega Kid, tying him up. The Omega Kid is helpless!
ALFIE
Too easy! Your hands can’t reach the chains and you made them too strong for even you to break. And now that the capacitor throne is twice the size, it will take twice the energy to free Claus! Ha!
LAWRENCE (O.C.)
No!
Alfie turns to see Lawrence by the staircase.
ALFIE
Get him!
Blargh runs and Alfie flies towards Lawrence, who’s already high tailing it up the stairs.
EXT. NORTH POLE – CONTINUOUS
Lawrences reaches the top of the stairs, out of breath but doesn’t stop. He jumps into Alfie’s sleigh and fires it up.
LAWRENCE
Who says video games don’t teach you anything useful?
Blargh and Alfie reach the top of the stairscase in time to see him fly off.
ALFIE
Blast! But no matter, we have the Omega Kid and we have Claus. There’s nothing he can do now. We win!
Posted by Rolando Garcia on Dec 16, 2010 in
Uncategorized I was going to title this post “Guest Strippin’” but then I realized everyone would get the wrong impression. Anyway.
If you’ve been following me lately, you can probably tell I’ve begun drawing more and more. So much, in fact, that I’ve taken on two guest strip projects. I wanted to share a little preview of my process.
The first was “commissioned” by my buddy, Matt Shafeek, for a post he’ll be doing on his blog. His blog which, by the way, is hilarious and thoughtful so you should read it: www.mattshafeek.com. I really enjoyed the challenge he gave me. “Cracking” the story was tough but in the end I think I came up with something effective. The post will be up on Saturday, in the meantime, here’s a sneak peak of my comic:
The second strip I offered to do for a fantastic webcomic, Mojo. First of all, read it at www.mojocomic.com and follow the creator on Twitter @skar. This was a lot of fun from a writing perspective. I loved the challenge of writing in the characters’ voices and keeping the tone of the series. Also, drawing it was a blast. Seriously, I spent like two hours just sketching Mojo in different poses the other night for fun more than practice. This won’t post until late February, so I’ll just give you a tiny tease of what I came up with:
I want to do more of this kind of work in the future. Especially the writing aspects of it.
Posted by Rolando Garcia on Dec 14, 2010 in
The Omega Kid Previous Chapters: 1 | 2
LAST TIME ON THE OMEGA KID: The Omega Kid valiantly fought off Alfie and his pet monster, Blargh, after they launched a Christmas Eve attacked on a department store. As the villianous baby high tailed it to the North Pole in search of Santa Claus, Jerry dropped a bombshell on Rick: Saint Nick may not be a myth after all. And now, the Secret Origin of Santa Claus!
INT. JERRY’S APARTMENT – EVENING
Jerry’s apartment is on the 25th floor of a high rise on the East Side. The view from his windows is beautiful.
Jerry is sitting in his comfortable chair. The boys are next to him. DANIA WALLACE (30′s, hip but nerdy) has joined them. There’s a tray of cookies and hot chocolate. Rick sips his chocolate, Lawrence helps himself to three cookies.
LAWRENCE
Ok, so about these presents.
RICK
Enough with the presents, dude.
LAWRENCE
Fine, fine.
RICK
Can you please explain what’s going on? Alfie’s going to the North Pole. Big deal. Maybe he’ll catch a cold. Good.
JERRY
Unless, of course, he actually manages to capture Santa Claus.
RICK
Santa Claus is not real!
DANIA
That’s not exactly true.
Dania walks to Jerry’s bookshelf. She thumbs through a few volumes before finding the right one. It looks ancient and weathered. She tries handing it to Jerry.
JERRY
No thank you. You tell them.
Dania sits back down and opens the book.
DANIA
You boys know there was a real Saint Nicholas, right?
Lawrence takes out his smartphone and pushes some buttons. He reads off the screen:
LAWRENCE
“Saint Nicholas: bishop in the village of Myra, part of Turkey. Known for secret gift-giving and became the model for Santa Claus.”
JERRY
Kids today don’t need to read, huh?
DANIA
Right, Lawrence. But that’s only part of the story.
BEGIN FLASHBACK SEQUENCE:
EXT. VILLAGE OF MYRA – DECEMBER, 320AD
A small village by the sea. We’re seeing it in its prime. People are bustling about. Men unload boats packed with livestock, vegetables and grains. Kids run through the dirty streets, laughing loudly.
At the heart of the village is a beautiful but modest church. Standing at the entrance is SAINT NICHOLAS, an older man with a flowing white beard dressed in bishop’s robes and towering hat. When the kids come running, he gives them a stern look. They stop running and get quiet as they walk in front of the church. The moment they’re past it, though, they’re right back to goofing off. Nicholas watches them run away. The stern look melts into a big smile.
DANIA (V.O.)
Myra was a thriving village when Nicholas took his post.
EXT. MYRA – FEBRUARY, 321AD
Same village. Slightly less bustling. Specifically, we don’t see as much livestock or grain coming off the boats.
DANIA (V.O.)
The famine began slow.
EXT. MYRA – JULY, 321AD
Similar scene. There are less boats and less loads coming off them. Less bustle. People look upset.
DANIA (V.O.)
Despite the hope that it would turn around, it only got worse.
EXT. MYRA – NOVEMBER 321AD
Now things are really bad. There is one boat and almost nothing is being unloaded. The few people out and about look miserable. The kids on the street aren’t running around.
DANIA (V.O.)
By the last months of the year, it seemed like all was lost. Any joy had given way to hopeless despair.
Nicholas stands at the church door, looking at the dying village, overcome with sadness. He turns and goes inside.
INT. CHURCH – NICHOLAS’ PRIVATE CHAMBERS
Nicholas unlocks a chest he keeps in a corner of the room.
DANIA (V.O.)
Nicholas knew this was no ordinary famine. He resolved to find the answers and save Myra.
From inside the chest he pulls out clothes: dark red robes and a matching stocking cap. He takes off his bishop hat.
EXT. MYRA – NIGHT
The streets are empty. A figure moves in the shadows. It’s Nicholas in his red robes and stocking cap pulled low.
DANIA (V.O.)
That night he made his way through town, checking every store, every house, every corner. It was all dark and quiet. Except…
A dimly lit shop at the end of the village. Nicholas makes his way over and looks in the window.
INT. BUTCHER SHOP – CONTINUOUS
The BUTCHER is alone, wearing sinister robes. The floor of his little shop is open to reveal a cellar beneath it. There’s a roaring fire down there. He throws livestock and grain into it, while performing a ritual.
DANIA (V.O.)
Nicholas was horrified but he’d read about this in his studies.
INT. CHURCH – NICHOLAS’ PRIVATE CHAMBERS – LATER
Nicholas opens the locked chest again and pulls out the same book Danie took from the bookshelf, only it looks new.
DANIA (V.O.)
The Butcher was trying to wake dark energies in hope of eternal life. He was plunging the villagers into hopelessness so that the dark feelings would feed the energy.
Nicholas flips through the book.
DANIA (V.O.)
Yet there was another energy buried deep in the Earth. A powerful, good energy. An energy that needed to be fed feelings of joy and goodwill. If Nicholas could raise it, the dark energy would be no match.
INT. CHURCH – NICHOLAS’ PRIVATE CHAMBERS – DECEMBER
Nicholas toils away in private, making toys out of wood and putting them into a sack, one by one.
DANIA (V.O.)
Nicholas knew the power of children to be joyous. He worked all month, in preparation for Christmas Eve.
EXT. MYRA – DECEMBER 24TH – NIGHT
The village is once again quiet. Nicholas makes his way to the first house he sees. Quietly he sneaks in the back door.
INT. HOUSE – CONTINUOUS
Really it’s more like a one room shack. The parents are asleep in one corner and their son in the other. Nicholas quietly tip toes towards the boy. From his sack he takes a small wooden horse and lays it next to the sleeping child.
EXT. MYRA – CONTINUOUS
Nicholas exits the house and makes his way to the next one.
DANIA (V.O.)
And so he went from house to house.
EXT. MYRA – CHRISTMAS DAY – DAYBREAK
The streets are still empty. The sky is overcast and gloomy. Then the door to the first house opens and the boy runs out with his toy horse. One by one the doors of the houses open and the children pour into the street with their new toys, running and playing with more zeal than ever!
The parents also come to the door and the joy is infectious. They all gather around, wishing each other Merry Christmas!
EXT. NORTH POLE – CONTINUOUS
An icy, barren landscape. Nothing but snow and darkness. Suddenly a glow begins from deep within the Earth. There is a great quake and a small fissure opens. A BRIGHT BALL OF LIGHT bursts out and flies into the sky!
EXT. MYRA – CONTINUOUS
Everyone is still laughing, some parents have even joined the children in their games.
The Butcher is also out but he is not happy. He looks to the dark sky and THE CLOUDS PART. The dreary day becomes overwhelmingly BRIGHT. Nicholas walks past him. They look at each other. Nicholas winks at the defeated Butcher.
Nicholas then gathers the crowd and leads them toward the port. The sun shines extra bright on the only ship. Nicholas encourages them to go aboard. A few men go first. There is a moment of silence as everyone waits.
When the men come out, their hands are full of vegetables and grains. One of them is herding too many pigs to count.
DANIA (V.O.)
Year after year, Nicholas would play his secret role, insuring the good energy would always come out at least on Christmas. Long after he passed, the legend lived on.
QUICK MONTAGE THROUGH THE CENTURIES
Children in all parts of the world waking up to find Christmas toys: England in the Middle Ages, Italy during the Renaissance, America at the turn of the 20th Century, Africa during the 1990′s and so on…
END FLASHBACK SEQUENCE.
INT. JERRY’S APARTMENT
Rick and Lawrence are sitting there, minds sufficiently blown. The cookies: uneaten. The hot chocolate: gone cold.
DANIA
That’s how the idea of Santa Claus created a very real thing. Recent accounts confirm that the energy source takes Nicholas’ shape in his honor.
Dania closes the book. The boys are still too enthralled to speak. Jerry snaps his fingers. They turn to face him.
JERRY
Alfie is a pain but he’s smart. If he’s up there when the energy comes to life tonight and he captures it, things could be bad.
RICK
So what do we do?
LAWRENCE
I know! We’re going the North Pole, aren’t we?
CONTINUED HERE!
Posted by Rolando Garcia on Dec 10, 2010 in
The Omega Kid Previous Chapters: 1
LAST TIME ON THE OMEGA KID: A Christmas Eve shopping trip the department store is rudely interrupted by an attack from The World’s Most Evil and Smart Baby. Separated from Natalie and Jerry, Rick and Lawrence look for a safe place to plan their next move! And now, Part 2:
INT. GIMBEL’S DEPARTMENT STORE – VIDEO GAME SECTION
Rick and Lawrence dash through the store. Rick leads, Lawrence hustles to keep up, huffing and puffing behind him. As they pass a display of the newest and latest games, Lawrence stops. He looks at all the games, entranced.
LAWRENCE
Awesome… I want them all…
Rick doubles back and drags him away by the elbow.
RICK
No time!
Lawrence grumbles and keeps moving.
INT. GIMBEL’S – FITTING ROOM – CONTINUOUS
The place has been abandoned in the chaos. Clothes are strewn about, like a hurricane had touched down.
The boys come crashing through the door. They look around.
LAWRENCE
Coast is clear!
Rick takes the Omega Amulet out of his pocket and closes his eyes. He concentrates. Slowly the Amulet begins to glow, then Rick himself begins glowing. Lawrence shields his eyes as the white light becomes blinding. When it dies down, Rick is still there but he’s now THE OMEGA KID!
OMEGA KID
It’s nap time for Alfie!
Lawrence rolls his eyes. The Omega Kid shrugs. The boys runs out of the fitting room.
INT. GIMBEL’S – SANTA CLAUS SECTION
Alfie is hovering over the terrified crowd. Natalie and Jerry look on with the rest of them.
ALFIE
Don’t worry. I’m not here for any of you insignificant shoppers, caught up in your commercialized Christmas cheer. I’m here for HIM!
Alfie points at Fake Santa. Fake Santa looks around, makes sure he’s really be singled out. He sighs.
Blargh jumps out of his sidecar, lumbers towards poor Fake Santa and picks him up by the collar. Fake Santa tries to break free of Blargh’s grip. He fails.
FAKE SANTA
What do you want?
BLARGH
Blargh!
FAKE SANTA
What?
BLARGH
Blargh!
ALFIE
What my dimwitted but very large and very strong companion is trying to say is that we have our own Christmas wish list. We want the Omega Kid’s Omega Amulet. And you will make our Christmas dreams come true, despite our naughty behavior.
FAKE SANTA
Look kid, I’m not the real Santa. I’m just a guy who was hired by the department store for a few weeks. They don’t even give me insurance.
(pulling down his fake beard)
See? Not real.
BLARGH
Blargh?
Suddenly all the little children who had been waiting in line GASP! then immediately being to cry and wail. Screams of “there’s no Santa Claus?” come from the crowd of kids. It’s a whole new type of chaos!
One CONCERNED DAD tries to comfort his young son.
CONCERNED DAD
It’s okay, Tim. That’s one of Santa’s helpers. The real Santa Claus is in the North Pole getting ready for tonight.
ALFIE
What’s that? Bring him to me!
Blargh drops the Fake Santa, who lands on his backside but looks extremely relieve. Blargh grabs the Concerned Dad and brings him over to Alfie.
ALFIE
Tell me what you know about Claus!
CONCERNED DAD
He, uh… has a workshop. In the North Pole…
ALFIE
Of course! How could I have been so dumb!
(beat)
Not that I’m dumb.
OMEGA KID (off camera)
You are if you thought you’d get away with this!
Alfie turns around and see The Omega Kid floating behind him. The Omega Kid smiles and flies toward Alfie, ready to land a right hook!
But Blargh is surprisingly fast. He drops the Concerned Dad and grabs the Omega Kid’s fist. Blargh throws the Omega Kid full force towards Santa’s throne, which shatters as he crashes into it.
The crowd gasps: “OH NO!”
Blargh runs towards the wreckage, ready to do more damage but the Omega Kid comes flying out and rams into him full force. They go flying through the store, through shelves of clothes and toys before finally slamming into a large, plastic Christmas tree.
Unfortunately, Blargh is only momentarily stunned and The Omega Kid is wrapped up in Christmas tree lights. Blargh picks him up by the string of lights, swings him around and around before sending him flying back the way they came.
The crowd runs out of the way as The Omega Kid crashes into what remains of Santa’s Village.
Things look bleak but Lawrences comes rushing through the crowd, out of breath as usual. He grabs one end of the string of lights.
LAWRENCE
Spin, dude! Spin!
The Omega Kid spins super fast, untangling himself.
OMEGA KID
Uh… thanks innocent bystander I’ve never met before in my life.
The Omega Kid grabs the string of lights and flies towards Blargh, who is bracing for another impact.
Instead the Omega Kid dodges Blargh and starting flying around him, tying him up in the Christmas lights. Blargh looks more confused than concerned.
ALFIE
You think that will hold my monster? I laugh at you! Ha!
OMEGA KID
Not Christmas lights but… Christmas chains!
As he finishes wrapping up Blargh, the Omega Amulet glows and the string of Christmas lights morph into heavy duty steel chains, colored red and green. Blargh struggles to get out but he can’t!
The Omega Kid picks up the monster and tosses him at Alfie! Alfie deflty manuevers himself out of the way and swings the sidecar around, so Blargh lands in it.
ALFIE
You may think you have won, Omega Kid but I know where Claus is! Let’s go, Blargh. To the North Pole!
Alfie’s flies himself and Blargh out the hole in the department store wall and ZOOMS AWAYS into the sky.
OMEGA KID
Good riddence!
EXT. GIMBEL’S DEPARTMENT STORE – LATER
All the customers are filing out of the store, which has shut down early because of the attack. Natalie comes rushing out, followed by Jerry. She’s looking through the crowd, worried. Rick and Lawrence come running up to her.
NATALIE
Thank goodness you boys are safe!
She gives Rick a big hug and kiss. He’s a little embarassed.
RICK
No big deal, mom. I hid in the fitting room.
NATALIE
I think we should all go home.
JERRY
Natalie, you’re shook up. Why don’t you let me take the boys back to my place. I got some Christmas presents for them. My grandniece, Dania, will get the home safe.
NATALIE
Are you sure?
JERRY
Of course. They’re
(biting his tongue)
never a hassle.
NATALIE
You’re too kind, Mr. Irvine.
Natalie gives Rick another hug and kiss.
NATALIE
Love you, Rick.
RICK
Yeah, mom. Love you too.
She leaves them and heads up the block.
LAWRENCE
Dude, you got us presents? Sick!
JERRY
It’s not about presents. We need to talk: the real Santa Claus is in danger.
Rick looks at Jerry, slackjawed.
RICK
Wait, say what? “The real Santa?!”
CONTINUED HERE!
Posted by Rolando Garcia on Dec 10, 2010 in
Email,
Non-fiction My continued attempts to woo Steve Jobs into at least giving us a settings option to reset the iPad orientation lock switch. I wanted to do this sonnet in iambic pentameter but that’s really hard.
Check out the others here and here.
Tags: Apple, iOS4.2, ipad, poetry, Steve Jobs
Posted by Rolando Garcia on Dec 8, 2010 in
Uncategorized The following is a theory I came up with many, many years ago after watching Back to the Future way too many times. I’m certainly not the first person to think of this (in fact, Starlog magazine published a whole series of articles regarding this idea) but what the hell, I’ll share my spin on it.
Spoilers alert for the three of you out there who’ve never seen Back to the Future (or BTTF as us fanboys refer to it).
At the end of BTTF, Marty returns in time to see “himself” avoid the terrorists and go back to 1955. Then he wraps things up with Doc (“you’re alive!”) and goes home to find his parents are successful, healthy and, oh by the way, they got him a bitch’ 4×4. Nice ride, McFly!
But wait! That’s not the family he remembers. That’s not his life. On the other hand, the Marty he just saw escape the terrorists and depart for 1955 at Lone Pine Mall presumably lived that life. That Marty remembers the successful parents. His parents didn’t meet and fall in love when Lorraine’s dad hit George with the car. They met through “our” Marty and fell in love when George laid out Biff.
Let’s pause for a second and assign the Martys names for clarity’s sake. “Our” Marty, the one we follow throughout the movie, will be Marty-Prime (or Marty-P). The “other” Marty we’ll call Screwed Marty (or SMarty).
So what happens to SMarty? As his name implies, he gets screwed. The way I see it, since he arrives in 1955 with a different set of memories and a different history, his actions would also be different. In his version of BTTF, things go badly.
For starters, when he arrives at Peabody’s ranch, he drives well enough to avoid hitting the pine tree. Well, that’s nice. It keeps the name Twin Pines Ranch and, later, Twin Pines Mall. But here’s where shit goes south: SMarty does not stop George from getting hit by the car. Maybe he showed up a split second too late, maybe he chose not to follow George, maybe he went to a different phone booth to find Doc’s address and never made that stop at Lou’s Cafe thus never meeting his young dad.
This means George gets hit by Lorraine’s dad’s car. She falls in love with him due to the “Florence Nightingale Effect.” George never learns real self confidence. He spends the next thirty years still being picked on by Biff. Lorraine hates her life and becomes a drunk. SMarty has, in effect, created the shitty timeline that Marty-P comes from(!).
None the wiser (because his photograph wouldn’t be fading), SMarty meets up with 1955 Doc, they do the experiment at the clocktower a week later and send Marty back to 1985. SMarty returns in time to see “himself” avoid the terrorists and go back to 1955. Then he wraps things up with Doc* and goes home to find… his parents are losers, his dad’s a tool and his mom is a drunk. And he doesn’t even have a bitchin’ 4×4. THE SAD END.**
Now I can expand on the philosophical implications of Marty-P and SMarty actually creating each other’s timelines. But that’s best saved for another day. In the meantime, he’s a little chart to show you what the hell I was talking about:
*For you REAL time travel nerds: Doc can survive in both timelines. See, he’s smart like that. He used a bulletproof vest and played dead to survive the terrorists. In this way, he makes both Marty-P and SMarty assume he’s dead. Both Martys will then warn him about the terrorists on their respective trips to 1955. You can also take this pre-destination paradox a step further and say that in both timelines Doc became friends with Marty because he knew he would.
**An even sadder ending suggested by my fiancee: SMarty arrives at Twin Pines Ranch after escaping the terrorists but doesn’t avoid Peabody’s shotgun shell to the chest (“take that you mutated sonabitch!”). SMarty’s dead so he doesn’t run over the pine, nor is he around to stop George from getting hit by the car. Thus he still produces Marty-P’s timeline… just in a much more tragic way. And he’s still screwed.
