#353.
Some new material up at both Comics Reader and Sigild.
The former has a new "Quarter Bin" column, exploring some thoughts on the dynamic duo of Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale via some of their Marvel work together, specifically Daredevil: Yellow, Hulk: Gray, and Spider-Man: Blue. I've written about them at the comics blog before, mostly obsessing over their forgotten first masterpiece, The Challengers of the Unknown Must Die!, so yeah, they're another recurring feature, along with my continuing thoughts on Grant Morrison, among other favorites. I've got another five weeks of "Quarter Bin," and then I'll be spending some time on Oni's excellent Wasteland, covering each of its trade paperback collections, and also IDW's Cobra, another buried treasure of the modern comics landscape.
The latter includes a new "Star Trek '12" entry as well as the first installment of a new project, "new" in the sense that I've rarely made public material I've been working on for two decades (since middle school!), that happens to tie in with Seven Thunders, the next book I'll be writing and the one I've worked on since 1998. You can understand that it means a great deal to me. This particular, initial installment references "an ancient institution whose origins were shrouded in legend," among other things, which is actually a cryptic reference to the only other public material for this sci-fi epic, which I published on a previous web presence. (If you scour the archives of Scouring Monk, you could find it!)
Wednesday, March 07, 2012
Tuesday, March 06, 2012
#352. Star Trek Fan Companion Returns
#352.
I'm now reclaiming Fan Companion as an active member of my blog family, digging back into Star Trek.
More specifically, I'm writing some individual commentaries for episodes of seasons that readers previously indicated were more provocative from the early summaries of my franchise thoughts back in 2010 (as indicated by level of actual readership). My whole purpose for the Fan Companion in the first place was to try and suggest that it's not as hard as some fans like to suggest to like Star Trek in all of its forms. Some fans, for instance, suggest that Voyager, for instance, or Enterprise, or even the critically-beloved Deep Space Nine, is by definition inferior to the original series or Next Generation. Their main ammunition was the diminishing returns in viewership from the peak of the franchise (circa 1994), which they took to prove that later shows and films just weren't as good as earlier ones.
Of course, in 2012 you could make the argument that no Star Trek was really popular until the 2009 film. That's beside the point!
I'm simply trying to make the whole process less ambiguous. With the new episode commentaries, I'm trying to discuss the success rate by four categories:
1) Franchise, or if you need to be a fan of Star Trek in general to enjoy it;
2) Series, or if you need to be a fan of that particular series;
3) Essential, or if you can enjoy it above and beyond specific loyalties;
4) Character, or if the episode centers on someone who helps it succeed just on that level.
An episode can win distinction with any one category, or several, or best of all, all four. My humble opinion is that any episode that accomplishes that is worth watching whether or not you're skeptical about my opinions.
I'm now reclaiming Fan Companion as an active member of my blog family, digging back into Star Trek.
More specifically, I'm writing some individual commentaries for episodes of seasons that readers previously indicated were more provocative from the early summaries of my franchise thoughts back in 2010 (as indicated by level of actual readership). My whole purpose for the Fan Companion in the first place was to try and suggest that it's not as hard as some fans like to suggest to like Star Trek in all of its forms. Some fans, for instance, suggest that Voyager, for instance, or Enterprise, or even the critically-beloved Deep Space Nine, is by definition inferior to the original series or Next Generation. Their main ammunition was the diminishing returns in viewership from the peak of the franchise (circa 1994), which they took to prove that later shows and films just weren't as good as earlier ones.
Of course, in 2012 you could make the argument that no Star Trek was really popular until the 2009 film. That's beside the point!
I'm simply trying to make the whole process less ambiguous. With the new episode commentaries, I'm trying to discuss the success rate by four categories:
1) Franchise, or if you need to be a fan of Star Trek in general to enjoy it;
2) Series, or if you need to be a fan of that particular series;
3) Essential, or if you can enjoy it above and beyond specific loyalties;
4) Character, or if the episode centers on someone who helps it succeed just on that level.
An episode can win distinction with any one category, or several, or best of all, all four. My humble opinion is that any episode that accomplishes that is worth watching whether or not you're skeptical about my opinions.
Friday, March 02, 2012
#351. Honest Feedback
#351.
I was going to write this from the perspective of employment, but I think it's a good rule of thumb for anyone. Always, always, always welcome feedback. Honest feedback is the first sign of an open dialogue, and I believe that open dialogue is the first rule of civil society.
I want to stress this, because I believe that feedback is the last thing that most people in authority are interested in. They believe in their authority, and believe that authority itself is enough of a reason that they do not need to consider the role of feedback, open dialogue, in the order of things. They believe in the concept of Darwinism, which has been bastardized as the most simple interpretation of "survival of the fittest," in that those who have the tools to influence others are the most worthy of reaping the rewards of society.
In the wild, yes, animals capable of and willing to kill other animals definitely fit that concept, "survival of the fittest." Yet the human animal is unique, otherwise you wouldn't have the chance to read this perspective. We have the ability to think critically, and to react to our environment in ways that do not directly reflect our basic survival. The fact is that the true 1% is the segment of the population that produces the basic ingredients of what we eat. The 99% is the population that needs to find other ways to make a living, because we've determined that everyone must appear to be productive.
I say, "must appear to be," because clearly most of that 99% is not needed to do anything remotely productive to eating and sleeping, the only things a living being really needs to accomplish. Everything else is dictated by the rules of society, and most of those rules have to do with the dispensing of resources, or to be more accurate, the control of dispensation. Those who are able to put themselves in a position of control believe that they are in the best position and should therefore be compensated accordingly.
That may be, but the fact is that they could not control if there were no one to control, and the idea of control is that there are many other people actually doing the thing than those who are standing over them expecting them to do it.
Now, is it really a smart thing to give total control to those in such a position? My theory is that those under control should have the right to dictate the means of control. I suppose this is where unions come from. But what I mean is that no condition that favors those in the position of control over those who are controlled should be tolerated. This is the basic idea of feedback. This is, like I said, the first rule of civilized society.
If we are to consider ourselves enlightened, should we not demand equality? Someone in the position to direct the flow of things should not, in fact, be in control. That's not what they should be doing. This is not to advocate chaos, but to ensure that there is a balance.
I do not blame those who benefit from inequality. That is the structure we have all supported for millennia, whether actively or passively, even today, partly because traditionally those who are in control have had the power to dictate terms, and we still live in times where old systems live on, even if it's very difficult to admit.
It's not about a significant contribution to society. It's about admitting that a spade is a spade. We're all human. When an accident happens, you don't get to survive just because you have a lot of money. This is not, "You can't take it with you." It's about, from an objective view, can you be respected for your decisions?
Maybe it's because it's not encouraged to consider things objectively. Or to consider things critically. I believe independent thought should be encouraged, celebrated.
Not told you're worthless and should just do as you're told. If you need to resort to any definition of a threat, maybe you should consider whether you're benefiting everyone, or just your own selfish interests.
These are some of the thoughts available in honest feedback.
I was going to write this from the perspective of employment, but I think it's a good rule of thumb for anyone. Always, always, always welcome feedback. Honest feedback is the first sign of an open dialogue, and I believe that open dialogue is the first rule of civil society.
I want to stress this, because I believe that feedback is the last thing that most people in authority are interested in. They believe in their authority, and believe that authority itself is enough of a reason that they do not need to consider the role of feedback, open dialogue, in the order of things. They believe in the concept of Darwinism, which has been bastardized as the most simple interpretation of "survival of the fittest," in that those who have the tools to influence others are the most worthy of reaping the rewards of society.
In the wild, yes, animals capable of and willing to kill other animals definitely fit that concept, "survival of the fittest." Yet the human animal is unique, otherwise you wouldn't have the chance to read this perspective. We have the ability to think critically, and to react to our environment in ways that do not directly reflect our basic survival. The fact is that the true 1% is the segment of the population that produces the basic ingredients of what we eat. The 99% is the population that needs to find other ways to make a living, because we've determined that everyone must appear to be productive.
I say, "must appear to be," because clearly most of that 99% is not needed to do anything remotely productive to eating and sleeping, the only things a living being really needs to accomplish. Everything else is dictated by the rules of society, and most of those rules have to do with the dispensing of resources, or to be more accurate, the control of dispensation. Those who are able to put themselves in a position of control believe that they are in the best position and should therefore be compensated accordingly.
That may be, but the fact is that they could not control if there were no one to control, and the idea of control is that there are many other people actually doing the thing than those who are standing over them expecting them to do it.
Now, is it really a smart thing to give total control to those in such a position? My theory is that those under control should have the right to dictate the means of control. I suppose this is where unions come from. But what I mean is that no condition that favors those in the position of control over those who are controlled should be tolerated. This is the basic idea of feedback. This is, like I said, the first rule of civilized society.
If we are to consider ourselves enlightened, should we not demand equality? Someone in the position to direct the flow of things should not, in fact, be in control. That's not what they should be doing. This is not to advocate chaos, but to ensure that there is a balance.
I do not blame those who benefit from inequality. That is the structure we have all supported for millennia, whether actively or passively, even today, partly because traditionally those who are in control have had the power to dictate terms, and we still live in times where old systems live on, even if it's very difficult to admit.
It's not about a significant contribution to society. It's about admitting that a spade is a spade. We're all human. When an accident happens, you don't get to survive just because you have a lot of money. This is not, "You can't take it with you." It's about, from an objective view, can you be respected for your decisions?
Maybe it's because it's not encouraged to consider things objectively. Or to consider things critically. I believe independent thought should be encouraged, celebrated.
Not told you're worthless and should just do as you're told. If you need to resort to any definition of a threat, maybe you should consider whether you're benefiting everyone, or just your own selfish interests.
These are some of the thoughts available in honest feedback.
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
#350. Comics Reader, Star Trek '12 (Again)
#350.
Got some new reading material at both Comics Reader and Sigild. Worth your time?
Depends. At Comics Reader, it's another Quarter Bin column, looking at another random assortment of comics that all end up reflecting the theme of things not always living up to expectations, which isn't terribly radical, but maybe in the comics I look at and what I say about them, it might be worth checking out.
With Sigild, I'm continuing the "Star Trek '12" series, visiting another century with another pretty short entry, which may or may not be the last pretty short entry for a while. We'll see. This time the perspective is a little different, looking from the future rather than directly at the past. Versatility!
The point may be with that one, though, that brevity can sometimes be the soul of wit, which is a philosophy I'm not sure is widely held in literature today. I know that lots of writers are writing what's called flash fiction these days, but the dominant interest in publishing remains the kind of writing that prizes excessively detailed narration on every action and detail of a story, rather than inner monologues and commentaries that to my mind are more interesting. But who am I against the tide?
Got some new reading material at both Comics Reader and Sigild. Worth your time?
Depends. At Comics Reader, it's another Quarter Bin column, looking at another random assortment of comics that all end up reflecting the theme of things not always living up to expectations, which isn't terribly radical, but maybe in the comics I look at and what I say about them, it might be worth checking out.
With Sigild, I'm continuing the "Star Trek '12" series, visiting another century with another pretty short entry, which may or may not be the last pretty short entry for a while. We'll see. This time the perspective is a little different, looking from the future rather than directly at the past. Versatility!
The point may be with that one, though, that brevity can sometimes be the soul of wit, which is a philosophy I'm not sure is widely held in literature today. I know that lots of writers are writing what's called flash fiction these days, but the dominant interest in publishing remains the kind of writing that prizes excessively detailed narration on every action and detail of a story, rather than inner monologues and commentaries that to my mind are more interesting. But who am I against the tide?
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
#349. Hub City TLC
#349.
I've giving Hub City some TLC, catching up with the work I've done across my other blogs, gathering archives for the three main facets of my book blog: "Scouring Books," where I write about the contents of my personal library; "Reading List," which is an extension of what I started doing here a few years back and was the main reason I started this particular spin-off in the first place, detailing the books I'm currently reading; and "Thoughts On," which is itself a spin-off of the Reading List, where I started writing, well, my thoughts on the books I just finished reading.
So not only did I do that, but I just posted new "Thoughts On" and "Reading List" entries (go have a look a look at Hub City!). I felt like having a blog like that would be a good example, should anyone stumble onto it, for my belief that there's a lot more interesting stuff to read than I typically experience people exhibiting. Most of the time, readers tend to stick to one particular genre, or steer toward safe picks like bestsellers, and otherwise avoid trying to find what I find to be a vast assortment of fascinating material, because school left them so scarred about reading that for most people, it's enough to repeat the platitude that reading is important (and that attitude that reading is intellectually better than watching), but mostly avoid actually doing it.
Everyday I kind of kid myself into believing that any day now hundreds if not thousands of readers will spontaneously discover my blogs, any one of them, and it won't seem to ridiculously indulgent and nonsensical to be so much of it. Hub City is the blog I've had the hardest time finding even tens of people to stumble upon, but I'm still proud of the work I've done and will continue to do for it. Oftentimes people associate "work" with what you're paid or otherwise have to do, when work can and should be what you want to do. Those same people give lip service to the idea of the American Dream that suggests anyone can achieve that with enough, ahem, hard work, but the fact is, those same people are busy securing their own success at the direct expense of anyone else trying to do the same. That's not capitalism, that's not reactionalism, that's the American Reality. I'm currently working a job Stanley Milgrim would have recognized (and that's all I'm going to say about that), and that's the American Reality, that it's incredibly convenient for the expectation for most Americans to be that they either obey or find themselves jobless, and woe be their own shortcomings.
Anyway, enough ranting...
I've giving Hub City some TLC, catching up with the work I've done across my other blogs, gathering archives for the three main facets of my book blog: "Scouring Books," where I write about the contents of my personal library; "Reading List," which is an extension of what I started doing here a few years back and was the main reason I started this particular spin-off in the first place, detailing the books I'm currently reading; and "Thoughts On," which is itself a spin-off of the Reading List, where I started writing, well, my thoughts on the books I just finished reading.
So not only did I do that, but I just posted new "Thoughts On" and "Reading List" entries (go have a look a look at Hub City!). I felt like having a blog like that would be a good example, should anyone stumble onto it, for my belief that there's a lot more interesting stuff to read than I typically experience people exhibiting. Most of the time, readers tend to stick to one particular genre, or steer toward safe picks like bestsellers, and otherwise avoid trying to find what I find to be a vast assortment of fascinating material, because school left them so scarred about reading that for most people, it's enough to repeat the platitude that reading is important (and that attitude that reading is intellectually better than watching), but mostly avoid actually doing it.
Everyday I kind of kid myself into believing that any day now hundreds if not thousands of readers will spontaneously discover my blogs, any one of them, and it won't seem to ridiculously indulgent and nonsensical to be so much of it. Hub City is the blog I've had the hardest time finding even tens of people to stumble upon, but I'm still proud of the work I've done and will continue to do for it. Oftentimes people associate "work" with what you're paid or otherwise have to do, when work can and should be what you want to do. Those same people give lip service to the idea of the American Dream that suggests anyone can achieve that with enough, ahem, hard work, but the fact is, those same people are busy securing their own success at the direct expense of anyone else trying to do the same. That's not capitalism, that's not reactionalism, that's the American Reality. I'm currently working a job Stanley Milgrim would have recognized (and that's all I'm going to say about that), and that's the American Reality, that it's incredibly convenient for the expectation for most Americans to be that they either obey or find themselves jobless, and woe be their own shortcomings.
Anyway, enough ranting...
#348. WrestleMania XXVIII
#348.
And now to talk about the infinitely popular (and recurring Scouring Monk subject) of professional wrestling!
Specifically, how this year's WrestleMania is shaping up. Technically, this is a process that's been ongoing since last year. Everyone who cares knows the main event is John Cena vs. The Rock.
Quite frankly, this one's probably going to be the best ever. Based on the announced and easily-speculated matches, the problem is going to be how exactly they're going to work in just what we know already without skirting audience fatigue, assuming a reasonable amount of time for each one.
Triple H vs. Undertaker will be a showstopper, and it looks like they're really trying to make this one special, relevant to both icons' careers (if not the final one for one of them) in a huge way, building on the momentum Shawn Michaels kicked off with Ric Flair in 2008 (which led to his matches with Undertaker, which led to last year's gamechanger).
CM Punk vs. Chris Jericho is the bid for as pure a wrestling contest as you can expect, from two guys who should really be able to deliver. This one's especially awesome, since Punk deserves a breakout match at WrestleMania, not the least for having a terrific 2011.
Daniel Bryan vs. Sheamus is the match that was supposed to happen last year, and so that's just awesome and weird and awesome that they're getting a second chance, this time over the world title. Clearly Sheamus cannot be the main event guy that Royal Rumble winners usually are, but there are just so many big matches already on the card, does it really matter? This one's practically one giant main event, which is what WrestleMania ought to be, but rarely actually is. This one, like I said, looks like it will come the closest.
Big Show vs. Cody Rhodes is probable, and a good thing for Rhodes, who has been the most consistent member of the midcard for the past year, even though he'll probably lose to Show here.
I'll decline to speculate on other possibilities at this point, but five strong matches is already pretty good.
And now to talk about the infinitely popular (and recurring Scouring Monk subject) of professional wrestling!
Specifically, how this year's WrestleMania is shaping up. Technically, this is a process that's been ongoing since last year. Everyone who cares knows the main event is John Cena vs. The Rock.
Quite frankly, this one's probably going to be the best ever. Based on the announced and easily-speculated matches, the problem is going to be how exactly they're going to work in just what we know already without skirting audience fatigue, assuming a reasonable amount of time for each one.
Triple H vs. Undertaker will be a showstopper, and it looks like they're really trying to make this one special, relevant to both icons' careers (if not the final one for one of them) in a huge way, building on the momentum Shawn Michaels kicked off with Ric Flair in 2008 (which led to his matches with Undertaker, which led to last year's gamechanger).
CM Punk vs. Chris Jericho is the bid for as pure a wrestling contest as you can expect, from two guys who should really be able to deliver. This one's especially awesome, since Punk deserves a breakout match at WrestleMania, not the least for having a terrific 2011.
Daniel Bryan vs. Sheamus is the match that was supposed to happen last year, and so that's just awesome and weird and awesome that they're getting a second chance, this time over the world title. Clearly Sheamus cannot be the main event guy that Royal Rumble winners usually are, but there are just so many big matches already on the card, does it really matter? This one's practically one giant main event, which is what WrestleMania ought to be, but rarely actually is. This one, like I said, looks like it will come the closest.
Big Show vs. Cody Rhodes is probable, and a good thing for Rhodes, who has been the most consistent member of the midcard for the past year, even though he'll probably lose to Show here.
I'll decline to speculate on other possibilities at this point, but five strong matches is already pretty good.
Saturday, February 25, 2012
#347. 2012 Oscars, Fringe
#347.
I've written another article for Examiner, this time on tomorrow's Oscars, which was something that didn't occur to me to do until a few days ago. I started writing for the site at the start of the summer movie season last year, and had a good time of it, but a combination of policies and the fact that I ran into unemployment curtailed my activities for months, and so I stopped posting there for what seemed almost like a permanent basis. Then, of course, I finally started up again, and so it occurred to me that giving my thoughts on the Academy Awards really made sense.
***
Anyway, I'm wondering if Rick Berman and Brannon Braga were watching Fringe last night and wondered what the Temporal Cold War and Daniels were suddenly doing on the show. I know, I know, the enigmatic Observer and his pals have been appearing on Fringe since the start of the series, but last night we finally found out exactly who they actually are, and it's a little difficult now to avoid comparisons with what Star Trek: Enterprise was doing for four years with one of its own subplots, periodically revisiting the time-traveling Daniels, who couldn't seem to avoid telling Captain Archer that it was a huge honor to meet, essentially, the founder of the Federation. Like our friend last night, Daniels died prematurely in the final season, which is another reason I'm hoping Berman and Braga don't get upset, because at the very least it's a huge honor for a critically acclaimed show to be doing anything like what the least popular Star Trek had previously done, and Fringe is a truly exceptional show struggling, just like Enterprise, to reach a fifth season.
I just thought it was worth noting the coincidence.
I've written another article for Examiner, this time on tomorrow's Oscars, which was something that didn't occur to me to do until a few days ago. I started writing for the site at the start of the summer movie season last year, and had a good time of it, but a combination of policies and the fact that I ran into unemployment curtailed my activities for months, and so I stopped posting there for what seemed almost like a permanent basis. Then, of course, I finally started up again, and so it occurred to me that giving my thoughts on the Academy Awards really made sense.
***
Anyway, I'm wondering if Rick Berman and Brannon Braga were watching Fringe last night and wondered what the Temporal Cold War and Daniels were suddenly doing on the show. I know, I know, the enigmatic Observer and his pals have been appearing on Fringe since the start of the series, but last night we finally found out exactly who they actually are, and it's a little difficult now to avoid comparisons with what Star Trek: Enterprise was doing for four years with one of its own subplots, periodically revisiting the time-traveling Daniels, who couldn't seem to avoid telling Captain Archer that it was a huge honor to meet, essentially, the founder of the Federation. Like our friend last night, Daniels died prematurely in the final season, which is another reason I'm hoping Berman and Braga don't get upset, because at the very least it's a huge honor for a critically acclaimed show to be doing anything like what the least popular Star Trek had previously done, and Fringe is a truly exceptional show struggling, just like Enterprise, to reach a fifth season.
I just thought it was worth noting the coincidence.
Friday, February 24, 2012
#346. A-to-Z Challenge Signup
#346.
Okay, so I'm not exactly sure what I've just gotten myself into, but in some of my continuing efforts to get this blog to its best possible shape I've been subscribing to a lot more blogs (which are listed somewhere along the right side of the page), and have signed up for something called a blog hop, which will be relevant come April 1 when I guess I'll be participating in the A-Z Challenge, which I'm still not sure I entirely understand, but hopefully I will by then.
It's kind of funny, because Scouring Monk itself doesn't have a lot of fascinating activity these days, because of all these spin-off blogs I've been developing (listed as Scouring Blogs on the right, for your convenience), so I'm wondering how much people would be interested in a hub that simply redirects attention elsewhere. Oh yeah. This is the Internet. That's what it's all about.
Anyway, I'm hoping the blog hop will be fun...
Okay, so I'm not exactly sure what I've just gotten myself into, but in some of my continuing efforts to get this blog to its best possible shape I've been subscribing to a lot more blogs (which are listed somewhere along the right side of the page), and have signed up for something called a blog hop, which will be relevant come April 1 when I guess I'll be participating in the A-Z Challenge, which I'm still not sure I entirely understand, but hopefully I will by then.
It's kind of funny, because Scouring Monk itself doesn't have a lot of fascinating activity these days, because of all these spin-off blogs I've been developing (listed as Scouring Blogs on the right, for your convenience), so I'm wondering how much people would be interested in a hub that simply redirects attention elsewhere. Oh yeah. This is the Internet. That's what it's all about.
Anyway, I'm hoping the blog hop will be fun...
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
#345. Comics, Star Trek '12, This Means War
#345.
Got a new Quarter Bin column up at Comics Reader, as well as reviews for Justice League, Action Comics, and Green Lantern.
Plus, the Star Trek '12 project continues at Sigild V. I think I'm really going to have fun writing this one, and there's a lot more coming.
(And hey, I might even return to the DC Decades project at some point, too!)
You'll also be pleased, no doubt, to know that I did, in fact, see This Means War, and as the link suggests, write a review for it at Examiner.
Got a new Quarter Bin column up at Comics Reader, as well as reviews for Justice League, Action Comics, and Green Lantern.
Plus, the Star Trek '12 project continues at Sigild V. I think I'm really going to have fun writing this one, and there's a lot more coming.
(And hey, I might even return to the DC Decades project at some point, too!)
You'll also be pleased, no doubt, to know that I did, in fact, see This Means War, and as the link suggests, write a review for it at Examiner.
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
#344. Archiving
#344.
I've done some work improving the archiving at Comics Reader, Sigild V, and Fan Companion, which I will very soon be rededicating exclusively to Star Trek. Hopefully it'll help make everything that much easier to navigate and read...
I've done some work improving the archiving at Comics Reader, Sigild V, and Fan Companion, which I will very soon be rededicating exclusively to Star Trek. Hopefully it'll help make everything that much easier to navigate and read...
Saturday, February 18, 2012
#343. Percy Jackson
#343.
I've got a new "Thoughts on..." post at Hub City about the Percy Jackson books, which my sister motivated me to read. I explain my conclusions about the series, which ends up sounding a little tortured, but on the whole, they're not that bad. Now, hopefully I'll be able to jump back into that Reading List of mine, which got a really strong push last fall, but has slowed quite a bit in the early months of this year.
Yay!
I've got a new "Thoughts on..." post at Hub City about the Percy Jackson books, which my sister motivated me to read. I explain my conclusions about the series, which ends up sounding a little tortured, but on the whole, they're not that bad. Now, hopefully I'll be able to jump back into that Reading List of mine, which got a really strong push last fall, but has slowed quite a bit in the early months of this year.
Yay!
Friday, February 17, 2012
#342. Movies Featuring Tom Hardy, Chris Pine
#342.
Finally starting to write some new content for my Examiner page, starting with some profiles for Chris Pine and Tom Hardy, who costar with Reese Witherspoon in McG's latest movie, This Means War, which if all goes to plan I'll be seeing and actually reviewing next week.
Cross your fingers!
Finally starting to write some new content for my Examiner page, starting with some profiles for Chris Pine and Tom Hardy, who costar with Reese Witherspoon in McG's latest movie, This Means War, which if all goes to plan I'll be seeing and actually reviewing next week.
Cross your fingers!
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
#341. Comics, Star Trek '12 Project
#341.
Some quick blog family updates:
I've got a new Quarter Bin column up at Comics Reader, covering climactic issues for Nightwing, Impulse, and Martian Manhunter, some of my favorite superheroes.
At Sigild, I've begun Star Trek '12, my latest fiction project from the franchise. I always seem to draw a little more readership when I'm writing Star Trek, whether at Sigild or Fan Companion. Maybe there are some curious people out there looking to see what modern fans are thinking? Because I know that in my old Lower Decks community (which you can probably blame for all my blogs), interest died out years ago, people grew tired of what everyone else thought, or what they might write. The "Star Trek '12" project will mark the fourteenth year in which I've written Star Trek fiction, and so that's pretty interesting. I'm constantly working on how to approach these stories, and it's fair to say that I've learned the most about what kind of writer I am during this period of my life, and so I'm constantly pushing myself in new directions with them, and this one will be no different.
Speaking of Fan Companion, I also have a new "Comparative (f)Analysis" column, revisiting, appropriately enough, Star Trek.
Some quick blog family updates:
I've got a new Quarter Bin column up at Comics Reader, covering climactic issues for Nightwing, Impulse, and Martian Manhunter, some of my favorite superheroes.
At Sigild, I've begun Star Trek '12, my latest fiction project from the franchise. I always seem to draw a little more readership when I'm writing Star Trek, whether at Sigild or Fan Companion. Maybe there are some curious people out there looking to see what modern fans are thinking? Because I know that in my old Lower Decks community (which you can probably blame for all my blogs), interest died out years ago, people grew tired of what everyone else thought, or what they might write. The "Star Trek '12" project will mark the fourteenth year in which I've written Star Trek fiction, and so that's pretty interesting. I'm constantly working on how to approach these stories, and it's fair to say that I've learned the most about what kind of writer I am during this period of my life, and so I'm constantly pushing myself in new directions with them, and this one will be no different.
Speaking of Fan Companion, I also have a new "Comparative (f)Analysis" column, revisiting, appropriately enough, Star Trek.
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
#340. Workplace Depression
#340.
I've finally gone ahead and given Scouring Monk its latest revamp (and it looks peachy!), making everything hopefully that much more navigable (and when I say everything, I mean just about everything).
Last night my sister was flipping to The Voice, and I happened to catch Adam Levine tell a contestant none of the coaches chose for their teams (thus eliminating them from the competition immediately) that they shouldn't consider this rejection to be a repudiation of their dream, or in so many words, that it was merely a setback. Okay, so I love Adam Levine and all (Maroon 5 is more or less yet another unacknowledged modern pop giant, if you follow the critics, anyway), but the comment helped ruin my night, which might not have been so hard, given that I had a miserable end to another workday spent in purgatory.
Let me explain that a little. After Borders went out of business last September, I spent four months looking for work, and I was finally hired the week of Christmas, and started the second week of the new year. It's not that I'm not grateful to have a job now, but that I have once again been plunged into the reality of the workplace, and "reality" means, for most people, that it is in some form abject misery. It doesn't help matters that I've been trying to be paid for writing since graduating from college at the end of 2003, and have had one opportunity remove itself from me after another, which has led me into the sludge of the everyday workplace, and because I have a degree in English and no other reasonable skills but a willingness to work, I've been stuck working with the public. I don't know if you know this, but the public sucks.
Anyway, so when Levine told this girl that the show's rejection was not, in essence, personal, it just felt like a slap in the face to anyone who has to undergo this kind of treatment countless times in the continuing hope that one day it'll actually work out. Someone like Levine, who has had various forms of success fall in his lap (to generalize), may simply not be able to appreciate the emotional toll failure can actually take (even if failure in this instance involved TV time, but then, just about anyone can be on TV these days). The American Dream is supposed to represent the idea that hard work and dedication can prevail over any obstacle, but statistically it's impossible for everyone to achieve their dreams, especially when there are those who have who don't stop to appreciate the helping hands they got along the way. Maybe Levine thought the girl got her helping hand just by being seen on the show, I don't know, but the point is, he was pretty heartless in that comment, whether he realized it or not. (The girl at least paid lip service to her own belief that he was right, but then, what else was she going to say?)
All of this is to say, what Levine really achieved was making me reflect back on all my failures, and the concern that failure is all I will ever actually experience.
That being said, failure is not always the end of the story. Failure isn't even necessarily the outcome of the story. I happen to believe that there's something to gained from every situation, no matter how it makes you feel. Anyone incapable of that doesn't deserve my pity. I have not succeeded in becoming a published writer, but the journey I've taken since 2003 has produced a multitude of blessings. Sometimes, you learn something new and fruitful entirely by accident. Just to give you an example, last week I wrote my latest Quarter Bin column for Comics Reader, and made a reference to writer Elizabeth Hand, who at the time I knew virtually nothing about. I've been writing on the Internet for years, and have occasionally received responses from public figures who happened to stumble on what I wrote. Hand was probably one of the quickest responses. If she hadn't, I probably would never even have considered reading her more than I had already (a handful of comics, which isn't very representative of her career), yet now I'm working a few of her books into my reading future, and am seriously considering her to be one of my most important literary discoveries.
And just for the record, I started writing about comics because I tried breaking into comics (a process that continues to this day), so that's just another small example of what I'm talking about.
Yesterday, I ended the day on a miserable note. Today I woke up with the ability to pick myself back up again. I won't try and make any promises about tomorrow.
I've finally gone ahead and given Scouring Monk its latest revamp (and it looks peachy!), making everything hopefully that much more navigable (and when I say everything, I mean just about everything).
Last night my sister was flipping to The Voice, and I happened to catch Adam Levine tell a contestant none of the coaches chose for their teams (thus eliminating them from the competition immediately) that they shouldn't consider this rejection to be a repudiation of their dream, or in so many words, that it was merely a setback. Okay, so I love Adam Levine and all (Maroon 5 is more or less yet another unacknowledged modern pop giant, if you follow the critics, anyway), but the comment helped ruin my night, which might not have been so hard, given that I had a miserable end to another workday spent in purgatory.
Let me explain that a little. After Borders went out of business last September, I spent four months looking for work, and I was finally hired the week of Christmas, and started the second week of the new year. It's not that I'm not grateful to have a job now, but that I have once again been plunged into the reality of the workplace, and "reality" means, for most people, that it is in some form abject misery. It doesn't help matters that I've been trying to be paid for writing since graduating from college at the end of 2003, and have had one opportunity remove itself from me after another, which has led me into the sludge of the everyday workplace, and because I have a degree in English and no other reasonable skills but a willingness to work, I've been stuck working with the public. I don't know if you know this, but the public sucks.
Anyway, so when Levine told this girl that the show's rejection was not, in essence, personal, it just felt like a slap in the face to anyone who has to undergo this kind of treatment countless times in the continuing hope that one day it'll actually work out. Someone like Levine, who has had various forms of success fall in his lap (to generalize), may simply not be able to appreciate the emotional toll failure can actually take (even if failure in this instance involved TV time, but then, just about anyone can be on TV these days). The American Dream is supposed to represent the idea that hard work and dedication can prevail over any obstacle, but statistically it's impossible for everyone to achieve their dreams, especially when there are those who have who don't stop to appreciate the helping hands they got along the way. Maybe Levine thought the girl got her helping hand just by being seen on the show, I don't know, but the point is, he was pretty heartless in that comment, whether he realized it or not. (The girl at least paid lip service to her own belief that he was right, but then, what else was she going to say?)
All of this is to say, what Levine really achieved was making me reflect back on all my failures, and the concern that failure is all I will ever actually experience.
That being said, failure is not always the end of the story. Failure isn't even necessarily the outcome of the story. I happen to believe that there's something to gained from every situation, no matter how it makes you feel. Anyone incapable of that doesn't deserve my pity. I have not succeeded in becoming a published writer, but the journey I've taken since 2003 has produced a multitude of blessings. Sometimes, you learn something new and fruitful entirely by accident. Just to give you an example, last week I wrote my latest Quarter Bin column for Comics Reader, and made a reference to writer Elizabeth Hand, who at the time I knew virtually nothing about. I've been writing on the Internet for years, and have occasionally received responses from public figures who happened to stumble on what I wrote. Hand was probably one of the quickest responses. If she hadn't, I probably would never even have considered reading her more than I had already (a handful of comics, which isn't very representative of her career), yet now I'm working a few of her books into my reading future, and am seriously considering her to be one of my most important literary discoveries.
And just for the record, I started writing about comics because I tried breaking into comics (a process that continues to this day), so that's just another small example of what I'm talking about.
Yesterday, I ended the day on a miserable note. Today I woke up with the ability to pick myself back up again. I won't try and make any promises about tomorrow.
Friday, February 10, 2012
#339. Sigild V
#339.
Having promised it in the masthead since the blog's debut a year ago, I thought it was about time I started posting in earnest flash fiction at Sigild.
I should note that my family of blogs (listed on the right, along with Sigild, as Comics Reader, Hub City, and Fan Companion) are now being updated in the middle of the week once again, for those keeping score.
Having promised it in the masthead since the blog's debut a year ago, I thought it was about time I started posting in earnest flash fiction at Sigild.
I should note that my family of blogs (listed on the right, along with Sigild, as Comics Reader, Hub City, and Fan Companion) are now being updated in the middle of the week once again, for those keeping score.
Saturday, January 28, 2012
#338. Updates, Maine
#338.
For the record, I've got updated content throughout the core of four blogs that I've spun out from Scouring Monk, so have some fun looking around if you like (not providing links this time, because they're all there on the right side, lazy reader!).
This time next week I'll be visiting home in Maine!
For the record, I've got updated content throughout the core of four blogs that I've spun out from Scouring Monk, so have some fun looking around if you like (not providing links this time, because they're all there on the right side, lazy reader!).
This time next week I'll be visiting home in Maine!
Sunday, January 22, 2012
#337. Blogging Updates, Yoshimi, Bluewater
#337.
Since I went back to work a few weeks ago, my blogging activity has slowed and will continue to be slowed down from what it was like the last few months of 2011. I'm making an effort to maintain my posting at Comics Reader, plus reading updates at Hub City (which does feature that streamlined Austen Paradise store at the bottom!). The Fan Companion seems to have lost all the momentum it struggled to maintain after the Star Trek posts of 2010 and the early film talk of last year; apparently my wrestling thoughts couldn't rouse much interest, at least in that forum. I'm taking something of a break from that, and maybe a little time off from Sigild as well, even though I've done "relatively popular" work there with some of the stories I've written for it (again, Star Trek seems to find an audience).
I'm waiting to hear back from the Brothers Hall about Yoshimi (as well as my last submission to its latest anthology), and some work I've done for Bluewater Comics. Fingers getting sprained from being crossed!
Since I went back to work a few weeks ago, my blogging activity has slowed and will continue to be slowed down from what it was like the last few months of 2011. I'm making an effort to maintain my posting at Comics Reader, plus reading updates at Hub City (which does feature that streamlined Austen Paradise store at the bottom!). The Fan Companion seems to have lost all the momentum it struggled to maintain after the Star Trek posts of 2010 and the early film talk of last year; apparently my wrestling thoughts couldn't rouse much interest, at least in that forum. I'm taking something of a break from that, and maybe a little time off from Sigild as well, even though I've done "relatively popular" work there with some of the stories I've written for it (again, Star Trek seems to find an audience).
I'm waiting to hear back from the Brothers Hall about Yoshimi (as well as my last submission to its latest anthology), and some work I've done for Bluewater Comics. Fingers getting sprained from being crossed!
#336. 2011 Wrestling Review
#336.
Last year was an interesting one for professional wrestling, almost like a starting point across the board, in terms of North American promotions. WWE's biggest move was announcing this year's main event at WrestleMania, upon Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's first real appearances with the company since 2004, but it was blessed with the unexpected ascendance of CM Punk as well, even though everyone expected Alberto Del Rio to occupy John Cena's time until the biggest match of his career. TNA spent a great deal of time trying to figure out the best way to repackage itself, finally anointing a pair of homegrown stars as its future. ROH gained national TV exposure. Maybe this was not exactly the start of another wrestling boom, but all of it combined for a healthy boost in the right direction.
All in all, I think it was a pretty good year. The Miz was WWE champion when 2011 dawned, and continued his effective work as a transitional heel presence, doing everything necessary even though anyone could easily tell by that point that he had no legitimate claim to being the company's top dog. He made it to the main event of WrestleMania, but the machine for the next one had already begun, and The Miz was clearly not a factor in that equation. Del Rio won the Royal Rumble, just so everyone knew just how important he would become in WWE's game plan for the year, though he was quickly buried in favor of Edge's final moments of in-ring glory. To everyone's surprise, Christian was finally tapped as an important figure in the company, serving as one of Smackdown's main attractions and feuding over the world title with Randy Orton, who continued his uninspired performances, at least as a character, which has been a problem for a few years now. (It's disappointing when one of WWE's featured talents so often coasts. You can't just hide behind a lack of personality and say you're playing the face.)
Things became interesting on a day-to-day basis once Cena lost the title (which he quickly captured from Miz after one of those patented the-good-guy-was-screwed! WrestleMania finishes) to Punk in the best PPV match of the year at Money in the Bank. Everyone took notice of Punk for the first time, after he finally took the time to look beyond himself in his promos (by ironically declaring that he had no intention of doing anything but wait for his contract to expire, and be champion when it happened). I secretly hoped that this would somehow turn him into the next Steve Austin, but as it turns out, John Laurinaitis ("executive vice president of talent relations and interim general manager of Raw") is not Vince McMahon. He's just the straight man. Punk ended up solidifying his place in the top tier, but not as an audience magnet.
When Punk momentarily stepped away, Cena became champion again, and then Rey Mysterio did, too. For reasons that fate did not allow to play out better, Mysterio couldn't stick around, and so Cena and Punk clashed again, and then Del Rio entered back into the scene, and that was the title picture for the rest of the year, until Cena just plain stopped being relevant to any PPV story that involved him in an actual match. (He instead became distracted by a series of returning stars, including Mick Foley and Kane.)
Meanwhile on Smackdown, Mark Henry was finally given exactly the kind of push he could have been given, and was almost given, many times and many years ago. For some reason, some fans actually got behind him for the first time. I was interested in this in 2003, 2006, but surprisingly, not in 2011, at least not when he was battling Randy Orton or the Big Show. It wasn't compelling. Daniel Bryan, yes, but not what he actually did as champion, at PPVs. (His best match was against Bryan, at the live Smackdown, in a steel cage.)
Mistico debuted as Sin Cara and nobody cared. Okay, I did. But everyone else didn't care. Hey, I'm also a fan of John Morrison.
The tag team scene meant nothing but developing and/or using talent the company didn't otherwise particularly care about, but not in compelling ways or compelling combinations. Cody Rhodes and Dolph Ziggler redeemed the concept of the midcard, and were probably the unsung heroes of the company throughout the year. Wade Barrett and Sheamus and Jack Swagger all languished at levels that were beneath them (which makes it all the more baffling that Mark Henry apparently didn't have opponents that would actually make him interesting). Zack Ryder inexplicably received a giant push with the same tired material that got him nowhere two years earlier, with the same limited potential and no signs of growth, except the ability to modestly perform in high pressure scenarios. R-Truth continued to overachieve with the same basic qualities he's consistently displayed throughout his career. "Overachieve" because he's consistently deserved better than the relatively modest programs he receives, even when billed as NWA champion. Morrison, meanwhile, got raw deal after raw deal (on Raw!), sometimes from the suits behind the cameras, sometimes from his own body.
I may be missing an important note here or there.
In TNA, the company started the year with Jeff Hardy in the Miz position, with an incredible amount of faith to carry a program that ultimately proved to be self-destructive. Hardy was given one too many pushes as champion, for reasons that proved irresponsible and reckless on any number of levels. He wisely entered a program with Mr. Anderson, who finally became a world champion, but somehow ended up the winner of that feud, which pushed him into a program with Sting, who for practical reasons came out on top, and the hot potato went back to Anderson, and then back to Sting (I think) and then eventually to Kurt Angle. Angle hadn't been champion since 2009, mind you. Anyway, the company held this massive tournament to determine the number one contender at Bound for Glory (TNA's WrestleMania, without the hype), and for some reason Bully Ray spent most of the tournament looking like he would win, but it actually came down to Beer Money teammates James Storm and Bobby Roode, with Roode prevailing and challenging Angle at BfG. For some reason, everyone was extremely angry when Angle won that match (Roode had never in his career been presented as a wrestler anywhere near the caliber of Kurt Angle, mind you, and had spent barely any time as a singles wrestler, at least in TNA). Anyway, Storm actually did beat Angle, on Impact, and then Roode beat Storm, and suddenly the company actually has both these guys as viable main event players, completely altering the paradigm (they had also been members of Fortune along with other TNA talent, AJ Styles and Kazarian), actually putting things back to where they'd been in 2010, with champions known for their reliability (well, at least Styles and RVD), but with real programs waiting for them.
Oh, and Hardy actually made a comeback after an apparently devastating setback mere months earlier, got his life under control, and agreed to lose his very next championship opportunity. That's a whole company growing up right there, folks.
ROH actually had probably one of its weaker years, all considered, talent that maybe wrestles the traditional ways but not to a level people particularly cared about. But with national exposure alumni like Nigel McGuinness might actually help turn that around. Who knows? Hell, Daniel Bryan actually closed out the year as a WWE world champion! Anything can happen!
Last year was an interesting one for professional wrestling, almost like a starting point across the board, in terms of North American promotions. WWE's biggest move was announcing this year's main event at WrestleMania, upon Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's first real appearances with the company since 2004, but it was blessed with the unexpected ascendance of CM Punk as well, even though everyone expected Alberto Del Rio to occupy John Cena's time until the biggest match of his career. TNA spent a great deal of time trying to figure out the best way to repackage itself, finally anointing a pair of homegrown stars as its future. ROH gained national TV exposure. Maybe this was not exactly the start of another wrestling boom, but all of it combined for a healthy boost in the right direction.
All in all, I think it was a pretty good year. The Miz was WWE champion when 2011 dawned, and continued his effective work as a transitional heel presence, doing everything necessary even though anyone could easily tell by that point that he had no legitimate claim to being the company's top dog. He made it to the main event of WrestleMania, but the machine for the next one had already begun, and The Miz was clearly not a factor in that equation. Del Rio won the Royal Rumble, just so everyone knew just how important he would become in WWE's game plan for the year, though he was quickly buried in favor of Edge's final moments of in-ring glory. To everyone's surprise, Christian was finally tapped as an important figure in the company, serving as one of Smackdown's main attractions and feuding over the world title with Randy Orton, who continued his uninspired performances, at least as a character, which has been a problem for a few years now. (It's disappointing when one of WWE's featured talents so often coasts. You can't just hide behind a lack of personality and say you're playing the face.)
Things became interesting on a day-to-day basis once Cena lost the title (which he quickly captured from Miz after one of those patented the-good-guy-was-screwed! WrestleMania finishes) to Punk in the best PPV match of the year at Money in the Bank. Everyone took notice of Punk for the first time, after he finally took the time to look beyond himself in his promos (by ironically declaring that he had no intention of doing anything but wait for his contract to expire, and be champion when it happened). I secretly hoped that this would somehow turn him into the next Steve Austin, but as it turns out, John Laurinaitis ("executive vice president of talent relations and interim general manager of Raw") is not Vince McMahon. He's just the straight man. Punk ended up solidifying his place in the top tier, but not as an audience magnet.
When Punk momentarily stepped away, Cena became champion again, and then Rey Mysterio did, too. For reasons that fate did not allow to play out better, Mysterio couldn't stick around, and so Cena and Punk clashed again, and then Del Rio entered back into the scene, and that was the title picture for the rest of the year, until Cena just plain stopped being relevant to any PPV story that involved him in an actual match. (He instead became distracted by a series of returning stars, including Mick Foley and Kane.)
Meanwhile on Smackdown, Mark Henry was finally given exactly the kind of push he could have been given, and was almost given, many times and many years ago. For some reason, some fans actually got behind him for the first time. I was interested in this in 2003, 2006, but surprisingly, not in 2011, at least not when he was battling Randy Orton or the Big Show. It wasn't compelling. Daniel Bryan, yes, but not what he actually did as champion, at PPVs. (His best match was against Bryan, at the live Smackdown, in a steel cage.)
Mistico debuted as Sin Cara and nobody cared. Okay, I did. But everyone else didn't care. Hey, I'm also a fan of John Morrison.
The tag team scene meant nothing but developing and/or using talent the company didn't otherwise particularly care about, but not in compelling ways or compelling combinations. Cody Rhodes and Dolph Ziggler redeemed the concept of the midcard, and were probably the unsung heroes of the company throughout the year. Wade Barrett and Sheamus and Jack Swagger all languished at levels that were beneath them (which makes it all the more baffling that Mark Henry apparently didn't have opponents that would actually make him interesting). Zack Ryder inexplicably received a giant push with the same tired material that got him nowhere two years earlier, with the same limited potential and no signs of growth, except the ability to modestly perform in high pressure scenarios. R-Truth continued to overachieve with the same basic qualities he's consistently displayed throughout his career. "Overachieve" because he's consistently deserved better than the relatively modest programs he receives, even when billed as NWA champion. Morrison, meanwhile, got raw deal after raw deal (on Raw!), sometimes from the suits behind the cameras, sometimes from his own body.
I may be missing an important note here or there.
In TNA, the company started the year with Jeff Hardy in the Miz position, with an incredible amount of faith to carry a program that ultimately proved to be self-destructive. Hardy was given one too many pushes as champion, for reasons that proved irresponsible and reckless on any number of levels. He wisely entered a program with Mr. Anderson, who finally became a world champion, but somehow ended up the winner of that feud, which pushed him into a program with Sting, who for practical reasons came out on top, and the hot potato went back to Anderson, and then back to Sting (I think) and then eventually to Kurt Angle. Angle hadn't been champion since 2009, mind you. Anyway, the company held this massive tournament to determine the number one contender at Bound for Glory (TNA's WrestleMania, without the hype), and for some reason Bully Ray spent most of the tournament looking like he would win, but it actually came down to Beer Money teammates James Storm and Bobby Roode, with Roode prevailing and challenging Angle at BfG. For some reason, everyone was extremely angry when Angle won that match (Roode had never in his career been presented as a wrestler anywhere near the caliber of Kurt Angle, mind you, and had spent barely any time as a singles wrestler, at least in TNA). Anyway, Storm actually did beat Angle, on Impact, and then Roode beat Storm, and suddenly the company actually has both these guys as viable main event players, completely altering the paradigm (they had also been members of Fortune along with other TNA talent, AJ Styles and Kazarian), actually putting things back to where they'd been in 2010, with champions known for their reliability (well, at least Styles and RVD), but with real programs waiting for them.
Oh, and Hardy actually made a comeback after an apparently devastating setback mere months earlier, got his life under control, and agreed to lose his very next championship opportunity. That's a whole company growing up right there, folks.
ROH actually had probably one of its weaker years, all considered, talent that maybe wrestles the traditional ways but not to a level people particularly cared about. But with national exposure alumni like Nigel McGuinness might actually help turn that around. Who knows? Hell, Daniel Bryan actually closed out the year as a WWE world champion! Anything can happen!
Tuesday, January 03, 2012
#335. Austen Paradise, DC Decades Project, Chris Jericho
#335.
I've revamped my Amazon store, Austen Paradise (which can be found on its own or at the bottom of Hub City), just a bit of housekeeping to make it easier to use.
There's also DC50, covering DC in the 1950s, at Sigild. Hopefully more goodies coming this week!
***
I hope I'm alone in kind of wishing it hadn't been Chris Jericho marking the big return last night. Unless a really kickass WrestleMania program results from it...I wish CM Punk could concentrate on Dolph Ziggler for a while...But I guess we'll just have to wait and see about how things develop.
I've revamped my Amazon store, Austen Paradise (which can be found on its own or at the bottom of Hub City), just a bit of housekeeping to make it easier to use.
There's also DC50, covering DC in the 1950s, at Sigild. Hopefully more goodies coming this week!
***
I hope I'm alone in kind of wishing it hadn't been Chris Jericho marking the big return last night. Unless a really kickass WrestleMania program results from it...I wish CM Punk could concentrate on Dolph Ziggler for a while...But I guess we'll just have to wait and see about how things develop.
Friday, December 30, 2011
#334. DC Decades Project, Best of 2011 Movies, QB50, Reading List
#334.
Got a ton of stuff done in the last few days, including "DC40" at Sigild V, a Best Of for my dormant Examiner movie page, and the annual QB50 report at Comics Reader, for which I went to the not-inconsiderable trouble of tracking down links for the five previous editions. I suffer for my art!
Oh! And I've also got thoughts on the thirty-fourth book completed from my Reading List this year at Hub City.
Got a ton of stuff done in the last few days, including "DC40" at Sigild V, a Best Of for my dormant Examiner movie page, and the annual QB50 report at Comics Reader, for which I went to the not-inconsiderable trouble of tracking down links for the five previous editions. I suffer for my art!
Oh! And I've also got thoughts on the thirty-fourth book completed from my Reading List this year at Hub City.
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
#333. Survivor
#333.
The second installment of the Comparative (f)Analysis is up, and features one of my favorite TV shows, Survivor, ranking each of its twenty-two winners, including "South Pacific"'s Sophie Clarke. I surprisingly haven't talked a whole lot about Survivor in my blogs, but I've been a fan since 2000, and have sometimes been amused about the reactions others have, their opinions about the best contestants, and even the relative worth of some seasons. My secret dream is to one day compete, and my even bigger secret is that I've sometimes considered the workplace as a Survivor setting. I'd like to believe that I've proven at least in that environment that I could make it far.
The second installment of the Comparative (f)Analysis is up, and features one of my favorite TV shows, Survivor, ranking each of its twenty-two winners, including "South Pacific"'s Sophie Clarke. I surprisingly haven't talked a whole lot about Survivor in my blogs, but I've been a fan since 2000, and have sometimes been amused about the reactions others have, their opinions about the best contestants, and even the relative worth of some seasons. My secret dream is to one day compete, and my even bigger secret is that I've sometimes considered the workplace as a Survivor setting. I'd like to believe that I've proven at least in that environment that I could make it far.
Monday, December 26, 2011
#332. The Christmas Cat Poem
#332.
From my Facebook page, the Christmas Cat poem:
Gather around, those who've sat,
And I shall tell you about the Christmas Cat!
On Christmas Day,
For this holiday,
A creature stirs
Who also purrs.
She wakes from her sleep,
From the warm fuzzy deep,
On a long winter's night
When she has slept tight
To ensure that all have done well
And that she can still spell
All the letters that entail
What she put in the mail
About the report on the order
Of all that goes on in the border
Of her most important domain,
On the great night of gain.
She has inventoried in her rest
The gifts in the nest
Of those she calls friends;
Except, it depends
For one small matter,
Aside from the platter
Of cookies for Santa at night,
Since try as she might
She cannot overlook
Under any book,
The gift of clothing!
Perhaps even bling!
Because if you don't receive a single ounce,
The Christmas Cat will surely pounce!
From my Facebook page, the Christmas Cat poem:
Gather around, those who've sat,
And I shall tell you about the Christmas Cat!
On Christmas Day,
For this holiday,
A creature stirs
Who also purrs.
She wakes from her sleep,
From the warm fuzzy deep,
On a long winter's night
When she has slept tight
To ensure that all have done well
And that she can still spell
All the letters that entail
What she put in the mail
About the report on the order
Of all that goes on in the border
Of her most important domain,
On the great night of gain.
She has inventoried in her rest
The gifts in the nest
Of those she calls friends;
Except, it depends
For one small matter,
Aside from the platter
Of cookies for Santa at night,
Since try as she might
She cannot overlook
Under any book,
The gift of clothing!
Perhaps even bling!
Because if you don't receive a single ounce,
The Christmas Cat will surely pounce!
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
#331. New Job, Seven Thunders
#331.
Ought to note that a long personal nightmare has ended: I have finally found a new job!
Perhaps owing to that little bit of good news, I have also made the first official outline for a story I've been working on since 1997. Perhaps soon, then, the world will hear the tale of Seven Thunders...
Ought to note that a long personal nightmare has ended: I have finally found a new job!
Perhaps owing to that little bit of good news, I have also made the first official outline for a story I've been working on since 1997. Perhaps soon, then, the world will hear the tale of Seven Thunders...
Friday, December 16, 2011
#330. Comparative (f)Analysis
#330.
Finally have new material up at Fan Companion! It's the start of the "Comparative (f)Analysis," a series that will look at a number of different interests. The inaugural edition features the annual TV Guide Fall Preview, years 1997-2003. Hopefully proves interesting...
Finally have new material up at Fan Companion! It's the start of the "Comparative (f)Analysis," a series that will look at a number of different interests. The inaugural edition features the annual TV Guide Fall Preview, years 1997-2003. Hopefully proves interesting...
#329. Best of 2011
#329.
Best of 2011...
Music:
Stone Rollin', Raphael Saadig
So Beautiful or So What, Paul Simon
Mylo Xyloto, Coldplay
Wounded Rhymes, Lykke Li
Books:
Before I Go to Sleep, S.J. Watson
The Bridge to Never Land, Dave Barry & Ridley Pearson
TV:
How I Met Your Mother
Fringe
Community
The Big Bang Theory
Survivor: Redemption Island
Survivor: South Pacific
The Cape
The Event
The Walking Dead
Cougar Town
Raising Hope
Person of Interest
Mad Love
Smallville
The Simpsons
Futurama
Movies:
Warrior
Source Code
The Tree of Life
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2
Green Lantern
Midnight in Paris
The Adjustment Bureau
Hanna
Super 8
Cowboys and Aliens
Best of 2011...
Music:
Stone Rollin', Raphael Saadig
So Beautiful or So What, Paul Simon
Mylo Xyloto, Coldplay
Wounded Rhymes, Lykke Li
Books:
Before I Go to Sleep, S.J. Watson
The Bridge to Never Land, Dave Barry & Ridley Pearson
TV:
How I Met Your Mother
Fringe
Community
The Big Bang Theory
Survivor: Redemption Island
Survivor: South Pacific
The Cape
The Event
The Walking Dead
Cougar Town
Raising Hope
Person of Interest
Mad Love
Smallville
The Simpsons
Futurama
Movies:
Warrior
Source Code
The Tree of Life
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2
Green Lantern
Midnight in Paris
The Adjustment Bureau
Hanna
Super 8
Cowboys and Aliens
Thursday, December 15, 2011
#328. DC Decades Project
#328.
Superheroes will be dominating Sigild V for the foreseeable future. On the heels of the Trial project, I've now begun the DC Decades Project, which seeks to adapt from DC Comics Year by Year: A Visual Chronicle each decade of actual comics developments as a cohesive story.
I've also got a new Quarter Bin column up at Comics Reader.
Superheroes will be dominating Sigild V for the foreseeable future. On the heels of the Trial project, I've now begun the DC Decades Project, which seeks to adapt from DC Comics Year by Year: A Visual Chronicle each decade of actual comics developments as a cohesive story.
I've also got a new Quarter Bin column up at Comics Reader.
Monday, December 12, 2011
#327. Comics Reader, Sigild V Cleanup
#327.
Just for the record, the sprucing continues:
I just spent a considerable amount of time labeling key archival posts here at Scouring Monk, but I would have to change the blog's template in order to show a list of them...so that's an idea for the future. I have, however, completed overhauls at Comics Reader and Sigild V to make navigation easier. Yay!
Just for the record, the sprucing continues:
I just spent a considerable amount of time labeling key archival posts here at Scouring Monk, but I would have to change the blog's template in order to show a list of them...so that's an idea for the future. I have, however, completed overhauls at Comics Reader and Sigild V to make navigation easier. Yay!
#326. Hub City Cleanup
#326.
Hub City is the latest blog in my little family to receive a little tweaking. I've just added a new label identifying critical analysis on the book I've just completed from the Reading List. There are now three labels, actually, "Thoughts on..." (the one I've just introduced), "Reading List" (otherwise known as a running catalog of the books I'm reading, and something I previously did here at Scouring Monk), and "Scouring Books," which is a straight listing of books from my personal library. On the surface, "Scouring Books" entries and "Reading List" may look remarkably similar, but "Reading List" will now have the added distinction of a subsequent "Thoughts on..." entry, should I have sufficient reactions to what I've just finished reading. There are 11 "Reading List" entries to date, and only 4 "Thoughts on..." essays, starting from October, and many more "Scouring Books."
...Y'know, just in case you were interested...
Hub City is the latest blog in my little family to receive a little tweaking. I've just added a new label identifying critical analysis on the book I've just completed from the Reading List. There are now three labels, actually, "Thoughts on..." (the one I've just introduced), "Reading List" (otherwise known as a running catalog of the books I'm reading, and something I previously did here at Scouring Monk), and "Scouring Books," which is a straight listing of books from my personal library. On the surface, "Scouring Books" entries and "Reading List" may look remarkably similar, but "Reading List" will now have the added distinction of a subsequent "Thoughts on..." entry, should I have sufficient reactions to what I've just finished reading. There are 11 "Reading List" entries to date, and only 4 "Thoughts on..." essays, starting from October, and many more "Scouring Books."
...Y'know, just in case you were interested...
Friday, December 09, 2011
#326. Caretaker Part 2
#325.
Just posted Star Trek: Voyager - "Caretaker, Part 2," a monologue from Captain Janeway that helps explain her decisions in the series finale "Endgame" from a perspective that points back to the series premiere ("Caretaker," naturally). I was always a bigger fan of the series than Star Trek fans in general tended to be, and so have always sought some way to express the kind of quality I saw in it that others didn't.
I'll probably get to do more of that.
Just posted Star Trek: Voyager - "Caretaker, Part 2," a monologue from Captain Janeway that helps explain her decisions in the series finale "Endgame" from a perspective that points back to the series premiere ("Caretaker," naturally). I was always a bigger fan of the series than Star Trek fans in general tended to be, and so have always sought some way to express the kind of quality I saw in it that others didn't.
I'll probably get to do more of that.
Thursday, December 08, 2011
#324. Fan Companion Cleanup
#324.
Finally cleaned up the Fan Companion blog, making it easier to navigate, especially between focuses (Star Trek, films, and wrestling, to date). All in anticipation of the forthcoming Comparative (f)Analysis!
Finally cleaned up the Fan Companion blog, making it easier to navigate, especially between focuses (Star Trek, films, and wrestling, to date). All in anticipation of the forthcoming Comparative (f)Analysis!
#323. Trial of the Flash Project
#323.
Today I completed the Trial of the Flash project, including the six-part adaptation written for Sigild V, which in part follows the classic 1980s comics story that ran for two years and was recently reprinted in a twenty-four issue Showcase reprint volume, but also represents an alternate version from a modern perspective, including using Wally West as narrator and acknowledging the Crisis on Infinite Earths events that follow. The Barry Allen found here owes a debt to Geoff Johns, too, and not just from the "flashpoint" in the title. The sad part is, though I drastically reduced the length of the story, I now kind of want to expand it...
Today I completed the Trial of the Flash project, including the six-part adaptation written for Sigild V, which in part follows the classic 1980s comics story that ran for two years and was recently reprinted in a twenty-four issue Showcase reprint volume, but also represents an alternate version from a modern perspective, including using Wally West as narrator and acknowledging the Crisis on Infinite Earths events that follow. The Barry Allen found here owes a debt to Geoff Johns, too, and not just from the "flashpoint" in the title. The sad part is, though I drastically reduced the length of the story, I now kind of want to expand it...
Wednesday, December 07, 2011
#322. Trial of the Flash, Comics, John Morrison
#322.
My Trial of the Flash project continues (neatly compiled here), providing Sigild V with storytelling material while I prepare the next project, an ambitious attempt to consolidate DC history by each decade into cohesive narratives.
Comics Reader also continues to feature new material, including more individual issue comments (with RASL, Comic Book Comics, and Justice League joining the excitement), another look at the Green Lantern movie, and regular installments of the blog, such as a Quarter Bin column that has a look at Grant Morrison and Mark Millar's Aztek: The Ultimate Man, plus a note about a collection of adaptations from Edgar Allan Poe short stories.
Hub City continues to showcase selections from my personal library, now featuring more Willie Mays and Bill Clinton!
***
John Morrison was officially released by WWE last week, and has yet to announce his future plans. Much has been made of the belief that Morrison basically brought this upon himself by becoming stagnant, refusing to develop his character, failing to become a presence on the mic, but I believe that WWE found it difficult to promote him after several years of presenting him as one of its best wrestlers and failing to actually do anything meaningful with his career, preferring instead to put the spotlight on wrestlers who could more easily produce storylines. His critics fail to appreciate that John is hardly the first wrestler to fall into this trap, though it's funny that he should be the first one since Chris Benoit's murder/suicide to suffer from this tendency to overlook the best wrestlers in favor of the biggest personalities, because he isn't some mat technician, he's someone with an incredible amount of flare in his repertoire.
What's ironic is that WWE is choosing to promote someone like Zack Ryder as someone who's been "held back," when Ryder has never even approached Morrison's abilities or charisma. Cheap catchphrases and an Internet show can get you attention, but it won't make your career. The very things they love about you now will be the things they ridicule tomorrow (and here I count "they" as WWE management and fans).
John Morrison is bankable talent. WWE's problem is that it took him for granted for too long. Can you say Chris Jericho?
My Trial of the Flash project continues (neatly compiled here), providing Sigild V with storytelling material while I prepare the next project, an ambitious attempt to consolidate DC history by each decade into cohesive narratives.
Comics Reader also continues to feature new material, including more individual issue comments (with RASL, Comic Book Comics, and Justice League joining the excitement), another look at the Green Lantern movie, and regular installments of the blog, such as a Quarter Bin column that has a look at Grant Morrison and Mark Millar's Aztek: The Ultimate Man, plus a note about a collection of adaptations from Edgar Allan Poe short stories.
Hub City continues to showcase selections from my personal library, now featuring more Willie Mays and Bill Clinton!
***
John Morrison was officially released by WWE last week, and has yet to announce his future plans. Much has been made of the belief that Morrison basically brought this upon himself by becoming stagnant, refusing to develop his character, failing to become a presence on the mic, but I believe that WWE found it difficult to promote him after several years of presenting him as one of its best wrestlers and failing to actually do anything meaningful with his career, preferring instead to put the spotlight on wrestlers who could more easily produce storylines. His critics fail to appreciate that John is hardly the first wrestler to fall into this trap, though it's funny that he should be the first one since Chris Benoit's murder/suicide to suffer from this tendency to overlook the best wrestlers in favor of the biggest personalities, because he isn't some mat technician, he's someone with an incredible amount of flare in his repertoire.
What's ironic is that WWE is choosing to promote someone like Zack Ryder as someone who's been "held back," when Ryder has never even approached Morrison's abilities or charisma. Cheap catchphrases and an Internet show can get you attention, but it won't make your career. The very things they love about you now will be the things they ridicule tomorrow (and here I count "they" as WWE management and fans).
John Morrison is bankable talent. WWE's problem is that it took him for granted for too long. Can you say Chris Jericho?
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
#321. Comics Reader
#321.
Buncha new stuff to read at Comics Reader to round out November, including individual thoughts on some new comics I've read, plus a feature on some freebies I've gotten lately.
Buncha new stuff to read at Comics Reader to round out November, including individual thoughts on some new comics I've read, plus a feature on some freebies I've gotten lately.
Monday, November 28, 2011
#320. Trial of the Flash, Jabroni Companion, Your Face Tomorrow
#320.
One of my current blog projects actually ties two of the branches together, a reimagining of the 1980s Trial of the Flash I'm writing at Sigild V that I wrote about at Comics Reader thanks to a recent Showcase reprint volume. (This update confirms what I wrote last time, for the record. Everything proceeded to plan.)
I'm officially quitting the Jabroni Companion at Fan Companion in favor of a new "Comparative fAnalysis" that'll take closer looks at several different topics. Should launch fairly soon.
Hub City continues to feature the Reading List, which will finally advance past Javier Marias' masterful Your Face Tomorrow, which I've included commentary on in a series of essays, if you were interested in that.
Last week was Thanksgiving/Black "Friday," as you know, so I had a little more family time with my sister than usual, and I went on three interviews earlier in the week. That accounts for the lack of activity in the Scouring family, in case you were wondering.
One of my current blog projects actually ties two of the branches together, a reimagining of the 1980s Trial of the Flash I'm writing at Sigild V that I wrote about at Comics Reader thanks to a recent Showcase reprint volume. (This update confirms what I wrote last time, for the record. Everything proceeded to plan.)
I'm officially quitting the Jabroni Companion at Fan Companion in favor of a new "Comparative fAnalysis" that'll take closer looks at several different topics. Should launch fairly soon.
Hub City continues to feature the Reading List, which will finally advance past Javier Marias' masterful Your Face Tomorrow, which I've included commentary on in a series of essays, if you were interested in that.
Last week was Thanksgiving/Black "Friday," as you know, so I had a little more family time with my sister than usual, and I went on three interviews earlier in the week. That accounts for the lack of activity in the Scouring family, in case you were wondering.
Thursday, November 17, 2011
#319. Yoshimi, Trial of the Flash
#319.
The big news is that I did finish the first draft of Yoshimi this week and have now sent it off to the fine editors at HBE.
Earlier today I posted a new Quarter Bin column at Comics Reader, and hope to have another feature up tomorrow on the classic "Trial of the Flash" storyline from the '80s, which I'm also planning to adapt for Sigild V.
The big news is that I did finish the first draft of Yoshimi this week and have now sent it off to the fine editors at HBE.
Earlier today I posted a new Quarter Bin column at Comics Reader, and hope to have another feature up tomorrow on the classic "Trial of the Flash" storyline from the '80s, which I'm also planning to adapt for Sigild V.
Sunday, November 13, 2011
#318. Cornell Womack
#318.
Just want to note actor Cornell Womack, who appeared in this week's Criminal Minds episode "No Place Like Home" as the medical examiner Cranston. It was a relatively small role and he was mostly out of focus in the background, but clearly this guy has presence (he's been in The Happening and State of Play, has appeared in several versions of Law & Order and has a recurring role in Rescue Me). He sounds a ton like Orson Welles, and spent most of his time in the Criminal Minds episode eating a sandwich. It just seems like this is at the very least a character actor just begging to be discovered and given greater exposure, and that's exactly what he was thinking during the scene.
Anyway, so here noted...Cornell Womack, an actor just waiting to be noticed.
Just want to note actor Cornell Womack, who appeared in this week's Criminal Minds episode "No Place Like Home" as the medical examiner Cranston. It was a relatively small role and he was mostly out of focus in the background, but clearly this guy has presence (he's been in The Happening and State of Play, has appeared in several versions of Law & Order and has a recurring role in Rescue Me). He sounds a ton like Orson Welles, and spent most of his time in the Criminal Minds episode eating a sandwich. It just seems like this is at the very least a character actor just begging to be discovered and given greater exposure, and that's exactly what he was thinking during the scene.
Anyway, so here noted...Cornell Womack, an actor just waiting to be noticed.
Saturday, November 12, 2011
#317. Yoshimi, Comic Books, Your Face Tomorrow, Jabroni Companion
#317.
I've slowed a little, recently, working around my Mouldwarp family of blogs, but I'm always the scouring kind. I've been working at the conclusion of Yoshimi (hopefully to be first-draft-finished by the end of next week), so I'll use that as my excuse.
Sigild V did recently see my "Occupy Wall Street" story completed in five acts, and there has been a little bit of interest from readers, probably more or on par with my most popular writing to date in that forum.
Comics Reader has easily seen the most activity in recent weeks, with some feverish manipulation of my regular schedule, so that it has sometimes been possible to read the regular Reader column and the Quarter Bin column in the same week, plus some specials like another look at Green Lantern, and shout-out to Karl Kesel's web activities, and an earlier review of the graphic novel Dear Creature. Most recently I've talked about Grant Morrison's inspirations from the Black Casebook trade collection, and will very soon be talking about the 1980s trial of Barry Allen.
Hub City hasn't really caught on with readers, but I'm continuing to plug away at it, listing books from my personal library, the Reading List, and thoughts on Your Face Tomorrow, the latest of some modern literary classics I wish everyone were aware of.
Fan Companion continues, still discussing professional wrestling. Readership on this blog has slowed considerably. I'm not sure if it's because of the wrestling talk or what, but I did have for an extended period some lightly feverish reading of my Star Trek fan thoughts, which launched the blog last year, while the Film Fan was a fairly successful follow-up. I guess I'll wait and see about this one.
I'm not sure if it's because I made a Google profile recently or not, but I've had some huge spikes of interest here at Scouring Monk, the most of all the blogs, which hasn't exactly translated to business throughout the whole family. I guess that's another thing I'll just have to accept.
I've slowed a little, recently, working around my Mouldwarp family of blogs, but I'm always the scouring kind. I've been working at the conclusion of Yoshimi (hopefully to be first-draft-finished by the end of next week), so I'll use that as my excuse.
Sigild V did recently see my "Occupy Wall Street" story completed in five acts, and there has been a little bit of interest from readers, probably more or on par with my most popular writing to date in that forum.
Comics Reader has easily seen the most activity in recent weeks, with some feverish manipulation of my regular schedule, so that it has sometimes been possible to read the regular Reader column and the Quarter Bin column in the same week, plus some specials like another look at Green Lantern, and shout-out to Karl Kesel's web activities, and an earlier review of the graphic novel Dear Creature. Most recently I've talked about Grant Morrison's inspirations from the Black Casebook trade collection, and will very soon be talking about the 1980s trial of Barry Allen.
Hub City hasn't really caught on with readers, but I'm continuing to plug away at it, listing books from my personal library, the Reading List, and thoughts on Your Face Tomorrow, the latest of some modern literary classics I wish everyone were aware of.
Fan Companion continues, still discussing professional wrestling. Readership on this blog has slowed considerably. I'm not sure if it's because of the wrestling talk or what, but I did have for an extended period some lightly feverish reading of my Star Trek fan thoughts, which launched the blog last year, while the Film Fan was a fairly successful follow-up. I guess I'll wait and see about this one.
I'm not sure if it's because I made a Google profile recently or not, but I've had some huge spikes of interest here at Scouring Monk, the most of all the blogs, which hasn't exactly translated to business throughout the whole family. I guess that's another thing I'll just have to accept.
Monday, November 07, 2011
#316. Occupy Wall Street
#316.
I've concluded my "Occupy Wall Street" story at Sigild V, rounding out a look at four representative figures of the movement from a literary standpoint, plus an investigator's impressions following the central assassination event.
I myself have not attended any OWS-type rallies or gatherings, but being unemployed since the end of Borders and enjoying unemployment so thoroughly, I can certainly sympathize with those frustrated to an apparent breaking point with the economic situation in America (and elsewhere), who feel they've been overlooked, ignored, and marginalized by those in power, both in government and the general job market. No, Americans are not generally considered among the most impoverished and disadvantaged peoples, and perhaps it's for that very reason that those who represent us should insist on the highest quality of fair play among the citizens, so that everyone has an equal chance to succeed without fear of unreasonable restrictions and artificial limitations that harass development and potential, so that even those immediately qualified to succeed at a basic level are denied their ability to make a living in a manner of their choosing.
I've concluded my "Occupy Wall Street" story at Sigild V, rounding out a look at four representative figures of the movement from a literary standpoint, plus an investigator's impressions following the central assassination event.
I myself have not attended any OWS-type rallies or gatherings, but being unemployed since the end of Borders and enjoying unemployment so thoroughly, I can certainly sympathize with those frustrated to an apparent breaking point with the economic situation in America (and elsewhere), who feel they've been overlooked, ignored, and marginalized by those in power, both in government and the general job market. No, Americans are not generally considered among the most impoverished and disadvantaged peoples, and perhaps it's for that very reason that those who represent us should insist on the highest quality of fair play among the citizens, so that everyone has an equal chance to succeed without fear of unreasonable restrictions and artificial limitations that harass development and potential, so that even those immediately qualified to succeed at a basic level are denied their ability to make a living in a manner of their choosing.
Tuesday, November 01, 2011
#315. Flawless Kitty Logic Returns
#315.
Flawless Kitty Logic
When considering possible solutions to a problem,
probable outcomes are not a necessary factor. So,
stealing a toy blaster to battle invading ants
does not require any thought to said blaster's
effectiveness, nor the ultimate fate of blaster.
It's the thought that counts!
Monday, October 31, 2011
#314. Halloween
#314.
Happy Halloween! I am seriously writing this in a Starfleet (circa TNG) costume I originally wore in grade school. It still (mostly) fits. But it's not the most comfortable thing in the world. I hope the chitlens appreciate it later.
(For the record, I did grow considerably since grade school. I suspect it may have been fairly large originally. Or it stretches a lot.)
Happy Halloween! I am seriously writing this in a Starfleet (circa TNG) costume I originally wore in grade school. It still (mostly) fits. But it's not the most comfortable thing in the world. I hope the chitlens appreciate it later.
(For the record, I did grow considerably since grade school. I suspect it may have been fairly large originally. Or it stretches a lot.)
Sunday, October 30, 2011
#313. Tie
#313.
So, a week of some setbacks did produce one glowing victory:
I tied my first tie.
In the words of the late Harvey Pekar, "Today I am a man!"
So, a week of some setbacks did produce one glowing victory:
I tied my first tie.
In the words of the late Harvey Pekar, "Today I am a man!"
Friday, October 28, 2011
#312. Cardinals 2011 World Series Champions
#312.
The Flawless Kitty says, thank you very much. Congratulations, Cardinals!
The Flawless Kitty says, thank you very much. Congratulations, Cardinals!
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
#311. Hub City, Occupy Wall Street, Jabroni Companion, Flashpoint, Message Boards, Good Reads
#311.
Just some quick updates about current activity around my family of blogs...
Hub City continues to host the Reading List, recently featuring Dave Barry, Roberto Bolano, and Javier Marias's Your Face Tomorrow.
Sigild has begun a special Occupy Wall Street series, a literary look at some of the influences that have brought that group/movement together.
Fan Companion continues to talk professional wrestling, with recent topics revisiting the Nexus and JBL (a "Wrestling God").
Comics Reader just looked at a completely different Flashpoint mini-series.
I've also recently begun posting at the WrestleView message boards, and continue to visit the Comic Book Resources forums, to the possible regret of some members.
Also, got a Good Reads profile, maybe establish my writerly credentials a little.
Also, debuted Flawless Kitty Logic here at Scouring Monk a few days ago, which will probably reappear. Because cats possess flawless kitty logic!
Just some quick updates about current activity around my family of blogs...
Hub City continues to host the Reading List, recently featuring Dave Barry, Roberto Bolano, and Javier Marias's Your Face Tomorrow.
Sigild has begun a special Occupy Wall Street series, a literary look at some of the influences that have brought that group/movement together.
Fan Companion continues to talk professional wrestling, with recent topics revisiting the Nexus and JBL (a "Wrestling God").
Comics Reader just looked at a completely different Flashpoint mini-series.
I've also recently begun posting at the WrestleView message boards, and continue to visit the Comic Book Resources forums, to the possible regret of some members.
Also, got a Good Reads profile, maybe establish my writerly credentials a little.
Also, debuted Flawless Kitty Logic here at Scouring Monk a few days ago, which will probably reappear. Because cats possess flawless kitty logic!
Sunday, October 23, 2011
#310. Lost Hangover
#310.
This has been a pretty interesting year for the creators of Lost. Damon Lindelof was involved in Cowboys & Aliens, which in some ways might be considered his own interpretation of what that series might have been. J.J. Abrams delivered Super 8, which again shared similar themes.
Now we have ABC's Once Upon a Time from Eddie Kitsis and Adam Horowitz, and it happens to feature a girl who had to give her special child up for adoption. Hey, I'm just sayin'...If you think this one's just about fairy tales, definitely pay attention to the Kitsis/Horowitz/Lost connection. It's more relevant than you might think. The pilot episode is a little slow to start off, but it definitely builds, which is interesting. I have to imagine, given this pattern, that the show will probably be pretty good overall. We'll see.
This has been a pretty interesting year for the creators of Lost. Damon Lindelof was involved in Cowboys & Aliens, which in some ways might be considered his own interpretation of what that series might have been. J.J. Abrams delivered Super 8, which again shared similar themes.
Now we have ABC's Once Upon a Time from Eddie Kitsis and Adam Horowitz, and it happens to feature a girl who had to give her special child up for adoption. Hey, I'm just sayin'...If you think this one's just about fairy tales, definitely pay attention to the Kitsis/Horowitz/Lost connection. It's more relevant than you might think. The pilot episode is a little slow to start off, but it definitely builds, which is interesting. I have to imagine, given this pattern, that the show will probably be pretty good overall. We'll see.
#309. Flawless Kitty Logic
#309.
Flawless Kitty Logic:
With a convincing performance in Game 3 of the 2011 World Series, Albert Pujols guarantees victory for the St. Louis Cardinals, with whom he'll be happy to resign. And Mark McGwire will no longer be a black sheep in baseball. Also, something about rally squirrels distracting pesky dogs permanently.
Flawless Kitty Logic:
With a convincing performance in Game 3 of the 2011 World Series, Albert Pujols guarantees victory for the St. Louis Cardinals, with whom he'll be happy to resign. And Mark McGwire will no longer be a black sheep in baseball. Also, something about rally squirrels distracting pesky dogs permanently.
Thursday, October 20, 2011
#308. Bobby Roode
#308.
Just wanted to comment on the new TNA champion.
Since Sunday I've heard bitching and moaning over the fact that Bobby Roode didn't beat Kurt Angle at Bound for Glory. It was absurd, because 1) there was really no reason for it and 2) Roode probably wasn't the guy to win that match.
So tonight on Impact Wrestling the right man won, and that would be James Storm.
Let me just acknowledge, too, that Angle probably should have won, one way or another, at BFG, simply for his appearance in this year's best movie, Warrior, the story of two brothers who compete in a massive MMA tournament, which Angle's character is favored to win, being the fearsome Russian Koba (Kurt has no real lines in the movie, for the record).
In using a tag team like Beer Money during a time when audiences and fans should be remembering Angle in Warrior (I say should because very few people have seen it, and even critics have been douchebags about it), TNA was far more ingenious than anyone is ready to admit.
Throughout the tournament the company held for the championship opportunity at BFG, TNA seemed to be going any number of ways with the winner, before settling on Roode and Storm in the finals. This ostensibly set Roode up to be the man, the homegrown hero TNA fans could cheer. When he lost on Sunday, some fans felt cheated (TNA "fans" and wrestling fans in general who like to feel cheated).
So to pull the trigger less than a week later on his partner, who frankly has more charisma, is a pretty awesome irony.
As for how long and how far Storm can go, only the future knows.
(For the record, my sister, who is a casual viewer and didn't really know any of this, she thought Storm's win was unimpressive, and considers him a Stone Cold knockoff.)
Storm's superkick-out-of-nowhere, by the way, is very appropriate for anything with a Warrior shine on it.
(Seriously, watch Warrior!)
Just wanted to comment on the new TNA champion.
Since Sunday I've heard bitching and moaning over the fact that Bobby Roode didn't beat Kurt Angle at Bound for Glory. It was absurd, because 1) there was really no reason for it and 2) Roode probably wasn't the guy to win that match.
So tonight on Impact Wrestling the right man won, and that would be James Storm.
Let me just acknowledge, too, that Angle probably should have won, one way or another, at BFG, simply for his appearance in this year's best movie, Warrior, the story of two brothers who compete in a massive MMA tournament, which Angle's character is favored to win, being the fearsome Russian Koba (Kurt has no real lines in the movie, for the record).
In using a tag team like Beer Money during a time when audiences and fans should be remembering Angle in Warrior (I say should because very few people have seen it, and even critics have been douchebags about it), TNA was far more ingenious than anyone is ready to admit.
Throughout the tournament the company held for the championship opportunity at BFG, TNA seemed to be going any number of ways with the winner, before settling on Roode and Storm in the finals. This ostensibly set Roode up to be the man, the homegrown hero TNA fans could cheer. When he lost on Sunday, some fans felt cheated (TNA "fans" and wrestling fans in general who like to feel cheated).
So to pull the trigger less than a week later on his partner, who frankly has more charisma, is a pretty awesome irony.
As for how long and how far Storm can go, only the future knows.
(For the record, my sister, who is a casual viewer and didn't really know any of this, she thought Storm's win was unimpressive, and considers him a Stone Cold knockoff.)
Storm's superkick-out-of-nowhere, by the way, is very appropriate for anything with a Warrior shine on it.
(Seriously, watch Warrior!)
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
#307. Spider-Man, Dear Creature, John Morrison
#307.
Just some quick notes:
Completing my Sigild Spider-Man saga, Just Imagine Tony Creating...The Amazing Spider-Man is what I might have done with a fourth Raimi-verse film (and has no judgment intended concerning the upcoming reboot).
At Comics Reader, I reviewed Dear Creature, at the prompting of creator Jonathan Case. I haven't done one of these prompted write-ups since the the Paperback Reader days. It felt good, especially for the Comics Reader blog.
In wrestling thoughts, I wonder if John Morrison is just getting the brush-off from his contract expiring soon, or if he's in the midst of a major new push. On Monday, he looked like a modern Bret Hart. I guess we'll have to wait and see.
Just some quick notes:
Completing my Sigild Spider-Man saga, Just Imagine Tony Creating...The Amazing Spider-Man is what I might have done with a fourth Raimi-verse film (and has no judgment intended concerning the upcoming reboot).
At Comics Reader, I reviewed Dear Creature, at the prompting of creator Jonathan Case. I haven't done one of these prompted write-ups since the the Paperback Reader days. It felt good, especially for the Comics Reader blog.
In wrestling thoughts, I wonder if John Morrison is just getting the brush-off from his contract expiring soon, or if he's in the midst of a major new push. On Monday, he looked like a modern Bret Hart. I guess we'll have to wait and see.
Saturday, October 08, 2011
#306. Hub City, Yoshimi, TV, Wrestling, New 52
#306.
Hub City is humming along nicely (new addition to the Reading List up today, for those keeping score). Maybe it's insane to try and maintain a billion separate blogs, but so far it seems to be working. Probably doesn't hurt that I'm also looking for a job at the moment.
I'm also spending some of that time working on Yoshimi, including three days of 10,000 words each, which is pretty remarkable, considering I could sometimes struggle to fill my old pace of 1,667 (NaNoWriMo), and scramble like mad when needing to catch up for several days. Well, I guess the more experience I get writing, the more I can write in a single day. Yay for progress!
The new TV season has been a little interesting on my end. I've been staying with my sister since Borders bit the silver bullet, so some of my habits have changed. I haven't watched many of the new shows (Person of Interest being the one I was always most keenly interested in, conveniently enough). I also haven't really had an opportunity to watch Raising Hope or Community, either, the latter because it plays at the same time as The Big Bang Theory, which is something of a family obsession. That also means I haven't seen The New Girl yet, even though that's another new one I'm keen to see.
I watch How I Met Your Mother on Mondays, plus WWE Raw, The Biggest Loser, NCIS and NCIS: Los Angeles on Tuesdays, Survivor (down with Hanz family! up with Mustache Rick!) and Criminal Minds on Wednesdays, TBBT and as much TNA Impact as I can on Thursdays, WWE Smackdown and Fringe on Fridays, and then The Amazing Race on Sundays.
I haven't seen Terra Nova yet, for any number of reasons. I still think I'd enjoy it, but part of me looks at previews for the newer episodes and sees Earth 2 kind of written all over it. That's not necessarily a bad thing, mind you.
Haven't seen a movie since the terrific Warrior. Examiner.com wonders when I'll see something else. I wonder when Examiner.com will pay more than a few cents into my account.
The whole walkout thing on Raw this past Monday is certainly interesting. It's a direct extension of what CM Punk made possible a couple of months ago (quite frankly), but his presence is a little on the backburner at the moment. Maybe that'll change soon.
Jeff Hardy's return to TNA will certainly prove interesting. Will people actually give him a chance? Wisely, TNA is making his return all about that. I expect Bobby Roode to beat Kurt Angle at Bound for Glory, but I wish the company had a different homegrown star they could be elevating for the first time. The whole card looks pretty spectacular, even the "fight" between Sting and Hogan. TNA has done a pretty good job in recent months making things that work for them actually work for them. Hopefully they will get over that hump and be accepted as a legitimate rival to WWE by the wider wrestling community.
ROH, meanwhile, also looks like it's doing the right things with its new TV deal, even if it's making wrestling observers question them by pushing Haas & Benjamin as one of their most visible components. You'd think those fans would be happy, because the World's Greatest Tag Team is finally getting the respect they deserve, from a company that can really appreciate them. But we are talking wrestling fans here...
My enjoyment of DC's New 52 has been handicapped by not technically making money, so I haven't been able to keep up with all the comics I'd like to. That and Heroes & Dragons apparently doesn't see the wisdom in stocking the hot new relaunch they themselves are promoting in their store. If I were at the other end of Colorado Springs right now, the situation would be different, at least halfway. Escape Velocity is doing its best to keep up. Well, I'm going to try on Wednesday at Heroes to catch James Robinson's The Shade #1. Wish me luck...
Hub City is humming along nicely (new addition to the Reading List up today, for those keeping score). Maybe it's insane to try and maintain a billion separate blogs, but so far it seems to be working. Probably doesn't hurt that I'm also looking for a job at the moment.
I'm also spending some of that time working on Yoshimi, including three days of 10,000 words each, which is pretty remarkable, considering I could sometimes struggle to fill my old pace of 1,667 (NaNoWriMo), and scramble like mad when needing to catch up for several days. Well, I guess the more experience I get writing, the more I can write in a single day. Yay for progress!
The new TV season has been a little interesting on my end. I've been staying with my sister since Borders bit the silver bullet, so some of my habits have changed. I haven't watched many of the new shows (Person of Interest being the one I was always most keenly interested in, conveniently enough). I also haven't really had an opportunity to watch Raising Hope or Community, either, the latter because it plays at the same time as The Big Bang Theory, which is something of a family obsession. That also means I haven't seen The New Girl yet, even though that's another new one I'm keen to see.
I watch How I Met Your Mother on Mondays, plus WWE Raw, The Biggest Loser, NCIS and NCIS: Los Angeles on Tuesdays, Survivor (down with Hanz family! up with Mustache Rick!) and Criminal Minds on Wednesdays, TBBT and as much TNA Impact as I can on Thursdays, WWE Smackdown and Fringe on Fridays, and then The Amazing Race on Sundays.
I haven't seen Terra Nova yet, for any number of reasons. I still think I'd enjoy it, but part of me looks at previews for the newer episodes and sees Earth 2 kind of written all over it. That's not necessarily a bad thing, mind you.
Haven't seen a movie since the terrific Warrior. Examiner.com wonders when I'll see something else. I wonder when Examiner.com will pay more than a few cents into my account.
The whole walkout thing on Raw this past Monday is certainly interesting. It's a direct extension of what CM Punk made possible a couple of months ago (quite frankly), but his presence is a little on the backburner at the moment. Maybe that'll change soon.
Jeff Hardy's return to TNA will certainly prove interesting. Will people actually give him a chance? Wisely, TNA is making his return all about that. I expect Bobby Roode to beat Kurt Angle at Bound for Glory, but I wish the company had a different homegrown star they could be elevating for the first time. The whole card looks pretty spectacular, even the "fight" between Sting and Hogan. TNA has done a pretty good job in recent months making things that work for them actually work for them. Hopefully they will get over that hump and be accepted as a legitimate rival to WWE by the wider wrestling community.
ROH, meanwhile, also looks like it's doing the right things with its new TV deal, even if it's making wrestling observers question them by pushing Haas & Benjamin as one of their most visible components. You'd think those fans would be happy, because the World's Greatest Tag Team is finally getting the respect they deserve, from a company that can really appreciate them. But we are talking wrestling fans here...
My enjoyment of DC's New 52 has been handicapped by not technically making money, so I haven't been able to keep up with all the comics I'd like to. That and Heroes & Dragons apparently doesn't see the wisdom in stocking the hot new relaunch they themselves are promoting in their store. If I were at the other end of Colorado Springs right now, the situation would be different, at least halfway. Escape Velocity is doing its best to keep up. Well, I'm going to try on Wednesday at Heroes to catch James Robinson's The Shade #1. Wish me luck...
Monday, October 03, 2011
#305. Hub City
#305.
Okay, so I've begun another spin-off blog, Hub City, all about my love of books, which will now house my Reading List, which has been a feature of Scouring Monk for the past few years. Like Comics Reader, it also features a strong link to Amazon.com, including my new Austen Paradise bookstore, which is located at the bottom of the page. The origin of Austen Paradise is a long and complicated one, just something that started to dawn on me the longer I worked at Borders. I read Pride & Prejudice in college, and then just a few months earlier Pride & Prejudice & Zombies, so I knew of Jane Austen's rich skills as a writer, and her enduring appeal in the world of literature. But I began noticing just how many books Borders had that had been directly inspired by her writing, spin-off that imagined what happened next, or delved deeper into characters like Mr. Darcy (on whose legacy the career of Colin Firth continues to rest, Oscar or no). I dreamed of opening a physical bookstore where I could sell these books directly, which gave birth to a wider idea of a store that catered to literary tastes, the idea behind the name "Hub City" itself (comics readers will known The Question called that place home). The blog and the online storefront, then, are my first steps toward making that dream a reality. Hopefully there are readers out there who find merit in all of this...
Okay, so I've begun another spin-off blog, Hub City, all about my love of books, which will now house my Reading List, which has been a feature of Scouring Monk for the past few years. Like Comics Reader, it also features a strong link to Amazon.com, including my new Austen Paradise bookstore, which is located at the bottom of the page. The origin of Austen Paradise is a long and complicated one, just something that started to dawn on me the longer I worked at Borders. I read Pride & Prejudice in college, and then just a few months earlier Pride & Prejudice & Zombies, so I knew of Jane Austen's rich skills as a writer, and her enduring appeal in the world of literature. But I began noticing just how many books Borders had that had been directly inspired by her writing, spin-off that imagined what happened next, or delved deeper into characters like Mr. Darcy (on whose legacy the career of Colin Firth continues to rest, Oscar or no). I dreamed of opening a physical bookstore where I could sell these books directly, which gave birth to a wider idea of a store that catered to literary tastes, the idea behind the name "Hub City" itself (comics readers will known The Question called that place home). The blog and the online storefront, then, are my first steps toward making that dream a reality. Hopefully there are readers out there who find merit in all of this...
#304. Comics Reader, Fan Companion, Sigild V
#304.
Last Friday I revamped the functionality of my three spin-off blogs, Comics Reader, Fan Companion, and Sigild V. I made it slightly easier to navigate each of them, including lists of the most-read posts (which was especially relevant to Fan Companion. Comics Reader, additionally, now sports some direct Amazon.com links, showcasing some of my favorite graphic novels, ones I've talked directly about on the blog, in the hopes of driving sales and establishing it as a destination for serious fans.
I haven't exactly lit the Interweb on fire with the traffic my blogs have attracted, but without any considerable advertising, they have still managed to attract a steady stream of readers, which is certainly something I'm proud about, and extremely thankful to those who've taken the time to check out what I've written. The Fan Companion is the oldest spin-off, now a year old, while I've been maintaining each of them throughout 2011 on a regular basis.
Last Friday I revamped the functionality of my three spin-off blogs, Comics Reader, Fan Companion, and Sigild V. I made it slightly easier to navigate each of them, including lists of the most-read posts (which was especially relevant to Fan Companion. Comics Reader, additionally, now sports some direct Amazon.com links, showcasing some of my favorite graphic novels, ones I've talked directly about on the blog, in the hopes of driving sales and establishing it as a destination for serious fans.
I haven't exactly lit the Interweb on fire with the traffic my blogs have attracted, but without any considerable advertising, they have still managed to attract a steady stream of readers, which is certainly something I'm proud about, and extremely thankful to those who've taken the time to check out what I've written. The Fan Companion is the oldest spin-off, now a year old, while I've been maintaining each of them throughout 2011 on a regular basis.
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
#303. Sigild V, Comics Reader, Jabroni Companion, Warrior
#303.
Some of the recent activity from around my blogs and somesuch:
Just Imagine Tony Creating...Spider-Man 3 from the Sigild V short story blog. This one's the conclusion of three entries that feature a version of what I would've done with the three Sam Raimi movies, given the same general premises but with an increasingly divergent result. The first is basically an origin story that only brings Peter to becoming Spider-Man at the end. The second retains Dr. Octopus but continues the themes and plots from the first installment as well. This conclusion brings Green Goblin back as the primary foe, includes the famous death of Gwen Stacy, and suggests a possible continuation with Kraven the Hunter.
Stars be my destiny from the Comics Reader blog. This is my ode to James Robinson's Starman, maybe a decade and a half late. The link helps explain why.
Jabroni Companion #22 from the Fan Companion blog. Here I continue my series talking about professional wrestlers (topics this time include AJ Styles, Brock Lesnar, Booker T, Scott Steiner, Lex Luger, and Too Cool). In the past, as readers are apparently continually rediscovering, I've written about Star Trek, as well as movies. Which leads us to:
Warrior is the best movie of the year, my latest article for Examiner. As you can tell, I really liked the movie. Over at my Facebook account, A.C. Hall, from the world-famous Hall Bros. Entertainment, publishers of my upcoming book Yoshimi, chimed in and agreed with my modest assessment. Not too bad!
Some of the recent activity from around my blogs and somesuch:
Just Imagine Tony Creating...Spider-Man 3 from the Sigild V short story blog. This one's the conclusion of three entries that feature a version of what I would've done with the three Sam Raimi movies, given the same general premises but with an increasingly divergent result. The first is basically an origin story that only brings Peter to becoming Spider-Man at the end. The second retains Dr. Octopus but continues the themes and plots from the first installment as well. This conclusion brings Green Goblin back as the primary foe, includes the famous death of Gwen Stacy, and suggests a possible continuation with Kraven the Hunter.
Stars be my destiny from the Comics Reader blog. This is my ode to James Robinson's Starman, maybe a decade and a half late. The link helps explain why.
Jabroni Companion #22 from the Fan Companion blog. Here I continue my series talking about professional wrestlers (topics this time include AJ Styles, Brock Lesnar, Booker T, Scott Steiner, Lex Luger, and Too Cool). In the past, as readers are apparently continually rediscovering, I've written about Star Trek, as well as movies. Which leads us to:
Warrior is the best movie of the year, my latest article for Examiner. As you can tell, I really liked the movie. Over at my Facebook account, A.C. Hall, from the world-famous Hall Bros. Entertainment, publishers of my upcoming book Yoshimi, chimed in and agreed with my modest assessment. Not too bad!
#302. Reading List: Douglas Adams's Starship Titanic
#302.
Finished Bright Shiny Morning pretty quickly. James Frey is a great writer. Not sure I would actually want to hang out with him, though. Who knows?
Next on the Reading List:
Douglas Adams's Starship Titanic by Terry Jones. I obsessed over this book for years, scouring used book shops and having absolutely no luck, having passed on its original publishing in 1997. Regular bookstores don't carry it, naturally (which always baffled me). Finally found it at Poor Richards in Colorado Springs last year, and now am finally going to read it. (!!!)
Finished Bright Shiny Morning pretty quickly. James Frey is a great writer. Not sure I would actually want to hang out with him, though. Who knows?
Next on the Reading List:
Douglas Adams's Starship Titanic by Terry Jones. I obsessed over this book for years, scouring used book shops and having absolutely no luck, having passed on its original publishing in 1997. Regular bookstores don't carry it, naturally (which always baffled me). Finally found it at Poor Richards in Colorado Springs last year, and now am finally going to read it. (!!!)
Friday, September 23, 2011
#301. Reading List: Bright Shiny Morning
#301.
Just submitted a story to a Glimmer Train contest. One slight problem here is that I submitted the same story to Hall Bros. Hopefully everything'll sort itself out...
Next on the Reading List:
Bright Shiny Morning from James Frey, a writer who was publically hosed by Oprah a few years back. This book was his comeback, and notably did not receive near as much attention as the inciting material, which is a real shame, because true literary fiction deserves to have trumpets heralding its arrival. It appears this really is one of those works.
Just submitted a story to a Glimmer Train contest. One slight problem here is that I submitted the same story to Hall Bros. Hopefully everything'll sort itself out...
Next on the Reading List:
Bright Shiny Morning from James Frey, a writer who was publically hosed by Oprah a few years back. This book was his comeback, and notably did not receive near as much attention as the inciting material, which is a real shame, because true literary fiction deserves to have trumpets heralding its arrival. It appears this really is one of those works.
Saturday, September 17, 2011
#300. Reading List: Star Trek
#300.
Good news! I've been blogging here at Scouring Monk for a decade, and have just reached three hundred posts!
In slightly less pathetic news, I've got a new book in the Reading List:
Star Trek novelization by Alan Dean Foster. Back in 2005, I would have been devastated to learn that the next Star Trek movie would be a reboot. I did and still do love the Star Trek franchise with about as much totality as you can get (onscreen version, anyway), as readers who keep digging up the the Fan Companion at said blog can attest. I originally posted a season-by-season, series-by-series, film-by-film review of the franchise last year, but I keep getting hits. I don't mind! Anyway, when I learned that J.J. Abrams, genius behind Alias, Lost, and Fringe, not to mention Super 8 and Cloverfield, would be helming it, my apprehension quickly turned to enthusiasm. I wasn't disappointed. So it's another nice little diversion to read this novelization, too.
This past Wednesday was my last-ever day working for Borders. I purchased The Beaufort Diaries and Charles Simic's Master of Disguises, the last things I'll ever buy from the store. (I bought too much from the liquidation process, but these were only a dollar each!) So long, valiant crew and faithful customers of Borders 500 in Colorado Springs!
Good news! I've been blogging here at Scouring Monk for a decade, and have just reached three hundred posts!
In slightly less pathetic news, I've got a new book in the Reading List:
Star Trek novelization by Alan Dean Foster. Back in 2005, I would have been devastated to learn that the next Star Trek movie would be a reboot. I did and still do love the Star Trek franchise with about as much totality as you can get (onscreen version, anyway), as readers who keep digging up the the Fan Companion at said blog can attest. I originally posted a season-by-season, series-by-series, film-by-film review of the franchise last year, but I keep getting hits. I don't mind! Anyway, when I learned that J.J. Abrams, genius behind Alias, Lost, and Fringe, not to mention Super 8 and Cloverfield, would be helming it, my apprehension quickly turned to enthusiasm. I wasn't disappointed. So it's another nice little diversion to read this novelization, too.
This past Wednesday was my last-ever day working for Borders. I purchased The Beaufort Diaries and Charles Simic's Master of Disguises, the last things I'll ever buy from the store. (I bought too much from the liquidation process, but these were only a dollar each!) So long, valiant crew and faithful customers of Borders 500 in Colorado Springs!
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
#299. Reading List: Heidegger & a Hippo Walk Through Those Pearly Gates, The Dark Knight
#299.
The Reading List continues:
Heidegger and a Hippo Walk Through Those Pearly Gates by Thomas Cathcart and Daniel Klein, a stroll through philosophical ideas about life, the universe, and everything. Loved the jokes!
The Dark Knight novelization by Dennis O'Neil. The movie was instantly one of my all-time favorite movies. I don't expect O'Neil's book to quite reach a comparable level, but it's always fun to read these things (not that I do it that often).
The John Adams book, meanwhile, was pretty interesting, a nice little consolidation of American history from around his lifetime and times, if a little dry on analysis. I'd call him an inconvenient pragmatist!
The Reading List continues:
Heidegger and a Hippo Walk Through Those Pearly Gates by Thomas Cathcart and Daniel Klein, a stroll through philosophical ideas about life, the universe, and everything. Loved the jokes!
The Dark Knight novelization by Dennis O'Neil. The movie was instantly one of my all-time favorite movies. I don't expect O'Neil's book to quite reach a comparable level, but it's always fun to read these things (not that I do it that often).
The John Adams book, meanwhile, was pretty interesting, a nice little consolidation of American history from around his lifetime and times, if a little dry on analysis. I'd call him an inconvenient pragmatist!
Thursday, September 01, 2011
#298. Fan Musings, CM Punk, Finnegan
#298.
I realize I have a whole blog dedicated to fan musings, currently set directly at pro wrestling, but I figure I can still indulge a thought or two here at the main blog...
Picked up the Money in the Bank PPV last weekend, this year's stellar CM Punk renaissance event, but was actually more impressed at how much Randy Orton has been flourishing at reinventing himself on Smackdown. I'm one of those weird people you seldom hear about, I don't have cable, so, as with wrestling in general, I haven't seen Smackdown since it went off free TV (and doesn't it figure? ROH will be available in Maine, where I lived for the first quarter century of my life, but not here in Colorado). That's good news, because he was incredibly stale last year, even as WWE champion during the height of the Nexas angle (which again was just weird).
Also, had a chance to resubmit Finnegan to McSweeney's with the revisions I did earlier this year. Hopefully good things will come of it.
I realize I have a whole blog dedicated to fan musings, currently set directly at pro wrestling, but I figure I can still indulge a thought or two here at the main blog...
Picked up the Money in the Bank PPV last weekend, this year's stellar CM Punk renaissance event, but was actually more impressed at how much Randy Orton has been flourishing at reinventing himself on Smackdown. I'm one of those weird people you seldom hear about, I don't have cable, so, as with wrestling in general, I haven't seen Smackdown since it went off free TV (and doesn't it figure? ROH will be available in Maine, where I lived for the first quarter century of my life, but not here in Colorado). That's good news, because he was incredibly stale last year, even as WWE champion during the height of the Nexas angle (which again was just weird).
Also, had a chance to resubmit Finnegan to McSweeney's with the revisions I did earlier this year. Hopefully good things will come of it.
Thursday, August 25, 2011
#297. Reading List: John Adams - Party of One
#297.
Chip Kidd's The Learners turned out to be surprisingly good, even if it did read like a movie that might've been released at the time the book was set. I made a lot of enemies in college writing classes identitying the source of their writing styles, which invariably had more to do with screen material than the printed page...
Anyway, next on the Reading List:
John Adams: Party of One by James Grant, not one of the better-known Adams biographies, but one of the happy discoveries in the Borders bargain section from some years ago (of course, every Borders store is now a bargain section, given the ongoing liquidation process). I will fully admit that I've found more satisfaction in bargain hunting at Barnes & Noble than I did at Borders, where I've worked for the past five years. B&N used to have a better literature section, but apparently that was an easy thing to slim down in recent years (will only hurt you in the long run, Barnes, baby). Borders has better supported the late Roberto Bolano (author of the great 2666), which is a distinction I am quite proud of, not to mention Javier Marias (the Your Face Tomorrow trilogy), though not quite to the same degree. Anyway, Adams has been a favorite of mine since I started learning more about him in college, including his defense of the guilty British party in the "Boston Massacre." I've taken to reading these books on my long walks to work, which has been working surprisingly well.
Chip Kidd's The Learners turned out to be surprisingly good, even if it did read like a movie that might've been released at the time the book was set. I made a lot of enemies in college writing classes identitying the source of their writing styles, which invariably had more to do with screen material than the printed page...
Anyway, next on the Reading List:
John Adams: Party of One by James Grant, not one of the better-known Adams biographies, but one of the happy discoveries in the Borders bargain section from some years ago (of course, every Borders store is now a bargain section, given the ongoing liquidation process). I will fully admit that I've found more satisfaction in bargain hunting at Barnes & Noble than I did at Borders, where I've worked for the past five years. B&N used to have a better literature section, but apparently that was an easy thing to slim down in recent years (will only hurt you in the long run, Barnes, baby). Borders has better supported the late Roberto Bolano (author of the great 2666), which is a distinction I am quite proud of, not to mention Javier Marias (the Your Face Tomorrow trilogy), though not quite to the same degree. Anyway, Adams has been a favorite of mine since I started learning more about him in college, including his defense of the guilty British party in the "Boston Massacre." I've taken to reading these books on my long walks to work, which has been working surprisingly well.
Thursday, August 18, 2011
#296. Reading List: The Learners
#296.
The Reading List continues:
The Learners by Chip Kidd. Honestly, I don't know about this one. The acclaimed graphic designer is obviously not as well known as a writer, but this is his second book. At the time I bought it, I almost picked up his first book, Cheese Monkeys. Now I'm kind of glad I didn't, because what I've read so far is fairly amateurish, at least in style. I have faith it'll get better. We'll see.
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, meanwhile, really was a pleasure to read. Seth Grahame-Smith really seems to have understood Austen's social commentary (which is one of the reasons I'll trust this mash-up, but not the legions that followed), the prejudices, as it were, of high society that were not only ridiculous, but hard to navigate for young lovers. The zombies are slipped in as just another layer of how these uppercrusters compete, with the Bennets "only" receiving their formal training in China, rather than Japan, where of course one would have preferred to go, given adequate funds. Otehr than the infrequent zombie mayhem, though, it's pretty much exactly Austen's original book, which I read in college, but that was maybe a decade ago at this point, so I would probably have to read it again today to see just how much fiddling Grahame-Smith actually did. I stand by my assertion that at least this mash-up was brilliant, a suspicion I've held since i first saw it (before *ahem* the craze began).
My idea for a mash-up? The Great Gatsby and Gargoyles. Feel free to pay me to do it.
The Reading List continues:
The Learners by Chip Kidd. Honestly, I don't know about this one. The acclaimed graphic designer is obviously not as well known as a writer, but this is his second book. At the time I bought it, I almost picked up his first book, Cheese Monkeys. Now I'm kind of glad I didn't, because what I've read so far is fairly amateurish, at least in style. I have faith it'll get better. We'll see.
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, meanwhile, really was a pleasure to read. Seth Grahame-Smith really seems to have understood Austen's social commentary (which is one of the reasons I'll trust this mash-up, but not the legions that followed), the prejudices, as it were, of high society that were not only ridiculous, but hard to navigate for young lovers. The zombies are slipped in as just another layer of how these uppercrusters compete, with the Bennets "only" receiving their formal training in China, rather than Japan, where of course one would have preferred to go, given adequate funds. Otehr than the infrequent zombie mayhem, though, it's pretty much exactly Austen's original book, which I read in college, but that was maybe a decade ago at this point, so I would probably have to read it again today to see just how much fiddling Grahame-Smith actually did. I stand by my assertion that at least this mash-up was brilliant, a suspicion I've held since i first saw it (before *ahem* the craze began).
My idea for a mash-up? The Great Gatsby and Gargoyles. Feel free to pay me to do it.
Monday, August 01, 2011
#295. Reading List: Pride & Prejudice & Zombies
#295.
Next on the Reading List:
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith, the first of a series of literary mash-ups that might be one of the cleverest ways modern publishing has found to trick readers into rediscovering the classics. Where teachers and reading guides and websites can certainly tell you what these books originally accomplished, representing them in new and interesting ways is a step in expanding the current horizons of those who can't help but giggle at the otherwise absurd proposition set before them. That is to say, aside from the fact that P&P&Z quickly led to an avalanche of curiously derivative knockoffs, thereby potentially weakening its impact, there's much to say about the unexpected twist our increasingly irreverent world has now afforded jaded readers, like Mystery Science Theater 3000 but with a less cynical outlook (seriously, this show became popular by filming wisecracks to old movies?).
In other other words, it's a fun diversion at the very least, and an odd twist on the latest trend in the List.
Speaking of which, Looking Backward was certainly interesting to a point, but Bellamy was obviously not much of a literary talent. He spends most of the book cataloguing in precise detail a future reality he doesn't in the end explore all that much. It's like watching C-SPAN, I guess, or a talking head documentary, for those who can't stand watching just watching people talk. There's a good reason this book was basically forgotten. It had good intentions, but even its ideas of good ideas sound ridiculous, even a decade after the year it became clear Bellamy's predictions - or hopes - obviously didn't come true. Did anyone seriously order a sequel to the Gilded Age? If anything, someone could write a literary mash-up of this one, make it suck less, and hopefully inspire everyone all over again...
Next on the Reading List:
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith, the first of a series of literary mash-ups that might be one of the cleverest ways modern publishing has found to trick readers into rediscovering the classics. Where teachers and reading guides and websites can certainly tell you what these books originally accomplished, representing them in new and interesting ways is a step in expanding the current horizons of those who can't help but giggle at the otherwise absurd proposition set before them. That is to say, aside from the fact that P&P&Z quickly led to an avalanche of curiously derivative knockoffs, thereby potentially weakening its impact, there's much to say about the unexpected twist our increasingly irreverent world has now afforded jaded readers, like Mystery Science Theater 3000 but with a less cynical outlook (seriously, this show became popular by filming wisecracks to old movies?).In other other words, it's a fun diversion at the very least, and an odd twist on the latest trend in the List.
Speaking of which, Looking Backward was certainly interesting to a point, but Bellamy was obviously not much of a literary talent. He spends most of the book cataloguing in precise detail a future reality he doesn't in the end explore all that much. It's like watching C-SPAN, I guess, or a talking head documentary, for those who can't stand watching just watching people talk. There's a good reason this book was basically forgotten. It had good intentions, but even its ideas of good ideas sound ridiculous, even a decade after the year it became clear Bellamy's predictions - or hopes - obviously didn't come true. Did anyone seriously order a sequel to the Gilded Age? If anything, someone could write a literary mash-up of this one, make it suck less, and hopefully inspire everyone all over again...
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
#294. The Closing of Borders
#294.
The Closing of Borders, or Retroactive Rules for Staying Open
So, apart from plain lousy business decisions and a poor economy, here's a few lessons that may be learned from Borders, which I'm still working for, going bankrupt and into liquidation:
1. If you have better customer service, make sure that message is broadcast loud and clear. Borders went out of its way to help customers. It had terminals available for customer use all over the place, associates whose first mission was to help those customers, and a rewards program that really rewarded, coupons and discounts that were always greater than 10%. This is the exact opposite of Barnes & Noble. Yet Borders had a smaller market awareness, and rarely advertised, at least effectively.
2. When there's a huge craze that brings droves of customers into your store, make them repeat customers. Harry Potter, the Millennium Trilogy, The Da Vinci Code, the Twilight Saga...These are the big ones, and yet, the only response every time was to have these books...available. These were rabid fans of unusual stories. You don't rely on publishers finding similar authors who then line homogeneous bookshelves, you build a relationship and awareness of the many other books awaiting those readers. You help them believe that there's plenty more to read. Yes, there are significant crazes, and outside of those many people will stay away from bookstores (or book outlets), but if you can retain a significant fraction of the millions of readers who routinely make themselves obvious, you have a far better industry on your hands. More people watch movies, TV, even YouTube videos than read books. Isn't that shame enough?
3. Make your product available for the audiences who don't typically think of you. As kids in grade school, book fairs are a regular occurrence. Yet exactly at the age when those same readers are considering what to do with the rest of their lives, books seem to almost completely disappear behind school assignments and expanded social obligations. Bookstores can help with this kind of problem by making their products available to these readers, the ones who might still like to read, but not in the way, or with the books, their teachers are pushing on them. Where now you have those same readers succumbing to the latest juvenile "humor" selection (I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell, Go the Fuck to Sleep, which is for parents-who-shouldn't-be-parents, and therefore possibly exactly the same audience I'm talking about), you could be introducing them to the latest and finest literary treasure, which is quickly vanishing from American culture. Women's reading groups should not be the largest proponent of reading. They will glom onto dreck like The Help (A.K.A. Gone with the Wind 2.0).
4. For the love of god, fill your stores with employees who actually read for their own pleasure. You might have more customers who are willing to do the same.
5. Probably wouldn't hurt, either, for those same employees to be interested in their jobs. Just sayin'.
The Closing of Borders, or Retroactive Rules for Staying Open
So, apart from plain lousy business decisions and a poor economy, here's a few lessons that may be learned from Borders, which I'm still working for, going bankrupt and into liquidation:
1. If you have better customer service, make sure that message is broadcast loud and clear. Borders went out of its way to help customers. It had terminals available for customer use all over the place, associates whose first mission was to help those customers, and a rewards program that really rewarded, coupons and discounts that were always greater than 10%. This is the exact opposite of Barnes & Noble. Yet Borders had a smaller market awareness, and rarely advertised, at least effectively.
2. When there's a huge craze that brings droves of customers into your store, make them repeat customers. Harry Potter, the Millennium Trilogy, The Da Vinci Code, the Twilight Saga...These are the big ones, and yet, the only response every time was to have these books...available. These were rabid fans of unusual stories. You don't rely on publishers finding similar authors who then line homogeneous bookshelves, you build a relationship and awareness of the many other books awaiting those readers. You help them believe that there's plenty more to read. Yes, there are significant crazes, and outside of those many people will stay away from bookstores (or book outlets), but if you can retain a significant fraction of the millions of readers who routinely make themselves obvious, you have a far better industry on your hands. More people watch movies, TV, even YouTube videos than read books. Isn't that shame enough?
3. Make your product available for the audiences who don't typically think of you. As kids in grade school, book fairs are a regular occurrence. Yet exactly at the age when those same readers are considering what to do with the rest of their lives, books seem to almost completely disappear behind school assignments and expanded social obligations. Bookstores can help with this kind of problem by making their products available to these readers, the ones who might still like to read, but not in the way, or with the books, their teachers are pushing on them. Where now you have those same readers succumbing to the latest juvenile "humor" selection (I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell, Go the Fuck to Sleep, which is for parents-who-shouldn't-be-parents, and therefore possibly exactly the same audience I'm talking about), you could be introducing them to the latest and finest literary treasure, which is quickly vanishing from American culture. Women's reading groups should not be the largest proponent of reading. They will glom onto dreck like The Help (A.K.A. Gone with the Wind 2.0).
4. For the love of god, fill your stores with employees who actually read for their own pleasure. You might have more customers who are willing to do the same.
5. Probably wouldn't hurt, either, for those same employees to be interested in their jobs. Just sayin'.
Thursday, July 21, 2011
#293. Reading List: Looking Backward
#293.
Next up on my Reading List:
Looking Backward by Edward Bellamy, an overlooked 19th century gem that covers, as the rest of the title suggests, from 2000 to 1887. Bellamy was a social activist whose particular utopia was nationalist/socialist, who otherwise believed the Gilded Age was a far cry from perfection, and so he went about imagining what a better future would look like. The central figure out the book pulls a Futurama and winds up in Boston of the year 2000. Bellamy's ideals ensue.
The link and cover shot for this book come from Amazon for the first time in a while, since as you might have heard, Borders is going out of business, and so there's very point in attempting any further links to its website, since god knows how much longer it'll be running. As a current employee in one of its Colorado Springs locations, I'm pretty sad to see the company go, but all things must end, good or bad.
I would like to add a few more words about Crime and Punishment, which I might actually think really is better than Brothers Karamazov, which after all became one of my favorite books when I read it five years ago. Raskolnikov offers a distinctly modern perspective in 19th century Russia about the human condition, the concerns and possibilities that trouble and enoble life. He may consider himself a Napoleon, but we would all be better off if we held such lofty ideals, if we all strove to be our most perfect selves. Raskolnikov's biggest flaw is his inability to believe in himself, which is reflected in Dostoyevki's deliberate method of withholding his main character's motives until deep into the novel. What is the reader to think of the character that the character himself doesn't? We learn about him by accident, just as his experiences throughout the story are a series of accidents. There's a lot of Lost in this book. No wonder Ben liked this author so much.
Anyway, I'm not a student, either, so I don't need to write too much analysis, whether arbitrary, cursory, or pointed.
Next up on my Reading List:
Looking Backward by Edward Bellamy, an overlooked 19th century gem that covers, as the rest of the title suggests, from 2000 to 1887. Bellamy was a social activist whose particular utopia was nationalist/socialist, who otherwise believed the Gilded Age was a far cry from perfection, and so he went about imagining what a better future would look like. The central figure out the book pulls a Futurama and winds up in Boston of the year 2000. Bellamy's ideals ensue.
The link and cover shot for this book come from Amazon for the first time in a while, since as you might have heard, Borders is going out of business, and so there's very point in attempting any further links to its website, since god knows how much longer it'll be running. As a current employee in one of its Colorado Springs locations, I'm pretty sad to see the company go, but all things must end, good or bad.
I would like to add a few more words about Crime and Punishment, which I might actually think really is better than Brothers Karamazov, which after all became one of my favorite books when I read it five years ago. Raskolnikov offers a distinctly modern perspective in 19th century Russia about the human condition, the concerns and possibilities that trouble and enoble life. He may consider himself a Napoleon, but we would all be better off if we held such lofty ideals, if we all strove to be our most perfect selves. Raskolnikov's biggest flaw is his inability to believe in himself, which is reflected in Dostoyevki's deliberate method of withholding his main character's motives until deep into the novel. What is the reader to think of the character that the character himself doesn't? We learn about him by accident, just as his experiences throughout the story are a series of accidents. There's a lot of Lost in this book. No wonder Ben liked this author so much.
Anyway, I'm not a student, either, so I don't need to write too much analysis, whether arbitrary, cursory, or pointed.
Friday, July 15, 2011
#292. Hedging on Examiner
#292.
Still reading Crime and Punishment. Believe it or not, but I'm thinking of writing some actual analysis or commentary, which is something I rarely do here. Could be interesting.
I may or may not quit writing movie reviews for Examiner. They do a good job of obscuring the fact that you probably aren't going to actually earn much of anything, unless you're doing stories that aren't exactly what they advertize for in their wanted ads. Still, had a lot of fun writing some extended reviews, though I seemed to have more interest in the Film Fan blog when I wrote extremely condensed takes of movies. Do people really like it better when they have to read less about something? Possibly...
Still reading Crime and Punishment. Believe it or not, but I'm thinking of writing some actual analysis or commentary, which is something I rarely do here. Could be interesting.
I may or may not quit writing movie reviews for Examiner. They do a good job of obscuring the fact that you probably aren't going to actually earn much of anything, unless you're doing stories that aren't exactly what they advertize for in their wanted ads. Still, had a lot of fun writing some extended reviews, though I seemed to have more interest in the Film Fan blog when I wrote extremely condensed takes of movies. Do people really like it better when they have to read less about something? Possibly...
Thursday, June 30, 2011
#291. Finnegan, Ecce Homo
#291.
A couple weeks back, I sent Finnegan off to another publisher. Today, I sent Ecce Homo to its first potential home. I say, wouldn't it be nice if potential writers had a tad more secure network on which to support themselves...?
A couple weeks back, I sent Finnegan off to another publisher. Today, I sent Ecce Homo to its first potential home. I say, wouldn't it be nice if potential writers had a tad more secure network on which to support themselves...?
Friday, June 17, 2011
#290. Before I Go To Sleep
#290.
I don't usually do this, but I want to mention the other book I'm reading, an advanced reader of Before I Go to Sleep by S.J. Watson. I'm always reading something while on break at work, and my selections from the advanced reader pool often seem to be psychological narratives. The Illumination and The Unnamed were other books in this vein, but neither really compare to this one. Ridley Scott has already optioned it as a film, if that means as much to you as it does to me. The only downside is that I suspect it's been helping me feel more depressed than usual, since the main character is stuck in an even more literal rut than I am, memory issues of the kind those who enjoyed Christopher Nolan's Memento or Shutter Island, either the book or the film (both are recommended), might appreciate...
I don't usually do this, but I want to mention the other book I'm reading, an advanced reader of Before I Go to Sleep by S.J. Watson. I'm always reading something while on break at work, and my selections from the advanced reader pool often seem to be psychological narratives. The Illumination and The Unnamed were other books in this vein, but neither really compare to this one. Ridley Scott has already optioned it as a film, if that means as much to you as it does to me. The only downside is that I suspect it's been helping me feel more depressed than usual, since the main character is stuck in an even more literal rut than I am, memory issues of the kind those who enjoyed Christopher Nolan's Memento or Shutter Island, either the book or the film (both are recommended), might appreciate...
Thursday, June 09, 2011
#289. Reading List: Crime and Punishment
#289.
I love the idea of "summer reading." Is that meant to imply that you should be reading something different during these months, or that you should be reading, as if this is the only time you should bother doing so? This next item on the Reading List came up by sheer coincidence, but still serves as a sharp contrast to the expected...
Crime and Punishment by Dostoyevsky, whom I last read (Brothers Karamazov) in 2006, so I've been relishing this moment for five years (yeesh! didn't seem so long until I laid it out plain!). Just goes to show that good things don't have to come all at once, or that, as I have hopefully proven at least to myself in that time, that there are many other equally fine pieces of literature, and writers, available. And so again, I wonder why so many people have such a hard time finding things to read (as I'm sure I've remarked in the past, I work in a bookstore, so I know), or why so damned many English teachers have fucked books so badly. YOU CANNOT TEACH THE CREATIVE ARTS BY ROTE. Okay, so maybe a little of that does work with, say, music or art, but as books go, you simply cannot force them, or your interpretations, down the throats of your students, or they will hate more than relish the experience. Don't you see how that is a bad thing? crime and punishment indeed...
I love the idea of "summer reading." Is that meant to imply that you should be reading something different during these months, or that you should be reading, as if this is the only time you should bother doing so? This next item on the Reading List came up by sheer coincidence, but still serves as a sharp contrast to the expected...
Crime and Punishment by Dostoyevsky, whom I last read (Brothers Karamazov) in 2006, so I've been relishing this moment for five years (yeesh! didn't seem so long until I laid it out plain!). Just goes to show that good things don't have to come all at once, or that, as I have hopefully proven at least to myself in that time, that there are many other equally fine pieces of literature, and writers, available. And so again, I wonder why so many people have such a hard time finding things to read (as I'm sure I've remarked in the past, I work in a bookstore, so I know), or why so damned many English teachers have fucked books so badly. YOU CANNOT TEACH THE CREATIVE ARTS BY ROTE. Okay, so maybe a little of that does work with, say, music or art, but as books go, you simply cannot force them, or your interpretations, down the throats of your students, or they will hate more than relish the experience. Don't you see how that is a bad thing? crime and punishment indeed...
Friday, May 27, 2011
#288. Examiner
#288.
I've been writing movies reviews for Examiner for the past month, which has been interesting. Just thought I'd make a note of that here. It's also been adding to my links list on the right.
I've been writing movies reviews for Examiner for the past month, which has been interesting. Just thought I'd make a note of that here. It's also been adding to my links list on the right.
Thursday, May 26, 2011
#287. Reading List: Fan-Tan
#287.
Currently on the Reading List:
Fan-Tan by Marlon Brando and Donald Cammell. Okay, seriously?!? Yes, a book by Marlon Brando. A work of fiction. Released only a few years ago, Fan-Tan is the product of a long-simmering collaboration between Brando and filmmaker Cammell (both are now deceased), originally intended to be the kind of movie Brando hoped to make, which is plainly evident in the book itself, its character. It's larger than life, just like Brando was, in life and in the pictures. Naturally, as he himself didn't get much of in later years, Fan-Tan didn't get a lot of respect when it was finally released. Call it nonsense, the response, because it really is magic, just like the actor was, just like his acting. I'm not suggesting that he could do no wrong. But this is just another example of his ability to do very, very right. If it stays in print, or in memory, it'll become a classic in its own right. And I can't wait to meet the actor who will finally get it made.
Currently on the Reading List:
Fan-Tan by Marlon Brando and Donald Cammell. Okay, seriously?!? Yes, a book by Marlon Brando. A work of fiction. Released only a few years ago, Fan-Tan is the product of a long-simmering collaboration between Brando and filmmaker Cammell (both are now deceased), originally intended to be the kind of movie Brando hoped to make, which is plainly evident in the book itself, its character. It's larger than life, just like Brando was, in life and in the pictures. Naturally, as he himself didn't get much of in later years, Fan-Tan didn't get a lot of respect when it was finally released. Call it nonsense, the response, because it really is magic, just like the actor was, just like his acting. I'm not suggesting that he could do no wrong. But this is just another example of his ability to do very, very right. If it stays in print, or in memory, it'll become a classic in its own right. And I can't wait to meet the actor who will finally get it made.
#286. Villainy, Yoshimi
#286.
That's the cover for Villainy, the new anthology from Hall Bros. Entertainment. It's being released on June 9th. This is relevant because I've got a short story included, "Last Ride Out of Liberation," a sort of hard-boiled noir, which should be fun to read. And when I say "short" story, I really do mean "short." But still, should be fun.
The other bit of relevance is that HBE and I have just signed a contract for Yoshimi, a book that will be released next summer. It's the story of a girl thrust into the world of maturity, with samurai swords, a tale of vengeance, a mad dash around the world, and a love story, too. But it does not have robots. Yet.
That's the cover for Villainy, the new anthology from Hall Bros. Entertainment. It's being released on June 9th. This is relevant because I've got a short story included, "Last Ride Out of Liberation," a sort of hard-boiled noir, which should be fun to read. And when I say "short" story, I really do mean "short." But still, should be fun.The other bit of relevance is that HBE and I have just signed a contract for Yoshimi, a book that will be released next summer. It's the story of a girl thrust into the world of maturity, with samurai swords, a tale of vengeance, a mad dash around the world, and a love story, too. But it does not have robots. Yet.
Friday, May 13, 2011
#285. Blogger Maintenance
#285.
If Blogger hadn't gone done with the maintenance bug yesterday, I would've had some juicy things for you all to read. But I will now make you wait until next Thursday. But rest assured, I won't disappoint.
Unless you don't like cheese.
If Blogger hadn't gone done with the maintenance bug yesterday, I would've had some juicy things for you all to read. But I will now make you wait until next Thursday. But rest assured, I won't disappoint.
Unless you don't like cheese.
Thursday, May 05, 2011
#284. Reading List: The Book of Samson
#284.
Next on the Navy SEAL-approved Reading List:
The Book of Samson, another book by David Maine, which is really awesome, considering how much I ended up liking Monster, 1959. I had the opportunity to read most of that one on Monday, and so finished another book on the list pretty quickly. Maine has affirmed himself as one of today's most relevant voices, writing in a contemporary, distinctive style, with relevant things to say about yesterday and today, something every writer should take into consideration. I'm only more baffled that he remains mostly undiscovered, and it's probably because his first three books, including Samson, The Preservationist, and Fallen (the link providing you with a sweet example of the used selections available on the Borders website) are all biblical in nature. If the writing this good, this unique, this relevant, then there's no reason to discriminate. If more writers, more people were as cogent of critical thought as Maine, we'd all be better off.
Next on the Navy SEAL-approved Reading List:
The Book of Samson, another book by David Maine, which is really awesome, considering how much I ended up liking Monster, 1959. I had the opportunity to read most of that one on Monday, and so finished another book on the list pretty quickly. Maine has affirmed himself as one of today's most relevant voices, writing in a contemporary, distinctive style, with relevant things to say about yesterday and today, something every writer should take into consideration. I'm only more baffled that he remains mostly undiscovered, and it's probably because his first three books, including Samson, The Preservationist, and Fallen (the link providing you with a sweet example of the used selections available on the Borders website) are all biblical in nature. If the writing this good, this unique, this relevant, then there's no reason to discriminate. If more writers, more people were as cogent of critical thought as Maine, we'd all be better off.
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