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UP didn't have a short in front of it! |
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Out of all the episodes, the only one I have not yet finished due to the reason that it is physically painful to watch is Alien from LA (Episode 516). Many of the episodes and powerfully dull and mentally grinding, but in this one, the main character, played by Kathy Ireland, has this has a horribly, horribly shrill voice. Guh. |
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So, recently I watched Death Note. This is one of those series that is like crack, you pick it up and are completely unable to put it down until you're done.
( ---Spoilers Plz--- ) |
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Okay, in Alabama during the summer, apparently birds chirp at night. This makes it feel like it's morning and screws with my internal clock |
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I find this odd.
When I was a kid, I was very much into D&D despite the fact that I never played it, and I loved fantasy to death, despite the fact that I rarely read it. The first real fantasy book I read was The Mis-Enchanted Sword by Lawrence Watt-Evans, and despite its faults I still consider it to be one of my most favorite books.
In part, I like LWE because he often takes a different approach to theme than most fantasy writers I know. He still has some of the same faults: long, drawn-out conversations about the fantasy elements of the world between the characters. This always bugs me, and while it still bugs me when LWE does it, he (almost) always has a thematic reason for approaching it.
But still, there are flaws. And that's why I rarely touched fantasy and let it stew in my mind, because there were always these things that it would invoke in my mind. I would read the D&D manual and wonder about the possibility of awesome fantasy.
And what's more, this did not extend to any contemporary setting. I could never conceptualize a contemporary setting that could be as thematically powerful as a fantasy setting, because in fantasy, you could always make it so that the whole of existance was precariously balanced in one fashion or another. If the setting is contemporary, you cannot get that feeling, because all you're doing is displacing. The mindspace does not start out in a contained universe, or in an open one, or a good one, or an evil one: it starts right where we are right now (or were right then) and has to move to the world we want first.
But at the same time, I could never get that far into high fantasy, because high fantasy is just the use of certain props in a new contained universe. But I want props like guns, warships, starships. I want nuclear power and automobiles. I want helicopters, submarines. I want other props disproportionately: I want dragons as common as housecats. I want aliens from outer space used as more than just an allegory. I want the entire human race to fall under the heel of a dictator or uplifted by a saint, or even vise versa. I want the entire world to be corroded and renewed.
Contemporary literature starts where we are, finds a smaller space and tries to use that to say something bigger. Fantasy is large. We can't comprehend the whole world, though if we could comprehend large parts of it at once, it would be a masterpiece. Fantasy on the other hand, lets us go and find a world that we may comprehend, that paints a particular portrait and tries to find a rattling emotion like a huge canvas of color.
Too many fantasy authors still want to work small. They paint a large world but still keep to tiny things, little nothings as though they were contemporary literature. I'm not saying that the whole world in a fantasy has to be in danger; I'm saying that if that is the case, I want to feel the color of your world, and how its flame shifts in the wind before you take your fingers and snuff it out--or not.
Too many fantasy authors think that it's the props that are important. I can tell you, you can use one prop or another and it will draw its audience for sure. And I'm even talking about props like scientific accuracy. I say, for a well-done fantasy, you never need to limit your props. You can have a world of consistent color and still create something surprising, but you don't have to use the same colors that Tolkien did.
What I'm saying is that Fantasy doesn't have to be limited to the pseudomedival. In fact, it probably shouldn't. And it shouldn't be limited to being located somewhere in the past, present, or future compared to our place right now. It's not about time, it's about the space.
I want to see a fantasy that shows me strange and new colors, be it Fantasy proper, Sci-fi, or Horror. I don't read them very often because I likely have too high of an expectation in this sense. But shouldn't you know? This is storytelling. It's often not about what you say--though that is very important--but how you say it. |
| » Genre and The Problem With Quality |
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You know, it really is no wonder why old bad sci-fi gave it a bad name. But it tends to be like that with a lot of genre stuff, and it's why genres in general have a bad name among 'mainstream' lit: the stuff sells often more because it adheres to the genre ideal than if it has good story quality to it.
For instance, in the old B-Movie The Brain That Wouldn't Die (Thanks, MST3K!), it desperately tries to play its story as a tragedy, since a lot of old 50s sci-fi flicks had an Aesop that was basically 'Science Makes People Evil'. However, in order to actually start the premise going, there's a nearly insurmountable coincidence that would not work in any other Genre:
- The lead character is a surgeon that has been developing a radical method of preserving human bodies, and
- He and his girlfriend get into a car wreck which just happens to leave him uninjured and slices off his girlfriend's head cleanly.
And as if this wasn't already dumb enough, then the movie goes and tries to convince you that if you preserve a head by itself, the person will turn evil. Also psychic. This is known as a Space Whale Aesop, where the moral delivered has absolutely no bearing on us today.
The problem is, with almost every 50s sci-fi flick, this is supposed to coincide with the Science Is Evil moral. And almost every sci-fi that doesn't try to frame possible futures or technologies in an honest sociological perspective will end up doing this, even the good ones. How are they attempting to warn us of the dangers of rampant Science for its own sake? By making up a problem that will result! See, if we can make up the technology, surely we can make up its resultant effects as well!
This is lazy writing, but nevertheless, it will still appeal to about 80% of the sci-fi audience.
You can also have lazy sci-fi on the opposite end, Science is Good. But when that happens, it's even more formulaic: You have the Honest Scientist who is trying to convince everyone that This Thing That Is Happening is bad and they need to use Science to prepare themselves, but nobody listens until it's too late, and then Science has to save them. Tell me how many times you've heard that one.
So when people are told a lot of Sci-Fi is crap, they quote Sturgeon's Law, "Ninety percent of everything is crap" and fail to admit that the same 80% of a genre fanbase will read most of that crap anyway, simply because it's genre.
Why does this not apply to non-genre folk? Because that 80% of non-genre folk are not avid readers. The amount of all genre fiction out there I would submit still outweighs 'mainstream' fiction by at least a magnitude (correct me if I am wrong in this assumption) and if they do read, they'll often read what everyone else is reading: that is, the minority of mainstream readers who bumped up a few books to the Bestseller list. In fact, most of these people would rather see a movie. But 90% of movies are highly formulaic, if not genre.
The thing is, the originality of a plot has very little to do with if a book or movie will sell. There's a number of factors the upper 20% want to contribute to a poorly done book or movie, such as badly done research, obvious cash-in on a recently release franchise, and bad writing.
Actually, the only thing that will kill a book or movie is bad writing. Good writing can save even poor directing, which tends to lead to a Cult Classic. Good writing will cover a multitude of sins, even terrible research. It will not matter if your movie is a derivative if it is plotted well and told well. And you may as well ignore even gaping plot holes if the writing is just that good.
What does it mean to tell a story well, though? That's the problem: nobody knows, and it depends on your objective. If your objective is to sell, well . . . you can do that to a genre audience without even trying that hard, because the genre audience will overlook bad writing as long as you appeal to their genre. This is why the formula persists in Hollywood as well. They might not have the formula right, but often as long as they are close enough, the audience will forgive poor storytelling.
May. 22nd, 2009 @ 01:35 pm
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| » Stolen from Yoshikimos |
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From like a year ago, but I thought it looked interesting anyway
Where did you grow up: Leavenworth, KS; Diamond, MO; Weston, MO; Florissant, MO; Burlington, NC
WHAT DO YOU CALL:
1. A body of water, smaller than a river, contained within relatively narrow banks? Creek (not pronounced Crick despite growing up in rural Missouri)
2. The thing you push around the grocery store? Cart (My younger brothers sometimes say basket for who knows what reason)
3. A metal container to carry a meal in? Lunchbox (Never had a metal one)
4. The thing that you cook bacon and eggs in? Frying pan (The large cast-iron one is the skillet, but I generally don't cook sticky foods in it)
5. The piece of furniture that seats three people? Couch
6. The device on the outside of the house that carries rain off the roof? Gutter
7. The covered area outside a house where people sit in the evening? Porch (It was called a deck when I was really young but I never got into the habit)
8. Carbonated, sweetened, non-alcoholic beverages? Soda
9. A flat, round breakfast food served with syrup? Pancake
10. A long sandwich designed to be a whole meal in itself? Sub
11. The piece of clothing worn by men at the beach? Trunks
12. Shoes worn for sports? Tennis shoes (Even the ones worn for other sports, unless they're REALLY expensive(!?))
13. Putting a room in order? Cleaning
14. A flying insect that glows in the dark? Lightning Bug
15. The little insect that curls up into a ball? Rolly-Poley (Or however you spell it)
16. The children's playground equipment where one kid sits on one side and goes up while the other sits on the other side and goes down? See-saw
17. How do you eat your pizza? By hand unless it's too soggy or hot to pick up
18. What's it called when private citizens put up signs and sell their used stuff? Garage sale (though I might say Yard Sale, but only if it's actually in the yard)
19. What's the evening meal? Dinner
20. The thing under a house where the furnace and perhaps a rec room are? Basement
21. What do you call the thing that you can get water out of to drink in public places? Water fountain
Apr. 9th, 2009 @ 10:17 am
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| » This is awesome |
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Comments section here: http://dailycartoonist.com/index.php/2009/03/31/aaec-convention-plans-shaping-up/
Gabe, Kurtz, Kellet and others defend the webcomics business model. It is so awesome
Apr. 3rd, 2009 @ 10:48 am
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| » Happy National Jet Lag Day |
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I'm going to call it that from now on. The Spring one anyway, at least the one in the fall gives an hour.
Mar. 8th, 2009 @ 10:37 pm
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| » FC report soon |
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I am home from FC. Technically, I am at school, but in any case, I am no longer in San Jose.
Meanwhile, question of the day: Why are blue jeans so awesome?
Jan. 27th, 2009 @ 02:36 pm
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| » Stupid Thoughts |
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Okay, when it says 'Ground Bison' on the package, the standard English method of divorcing the meat from the animal is shot, and I imagine some giant taking a handful of bison and grinding them under a pestle.
Jan. 16th, 2009 @ 11:59 am
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| » I got it |
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I finally figured out why literary novels are dissected in English class rather than popular novels.
The thing is, literary novels often have a lot of navel-gazing in them, and advanced English classes are dressed up philosophy classes.
Jan. 15th, 2009 @ 04:34 pm
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| » Late Christmas |
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Ordered my present for one of my brothers on Dec. 8.
It's STILL not here. Amazon sent me an e-mail to remind me it's still in their system.
Jan. 15th, 2009 @ 04:12 pm
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| » Halleluja |
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I overslept this morning. About an hour, which was enough time to only catch the last three minutes of my first class. But then I got there, and it turned out class had been canceled for today.
Jan. 14th, 2009 @ 10:54 am
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| » YES |
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My English 206 teacher is a regular geek.
Not just an English geek. She has played Twilight Princess and went squee over it in the middle of a lecture.
Jan. 9th, 2009 @ 09:22 am
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| » Forget skydiving |
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http://vimeo.com/1778399
Wingsuiting is the only extreme sport I would ever want to try
Jan. 3rd, 2009 @ 06:17 pm
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| » For those people who assume that I'm a southerner |
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| What American accent do you have? Your Result: The Midland "You have a Midland accent" is just another way of saying "you don't have an accent." You probably are from the Midland (Pennsylvania, southern Ohio, southern Indiana, southern Illinois, and Missouri) but then for all we know you could be from Florida or Charleston or one of those big southern cities like Atlanta or Dallas. You have a good voice for TV and radio. | | The West | | | The South | | | Boston | | | North Central | | | The Inland North | | | Philadelphia | | | The Northeast | | What American accent do you have?
Quiz Created on GoToQuiz |
Nov. 28th, 2008 @ 12:21 pm
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| » BUT WAIT! |
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History is being made!
The NATIONAL COLLECTOR'S MINT has released this "government" AUTHORIZED "legal tender" GOLD leaf "SILVER DOLLAR" commemorative of the horrific tragedy of the September 11 attacks. It's FULLY "LEGAL" TENDER and payable just like a regular FIVE DOLLAR COIN of the realm.
Except THIS coin is SO TOTALLY AWESOME you just might wet your PANTS. LOOK at how much more AWESOME it exudes compared to this crusty old Susan B. Anthony which I guess is technically legal tender currently in circulation! That's the .999 PURE GOLD leaf making you cry tears of joy!
This coin displays on its face the PLANES that struck the WORLD TRADE CENTER, etched in such MARVELOUS DETAIL that you can SEE the victims of that HORRIFIC TRAGEDY calling their loved ones on their cell phones as GODLESS TERRORISTS take control of the plane inside the cockpit, with their REAL FACES depicted in the small circular inset!
But this commemorative will NEVER be released for circulation! It's only available through this SPECIAL PRIVATE OFFER to GOD-FEARING AMERICAN CITIZENS for FACE VALUE!
On the TAIL of this coin is the BEAUTIFUL DEPICTION of the TWIN TOWERS set against the BRIGHT GOLDEN SKY and the TOWERS are ALSO GOLD like we said. Underneath this is our promise to NEVER FORGET in BOLD HELVETICA, and a little SWITCH, and when ROTATED it turns the towers into a GIANT ROBOT from an ALTERNATE UNIVERSE sent back in time to fight off TERRORISM, in a STUNNING TRIBUTE to all who were lost on that tragic day.
Each COMMEMORATIVE GOLD-leaf "SILVER DOLLAR" FIVE DOLLAR COIN comes with a Certificate of Authenticity, affirming that it is in fact ACTUAL REAL currency from "the government" and that it is struck in PURE GOLD-leaf just like we said. Each is INDIVIDUALLY NUMBERED, earliest orders get NEGATIVE NUMBERS.
There is a STRICT LIMIT of 22 per caller. "Satisfaction" "guaranteed"! Don't miss out on this HISTORIC offer!
BUT WAIT! The NATIONAL COLLECTOR'S MINT is having a WE'RE NOT BEING RAIDED BY FEDERAL AGENTS SALE, and needs to liquidate its back stock of other commemorative coins! Call now to get FACE VALUE of the IRAQ WAR Collector's coin, struck in pure STAINLESS STEEL, like our troops! Printed in MARVELOUS DETAIL is our BRAVE SOLDIERS being SHOT IN THE FACE by SNIPERS in order that you might spend ALL YOUR DAYS WEEPING over how precious your freedom is! On the OTHER SIDE our commander-in-chief GEORGE W. BUSH on the aircraft carrier under the banner of MISSION ACCOMPLISHED which was RADICAL COOL when we saw it on TV I mean like WOW. CALL NOW!
Call 1-800-BIG-SCAM, that's 1-800-BIG-SCAM, there's a strict limit of 39 per caller, so call now at 1-800-BIG-SCAM
Nov. 10th, 2008 @ 10:14 pm
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| » Writing |
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You like, seriously have no idea how important or habit-altering writing every day is until you do it. I'm seriously starting to remember how it was like when I wrote fanfiction back in 1999 without caring so much as what was on the page than if I was weaving a plot.
Nov. 8th, 2008 @ 11:51 am
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