It’s hard to believe it’s been 10 years since the birth of The Adventures of Flash Meridian, a science fiction story created in Grand Marais, MN. Written by Timothy Young (aka Timouth or Flash), It featured a cast of model/actors in a series of digital photographs to form a sort of comic book story on the internet. The original episodes will be featured here, interspersed with trivia, behind the scenes interviews, photographs, appearances, activities and education, all in an interactive format here at blogspot.com. There are also the original soundtrack recordings, Flash Meridian songs and bonus tracks, as well as the first 31 episodes read by the author with the musical score. Do you remember seeing the series online? Did you happen to see it on television or on stage, hear it on the radio, read about it in a newspaper or magazine? Well, IT’S BACK! Feel free to share your comments here as I gradually upload the fun!
WHAT IS THIS?
Flash Meridian is an ongoing sci-fi story written by Timouth, and created in Grand Marais, Minnesota. It features a cast of model/actors in a series of digital photographs to form a sort of comic book story on the internet. It can be found at http://flashmeridian.blogspot.com
HOW DID THE STORY START?
The Flash Meridian story was actually born one Wednesday night in early 2000 at the Gunflint Tavern in Grand Marais. Sarah Vaughn [aka Crystal Weightless and Gravity] and I [aka Flash Meridian] were listening to Vanguard [Jeremy Chase, Justin Chase, Josh Rice] play at open mic night, and we jotted all the space words we could think of onto napkins. From those words, we created character names around which the story was developed. Visually, Flash Meridian began in about 1997 during a video class that I was mentoring at the Cook County High School. The first picture that I ever did in Photoshop was a self-portrait where I was flying through space. For the next couple of years, that character was known as Rocket Boy. He evolved into Flash Meridian.
WHAT COMPUTER/PROGRAMS DO YOU USE?
Ten years ago, Flash Meridian was created on a Mac G4. I used Adobe Photoshop for manipulating graphics, Adobe Premiere for editing sound and video. I typed all my html codes right into Simpletext. Now I'm just uploading the information from the CD ROM and reformatting some of it to work on blogspot.com.
WHERE DO YOU FIND YOUR MODELS?
All of the actor/models are from in and around Grand Marais, MN, except John Kennedy who was from Massachusetts, but sadly was shot and killed. Many of the actor/models are musicians that I had worked with before starting Flash Meridian.
WHO CAME UP WITH THE NAME FLASH MERIDIAN?
Jeremy Chase [aka Ash Lander].
WHERE DO YOU GET ALL THOSE SPACE CLOTHES?
While a few pieces are bought new in stores, most of the space clothes come from the budget shop at the Recycling Center here in Grand Marais. Some items are painted with chrome spray paint. Ash Lander wears a 1961 flight suit. Krate Azimuth's flight suit is from the Viet Nam era. Crystal Weightless wears a wetsuit.
HOW CAN YOU FLY YOUR CAR IN SPACE?
On older cars, you need to make sure your window seals are good. Other than that, just roll your windows all the way up and turn the air on.