This novella is pretty neat. Ever want to be there when the big moment went down historically? I mean, do you think the Turks knew the significance of the cannon when they used it on Constantinople? I'm pretty sure they did. The English certainly knew that the Longbow was a game changer at Agincourt. Hell, we've experienced a few world changing moments in my life time...9/11...the fall of the Berlin Wall...the Space Shuttle Colombia.
But I think the Berlin Wall falling was a big one. The biggest. It isn't because it was the one of these big events that stay with me the most emotionally, though I did feel glad it happened; but because it changed everything. There are some things you can only go so far with in imagination...and growing up under the Bomb, even in the 80's...it was always there in the back of your mind. I mean, God knows they're still around, but not like the cold war. A crazy with a suitcase isn't the same as knowing two guys in bunkers on opposite sides of the world have their thumb on the button waiting to kill each other....and everyone else.
I view Urban Fantasy worlds the same way. We love Urban Fantasy because it turns our own beliefs into a fictional reality. All but the most banal of us at some time or another wonder if there really are unknowable things out there in the shadows; Vampires, Werewolves and Witches are just the easiest. Now, personally, while I am open minded about the supernatural; I'm very very very confident there aren't these critters out there; not like we portray them anyway.
Its one reason I also like Kim Harrison's Hallows books that just throws the whole idea out the window...like...40 years in the past. Its a whole alternate timeline. There is no wondering, "Well why didn't they catch that with a cell phone?" Or "Why didn't that show up on the internet?" At some point, stuff starts to get in the way, and the little logical questions your mind starts asking make things too much for the imagination to overcome with comfortable ease of passage.
The neat thing about Fiona Skye's story is that you get to be there, as it happens. So, first let me say that she hits the 'action/mayhem' style of the spectrum and does so right from the start. Her fight scenes are well choreographed and her writing style is clear, vivid and full of evocative imagery. There are lots of authors that do that, but the thing I like about her protagonist is that she isn't the strongest or the smartest or the fastest...but she is there for her friends. In fact, when it comes to fighting she mostly sucks, but still manages to do well.
The thing that sets this story apart from other Urban Fantasy that I've read though is that...I believe it. "The Moment" that is. You see I've been around enough places that fall apart, when all things go to hell in a hand basket. Her protagonist, on deciding to reveal herself, only does a tiny bit of soul searching but in the end does a "What the hell, why not" moment. The great conspiracy is really just a culture of privacy that surrounds vampires, so it isn't formally enforced by some great hidden council or anything...and honestly? I find that more believable. People are chaotic, disorganized and the like. An impromptu press conference, a mess that has finally gotten to big to clean up thanks to some idiots...and they finally say, "You know what? Let's just spill."
And it works beautifully. It captures the moment, more importantly, it captures the moment well enough that you actually want to go, "So...now what?"
Wednesday, October 23, 2013
Sunday, August 4, 2013
[Toast] Kelly's Toast at our wedding
Text of the toast: "For those of you familiar with the weird, wacky and often downright silly history that Julia and I share you might have been expecting a toast that was just that.
Julia can breathe a sigh of relief now however as I haven't brought a sock puppet with me, our "album" that we recorded back in our college dorm is at a safe distance back in North Carolina, and I promise to NOT serenade you with what would admittedly be a rousing rendition of "Smoke on the Water."
Julia and I have been friends for 13 years now. (I find this particularly unbelievable as neither Julia nor I have aged a day since then!)
Though we were both technically adults when we first met it is definitely safe to say that we've done a lot of growing up together. Through the lessons that we've learned together we've gone from roommates, to best friends, to sisters.
I am truly beyond fortunate to be able to call one in possession of such a beautiful heart and strong spirit, friend. I'm not telling Tom anything he doesn't already know.
I am excited to watch as you two now continue to grow together. You both have a glow from the inside out and may that glow continue to grow as your life together goes forward. You've both found hearts that are rare in their beauty and capacity to love. It couldn't have happened to a better couple.
Congratulations! I love you, best friend.
Congratulations! I love you, best friend.
Heartfelt. Real. Truthful. I give it a 9.5 out of 10, with the only remission I would have added being a forced rendition of "Smoke on the Water" while forcing Julia to sing along. I am moderately sure she disagrees with me. :D
Wednesday, June 12, 2013
[Book] The Hydrogen Sonata by Ian Banks
This is the last of the Culture books by Ian Banks. The Culture is a rarity in sci fi these days, a utopian future in which the good guys are not only powerful, but they kick ass as well. The thumbnail version of what they are is anarchistic but also highly liberal, but governed by super ethical AI's infinitely more intelligent than humans. Indeed, many criticize the Culture because they consider humans as little more than Pets. If by 'pet's' you mean that biological and technological intelligences are both granted equal rights, and in a post scarcity society participation is governed by willingness but also ability, then I guess that makes biologicals 'pets'.
Except that in each of the Culture books, Banks manages to give the biological protagonist significant meaning. It answers the question of what might happen when we truly do have AI's in the best of all possible worlds, but does so in a realistic format. The AI's and the humans are believable, as are the villains. Indeed, one of the things that sets Bank's works apart from...for example, militaristic technophile Sci Fi (which is a genre I still like) the bad guys are not parodies but extremely complex characters. Granted, they're not usually "magneto" level anti-heroes but they have a certain depth to them.
I also greatly like the Ship Minds, the essentially rulers of the Culture, who spit in the eye of the Prime Directive and definitely meddle in the affairs of other species in a benevolent way, while doing so with both ethics and in a manner to allow them to evolve as meaningfully disparate. These ships have names that are snarky jokes but their personalities also show compassion and intelligence far beyond that of all but a relatively small slice of humanity. They're also really broadly speaking just 'cool' and Banks does what I might call a literary 'superman' by carving out a meaningful story despite a society that has technology more advanced than almost any sci fi setting I've read short of 'godlike' as in 'so advanced we don't even bother to explain it.'
The Hydrogen Sonata is about a culture that was nearly part of The Culture, but instead of joining the Culture is now choosing to exit the galactic scene by a dimensional retirement method known as 'Subliming.' The Gzilt (the race in question) are unique in that their 'bible' is actually 100% compatible with science from their stone age through hyperspace bypasses. However, a month before they are going to Sublime, the race that made their Book of Truth, is about to reveal that there are one or two things in it that were lies...and the leader of the Gzilt doesn't want this to get out. So they disintegrate the messenger. The Culture decides that they want the truth protected at the least, and so the story involves a series of murders, chases and intrigues as the lost secrets are sought out across an interstellar stage.
I like these books and I liked this book in particular. Bank's death is tragic on its own but doubly tragic in that there will be no more of these books, which are an excellent mirror of a future that 'might be' without resulting to an unrealistic 'polyanna' feeling that sometimes occurs in other tech heavy utopian futures. Banks had an excellent writing style and his characters, both bio and techno are very interesting.
In short, I highly recommend reading this book. The nice thing about the Culture books is that, like Terry Pratechet, one can read any of them independently without any particular order. Get it as you can.
Except that in each of the Culture books, Banks manages to give the biological protagonist significant meaning. It answers the question of what might happen when we truly do have AI's in the best of all possible worlds, but does so in a realistic format. The AI's and the humans are believable, as are the villains. Indeed, one of the things that sets Bank's works apart from...for example, militaristic technophile Sci Fi (which is a genre I still like) the bad guys are not parodies but extremely complex characters. Granted, they're not usually "magneto" level anti-heroes but they have a certain depth to them.
I also greatly like the Ship Minds, the essentially rulers of the Culture, who spit in the eye of the Prime Directive and definitely meddle in the affairs of other species in a benevolent way, while doing so with both ethics and in a manner to allow them to evolve as meaningfully disparate. These ships have names that are snarky jokes but their personalities also show compassion and intelligence far beyond that of all but a relatively small slice of humanity. They're also really broadly speaking just 'cool' and Banks does what I might call a literary 'superman' by carving out a meaningful story despite a society that has technology more advanced than almost any sci fi setting I've read short of 'godlike' as in 'so advanced we don't even bother to explain it.'
The Hydrogen Sonata is about a culture that was nearly part of The Culture, but instead of joining the Culture is now choosing to exit the galactic scene by a dimensional retirement method known as 'Subliming.' The Gzilt (the race in question) are unique in that their 'bible' is actually 100% compatible with science from their stone age through hyperspace bypasses. However, a month before they are going to Sublime, the race that made their Book of Truth, is about to reveal that there are one or two things in it that were lies...and the leader of the Gzilt doesn't want this to get out. So they disintegrate the messenger. The Culture decides that they want the truth protected at the least, and so the story involves a series of murders, chases and intrigues as the lost secrets are sought out across an interstellar stage.
I like these books and I liked this book in particular. Bank's death is tragic on its own but doubly tragic in that there will be no more of these books, which are an excellent mirror of a future that 'might be' without resulting to an unrealistic 'polyanna' feeling that sometimes occurs in other tech heavy utopian futures. Banks had an excellent writing style and his characters, both bio and techno are very interesting.
In short, I highly recommend reading this book. The nice thing about the Culture books is that, like Terry Pratechet, one can read any of them independently without any particular order. Get it as you can.
Friday, April 5, 2013
[Play] See Through at Push Push Theater
Push Push likes to explore the outer boundaries of art, and they have certainly done so with "See Through." See Through starts with the conventional but rapidly explores experience in an interactive art exhibit that tells a story displaced in time. A series of family dynamics is presented but you can explore as much or as little as you like. They have done interdisciplinary media before but this incorporates all of it into the performance itself. You start with music, and then go to visual and performance art and then end up with an interactive characterization.
It tells a story, but what makes it particularly fascinating is that it is an interactive story. It isn't improve either; using a mix of pre scripted happenings with input from the audience. What I find particularly interesting is that, while I do not know, I suspect that the results from the audience participation affect future performances. There are numerous instances where they visual art asks questions and demands your particupation.
The performances are all quite interesting. The lead, Jenny Rose, does a spectacular job staying in character and acting as a young child. This can be deceptively hard to do, since children are far more aware of their world than we give them credit for. This limited but deep scope helps us understand the serious consequences of lying and leaving to chance that which should be explained plainly.
Food and beverages are provided. The door price is very reasonable and there are even a few puzzles (even if, to be honest, I never exactly found them.) In short, I recommend seeing this while you can. There are two performances left, one tonight and another tomorrow night.
It tells a story, but what makes it particularly fascinating is that it is an interactive story. It isn't improve either; using a mix of pre scripted happenings with input from the audience. What I find particularly interesting is that, while I do not know, I suspect that the results from the audience participation affect future performances. There are numerous instances where they visual art asks questions and demands your particupation.
The performances are all quite interesting. The lead, Jenny Rose, does a spectacular job staying in character and acting as a young child. This can be deceptively hard to do, since children are far more aware of their world than we give them credit for. This limited but deep scope helps us understand the serious consequences of lying and leaving to chance that which should be explained plainly.
Food and beverages are provided. The door price is very reasonable and there are even a few puzzles (even if, to be honest, I never exactly found them.) In short, I recommend seeing this while you can. There are two performances left, one tonight and another tomorrow night.
Monday, October 29, 2012
[Movie] Review of The Woman in Black
It is nice to see Daniel Radcliff in a post Harry Potter scenario, and he confirms his acting chops quite well in this thriller. The thing I liked the most about this was the complete lack of 21rst century gore that still managed to be extremely frightening. There are cgi and special effects but they are kept to a minimum and used very sparingly to maximum effect. Note, this movie does not come across as a budget production that is trying to save money by not showing things, but rather, an understanding per the old school of filmography that less is more and what you imagine to scare you is infinitely worse than the hockey masked psycho with a chainsaw cutting people up in three d-smell o vision so visceral that you might feel like you are there. Technology may progress to a point where you can literally FEEL everything that the victims of a horror movie experience, but movies like "the Woman in Black" will still be great works of art because of what they DON'T show you, long after the most current techno thriller numbs your senses and desensitizes you even more to the violence.
The plot is quite good and slowly dolls out its secrets in a manner sufficient to keep the audience engaged with enough dialog to keep the intelligent interested and enough action or suspense to keep the adrenaline junkie interested as well. The opening sequence is enough to attract your interest right away, and also sets the stakes for what is to come. Normally, I wouldn't hesitate to tell you about the first thirty seconds of the movie (spoilers are for endings and at best middles) but in this case in case you haven't seen the trailer I want to keep it a surprise. Speaking of endings, the twist at the end is... surprising even if the events that lead up to it are not. The supporting cast is also equally fantastic.
The thing I really liked about the whole thing was the consistency of the world and/or plot. They stayed within the regular tropes of the supernatural whilst at the same time adding some of their own unique elements. The characters you don't always care about or think about (specifically, our supernatural friends) are actually consistent in their behavior and do what you might expect them to do given the rules that the movie sets up (as compared to, Demon X who merely shows up and kills people because it might make a scary moment in the movie.)
In short, I highly recommend this movie.
Monday, October 22, 2012
[Book] The Pale Blue Eye by Loius Bayard
This was a masterful work. I enjoyed it a great deal. Moreover, I substituted it for infinite jest to meet one of my yearly goals. I won't get into Infinite Jest until I actually review it, but in the meantime, I did enjoy the Pale Blue Eye.
The basic premise of the book is that the detective is called to West Point to investigate a series of grisly murders of cadets. He proceeds to do so but in a rather interesting turn of events becomes allied to a young Edgar Allen Poe, who proceeds to help him with his typical dramatic flair. What is even more interesting is the fact that not only does Poe come to life, but this fictional detective manages to hold his own.
There are a number of false fits and starts, red herrings galore. But the story is just as much a study in character, particularly into Mr. Poe, than anything else and in this it greatly shines. You feel while reading it that you are immersed in the setting, which has just the right mix of detail and plotage to keep things interesting.
Then, just when you think things have been neatly wrapped up in a tidy bow, in a typical trope of the genre, the author reaches out from the pages of the book and smacks you in the face with a herring until you taste fish for a week afterwards, but you LIKE it, evne if you hate fish. The thing I liked the most about this book was that it used tropes, mechanisms, archetypes and characters typical to poe and the time period, whilst at the same time humoring modern and post modern sensibilities and using the old addages with an entirely fresh take.
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Review: The Tudors - Season 1
I had never seen this, but I'm glad now that I have. The basic premise of the story is a dramatic biography of Henry the VIII. There is some fictional license taken with history, but for the most part it stays faithful to the real thing. You can see why Henry did some of the things he did. By and large, the best thing of the show is that it portrays all of the characters as complex and three dimensional. A few are cartoons, like Bolin Sr. and Henry's one and only real challenger to the throne, but there are reasons for that. Specifically both are mechanisms for advancing the plot and showing in part why Henry is able to get away with some of the things he does later.
Ann Bolin is easily the most interesting and complicated character in the story. She starts out the sister of one of the ladies and waiting and the daughter of the ambassador of France and goes from there. She plays Henry like a fiddle, and does so in a way that has disastrous and yet fortuitous consequences for England and to a lesser degree all of Europe.
That's the thing I like the most about the show; its ability to integrate these complex characters and historical forces and make them come to life before our eyes rather than sit as well written passages in dusty historical tomes. With the Tudors we see the emotions and motivations of the characters, how they conflict and thus what causes them to act the way they do, especially understanding the larger and more important historical conflicts that take place after Henry's death.
I recommend it.
Ann Bolin is easily the most interesting and complicated character in the story. She starts out the sister of one of the ladies and waiting and the daughter of the ambassador of France and goes from there. She plays Henry like a fiddle, and does so in a way that has disastrous and yet fortuitous consequences for England and to a lesser degree all of Europe.
That's the thing I like the most about the show; its ability to integrate these complex characters and historical forces and make them come to life before our eyes rather than sit as well written passages in dusty historical tomes. With the Tudors we see the emotions and motivations of the characters, how they conflict and thus what causes them to act the way they do, especially understanding the larger and more important historical conflicts that take place after Henry's death.
I recommend it.
Review: The Avengers
Joss Whedon is a master story teller. He seamlessly stitches four power threads together in the form of Thor, Iron Man, Captain America and the Hulk, capturing the spirit of their independent movies and retaining it in this ensemble film while greatly expanding the characters of Nick Fury, Hawkeye and the Black Widow. Keeping all of these things juggled while also handling a powerful and scene stealing villain like Loki, giving an action packed fast paced storyline which allows all the heroes to shine and have a reason to be there is utterly fantastic.
This is one of those movies that I can enjoy watching again and again. It also handles the transformation from a world with superheroes before to a world with superheroes after, including the reaction of the political establishment. The avengers protected and then literally shook the world and the great powers sat up and took notice. Joss Whedon maintains some of his themes, but broadly speaking makes the whole thing work.
It is fun. It is well written, visually stunning and well worth your valuable time.
This is one of those movies that I can enjoy watching again and again. It also handles the transformation from a world with superheroes before to a world with superheroes after, including the reaction of the political establishment. The avengers protected and then literally shook the world and the great powers sat up and took notice. Joss Whedon maintains some of his themes, but broadly speaking makes the whole thing work.
It is fun. It is well written, visually stunning and well worth your valuable time.
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
[Book] The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
Whimsical. Fantastic. Amazing. A fairy tale of broad depth and scope, bottling the wonder of the old world turning into the new at the turn of the 20th century. It represents a conflict between big ideas and the small players that are affected by them; a true nature vs nurture concept while at the same time showing good vs evil.
Two magicians get two pawns as apprentices that they set against each other. This is an old contest between them, but this venue is new, and the most public it has ever been. The fly in the ointment, however, comes when the two fall in love with each other. This is very well handled by Morgenstern who charts the course of their romance in a way that takes place over years rather than days or months as someone involved with a romantic work such as this might be tempted to do.
She also works the perfect line of giving rules and guidelines for her magic while at the same time keeping the magic actually magical. There is no 'tapping an alternate plane of existence for energy' or any of that kind of postmodernism...its just MAGIC and it just is. Sure it is described as 'a different way of doing things' but that still might as well be MAGIC. And, so the legend goes, the more people who know it, the less powerful it is.
In a book such as this, the delightful thing is that you don't know if it will end well for our heroes, or badly. It is a fairy tale but more of the Terry Gilliam or Charles De Lint variety; old school. The characters are all very well rounded, and eventually become more and more aware that they are pawns to pawns in a game over which they have very little control.
Her greatest achievement for the book, however, is that it makes even the most well traveled or cynical of us want to visit the Night Circus. It is the kind of book that screams for a movie so that we can see with our actual eyes what our mind's eye has painted for us, and it will never quite live up to the expectations. The prose is magnificent, as is the pacing and the plot.
I highly recommend reading it.
Two magicians get two pawns as apprentices that they set against each other. This is an old contest between them, but this venue is new, and the most public it has ever been. The fly in the ointment, however, comes when the two fall in love with each other. This is very well handled by Morgenstern who charts the course of their romance in a way that takes place over years rather than days or months as someone involved with a romantic work such as this might be tempted to do.
She also works the perfect line of giving rules and guidelines for her magic while at the same time keeping the magic actually magical. There is no 'tapping an alternate plane of existence for energy' or any of that kind of postmodernism...its just MAGIC and it just is. Sure it is described as 'a different way of doing things' but that still might as well be MAGIC. And, so the legend goes, the more people who know it, the less powerful it is.
In a book such as this, the delightful thing is that you don't know if it will end well for our heroes, or badly. It is a fairy tale but more of the Terry Gilliam or Charles De Lint variety; old school. The characters are all very well rounded, and eventually become more and more aware that they are pawns to pawns in a game over which they have very little control.
Her greatest achievement for the book, however, is that it makes even the most well traveled or cynical of us want to visit the Night Circus. It is the kind of book that screams for a movie so that we can see with our actual eyes what our mind's eye has painted for us, and it will never quite live up to the expectations. The prose is magnificent, as is the pacing and the plot.
I highly recommend reading it.
[Book Review] A Perfect Blood by Kim Harrison
On the back cover of the book one of the authors supporting it describes it as a combination of Tank Girl meets...I don't even remember. Something involving Urban Fantasy. But essentially, its true. My favorite series of all time, The Dresden Files, has in Harry Dresden a protagonist who describes himself as "more force than finesse" which has nothing on Rachel Morgan.
Rachel is about a subtle as a bag of hammers. Note, she isn't stupid. She's just very very very 'let's go kill this thing right now until its dead.' And her subtler strategies typically involve finding the sneakiest way to go and find the thing to kill it. I'm not saying she's bloodthirsty either, but I am DEFINITELY saying that Combat sans diplomacy is her preferred modus operandi and quite frankly she's pretty good at it. Otherwise she'd be dead.
[Spoilers]
This is the tenth book in the series. Rather than explain the whole series to those who might not have read it, you can learn about it here. I will say that obviously I like the series, otherwise I wouldn't have read the 10th book in it, now would I?
As far as a Perfect Blood itself is concerned, its a good book. Very often by the time a series gets this far, it starts to show its age, formula fatigue as I like to call it. Even the Dresden Files did a little of this before major shake ups. I will say that while the core dynamic between Ivy, Jenks and Rachel is (more or less) kept the same, as is the love/hate thing with Trent, the rest of it is extremely dynamic and Harrison uses very few to none of the Dues Ex Machinas that might tempt one to use in a world filled with magic. She sets her rules, and she sticks by them.
More over, since the fantastic (ie Inderlanders) are 'out' in this world it is far more believable than it otherwise would be, and you see real consequences for both the world and the characters themselves, and this book is no exception. Now that the whole world knows that she is a demon, they want to know what she can do. The dynamic tension between the mortal and supramortal law enforcement agencies is well played out, and she has just started to hint at the true politics of things, as well as the inevitable but natural government response of a super secret 'meta agency' that probably combines the elements of both (which, in my opinion would probably be necessary to make a world filled with as many nasty things as The Hollows work).
The humans are the bad guys in this one. The biggest complaint I've had about the series for a while is that, as a mechanism for highlighting the awesomeness of the Inderlanders, the humans have, for the most part, been cartoon characters until by the 4th or 5th book we entered our token black and human character, Glenn, who has slowly learned to accept the Inderlanders.
That changes in this book, and while most of the humans are still scum, there are definite exceptions to the rule. Granted, the better of them ends up becoming a demon by default but still. So while the humans are STILL mostly cartoon characters, there are hints and shadows of humans with much more depth (ie the Men in Black) and a rather nifty new villain. IE now that Rachel is getting 'along' with Al and Trent, a new villain is needed and HAPA fits the bill nicely. HAPA is a human hate organization that has infiltrated lots of human society and wants to harness demons to frak everything else. If you notice the inconsistency in this plan, so does Harrison, and-let's be honest, internal consistency in belief systems is not exactly something commonly found in the real world either.
In short, I like it. It has its flaws, but I don't care about those flaws and the general awesomeness shines through. Read it. After you read the other 9.
Rachel is about a subtle as a bag of hammers. Note, she isn't stupid. She's just very very very 'let's go kill this thing right now until its dead.' And her subtler strategies typically involve finding the sneakiest way to go and find the thing to kill it. I'm not saying she's bloodthirsty either, but I am DEFINITELY saying that Combat sans diplomacy is her preferred modus operandi and quite frankly she's pretty good at it. Otherwise she'd be dead.
[Spoilers]
This is the tenth book in the series. Rather than explain the whole series to those who might not have read it, you can learn about it here. I will say that obviously I like the series, otherwise I wouldn't have read the 10th book in it, now would I?
As far as a Perfect Blood itself is concerned, its a good book. Very often by the time a series gets this far, it starts to show its age, formula fatigue as I like to call it. Even the Dresden Files did a little of this before major shake ups. I will say that while the core dynamic between Ivy, Jenks and Rachel is (more or less) kept the same, as is the love/hate thing with Trent, the rest of it is extremely dynamic and Harrison uses very few to none of the Dues Ex Machinas that might tempt one to use in a world filled with magic. She sets her rules, and she sticks by them.
More over, since the fantastic (ie Inderlanders) are 'out' in this world it is far more believable than it otherwise would be, and you see real consequences for both the world and the characters themselves, and this book is no exception. Now that the whole world knows that she is a demon, they want to know what she can do. The dynamic tension between the mortal and supramortal law enforcement agencies is well played out, and she has just started to hint at the true politics of things, as well as the inevitable but natural government response of a super secret 'meta agency' that probably combines the elements of both (which, in my opinion would probably be necessary to make a world filled with as many nasty things as The Hollows work).
The humans are the bad guys in this one. The biggest complaint I've had about the series for a while is that, as a mechanism for highlighting the awesomeness of the Inderlanders, the humans have, for the most part, been cartoon characters until by the 4th or 5th book we entered our token black and human character, Glenn, who has slowly learned to accept the Inderlanders.
That changes in this book, and while most of the humans are still scum, there are definite exceptions to the rule. Granted, the better of them ends up becoming a demon by default but still. So while the humans are STILL mostly cartoon characters, there are hints and shadows of humans with much more depth (ie the Men in Black) and a rather nifty new villain. IE now that Rachel is getting 'along' with Al and Trent, a new villain is needed and HAPA fits the bill nicely. HAPA is a human hate organization that has infiltrated lots of human society and wants to harness demons to frak everything else. If you notice the inconsistency in this plan, so does Harrison, and-let's be honest, internal consistency in belief systems is not exactly something commonly found in the real world either.
In short, I like it. It has its flaws, but I don't care about those flaws and the general awesomeness shines through. Read it. After you read the other 9.
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Movie - Taken
It has been a while since I saw this movie the first time, but watched it again recently on Netflix with the family. First and best thing it has going for it...villains you don't care about. Seriously, since Nazis we've had a real shortage of villains you can find in the real world who are basically just so evil that you don't care what physical violence is done to them. Sex Trafficers are a good addition to that list though.
The film goes through an excellent set up, with the daughter willfully ignoring her concerned father's legitimate security concerns, which also end up saving her life in a fantastic scene (seen in the trailer so not a spoiler) where she is hiding under the bed and has to reveal details of her kidnappers in only a few seconds.
And then we see Liam Nielson get to work. He's not batman. He is absolutely lethal in combat, but it is still at the believable gritty real world level. There are no absolutely over the top vehicle scenes like you see in a lot of movies in this genre, and while the film does push the envolope (hard) it stays (in my opinion) in the 'this could theoretically happen in the real world' scenario, including why people like the slavers are able to get away with a lot of what they do.
Its an action thriller but Liam's performance is so good that you are emotionally connected to him as well. You can feel his absolute torment as his daughter is suffering, as he helps the other victims that he manages to find or rescue along the way and has concerns for them as well. He is a one man force of nature and (again from the trailer) the bit where he threatens the guys who take his daughter...and delivers on that threat are excellent.
There is, I should warn, torture in this. I'm firmly against torture, but I understand that it is used sometimes. From an artistic stand point, I would have found it less believable if he hadn't tortured when he felt he must. They're not portraying him as a saint, but a 'flawed but good man' which comes across in this. Conversely, he is never sadistic or truly vengeful, just ruthlessly efficient and utterly without mercy at those who have taken his daughter.
It is, to be blunt, an absolutely fantastic movie and if this kind of thing interests you, its a must see in the thriller/action genre.
The film goes through an excellent set up, with the daughter willfully ignoring her concerned father's legitimate security concerns, which also end up saving her life in a fantastic scene (seen in the trailer so not a spoiler) where she is hiding under the bed and has to reveal details of her kidnappers in only a few seconds.
And then we see Liam Nielson get to work. He's not batman. He is absolutely lethal in combat, but it is still at the believable gritty real world level. There are no absolutely over the top vehicle scenes like you see in a lot of movies in this genre, and while the film does push the envolope (hard) it stays (in my opinion) in the 'this could theoretically happen in the real world' scenario, including why people like the slavers are able to get away with a lot of what they do.
Its an action thriller but Liam's performance is so good that you are emotionally connected to him as well. You can feel his absolute torment as his daughter is suffering, as he helps the other victims that he manages to find or rescue along the way and has concerns for them as well. He is a one man force of nature and (again from the trailer) the bit where he threatens the guys who take his daughter...and delivers on that threat are excellent.
There is, I should warn, torture in this. I'm firmly against torture, but I understand that it is used sometimes. From an artistic stand point, I would have found it less believable if he hadn't tortured when he felt he must. They're not portraying him as a saint, but a 'flawed but good man' which comes across in this. Conversely, he is never sadistic or truly vengeful, just ruthlessly efficient and utterly without mercy at those who have taken his daughter.
It is, to be blunt, an absolutely fantastic movie and if this kind of thing interests you, its a must see in the thriller/action genre.
Movie Review - Rachel Getting Married
I can see why Ann Hathaway got the positive reviews that she did in this. It was a break from previous type casting, and her non verbal acting alone was extremely memorable. Having said that, honestly...? This thing felt as if someone took clip footage of someone's home wedding and spliced in about 10 minutes worth of a well done indy short that you might see at Sundance. The entire thing was in shaky cam. I'm not a big fan of shaky cam, and I really don't feel it made this more realistic.
The slow reveal about the underlying tensions despite the veneer of positive relations when the family originally met are well confirmed. The echoes of a tragic event (not spoiling it) revealed were well choreographed, and you can understand that they have so much footage of the wedding and preparations thereof to help establish emotional ties to the characters as well as hide the building sense of drama in plain sight.
It is also well done in that it is not 'cliche.' The main character does not, for example, relapse as you might expect (that's not a spoiler). People are human.
Having said that, I really still honestly felt this film could have been about half of the length it was. Would that have made it commercially unviable to have a 44 minute film instead of 88 minutes?
Maybe. But it would have been a hell of a lot more watchable. There is a lot that is solid and well done in this film but it still needed a serious edit pass. Particularly in the toast scene where the protagonist gives her awkward speech and then, because we can, we give 3-4 more. Maybe to show that other people went after here? Why did we need to know that?
It was gratuitous and frankly silly. Good movie. Worth watching. On 50% fast forward.
The slow reveal about the underlying tensions despite the veneer of positive relations when the family originally met are well confirmed. The echoes of a tragic event (not spoiling it) revealed were well choreographed, and you can understand that they have so much footage of the wedding and preparations thereof to help establish emotional ties to the characters as well as hide the building sense of drama in plain sight.
It is also well done in that it is not 'cliche.' The main character does not, for example, relapse as you might expect (that's not a spoiler). People are human.
Having said that, I really still honestly felt this film could have been about half of the length it was. Would that have made it commercially unviable to have a 44 minute film instead of 88 minutes?
Maybe. But it would have been a hell of a lot more watchable. There is a lot that is solid and well done in this film but it still needed a serious edit pass. Particularly in the toast scene where the protagonist gives her awkward speech and then, because we can, we give 3-4 more. Maybe to show that other people went after here? Why did we need to know that?
It was gratuitous and frankly silly. Good movie. Worth watching. On 50% fast forward.
Monday, April 23, 2012
Movie - Cabin in the Woods
Short Version: FANTASTIC!
Medium Version: Five friends go into what is supposed to be their certain predestined doom, only to find out that reality is often messier than the fictional fiction they are supposed to emulate. Which might sound crazy but so is the movie.
Long Version: Spoilers below.
So this is basically a meta movie. I've read some who call this an analysis of the relationship between the audience and Hollywood. There is some of that. After all, horror fans demand these conventions and are squeezed into amalgamated cans of preponderated crap that are then packaged and sold to the Sline populace for as much bang for their buck as possible on Opening Weeekend.
But I think it is more than just a meta movie. It is also a movie that tries to apply reason where reason normally has no business existing.
Why do ordinarily smart people split up or have sex or mess around with the creepy artifact? Are they really guilty of something when the odds are tilted in the favor against them so much that they are doomed from the start?
This movie is on the surface about five characters in search of a bloody death, but becomes much more once they get out of the cliche and into the support structure of the infrastructure. Joss Whedon both obeys and destroys regular convention but does so in a way that still keeps it grounded in some kind of reality without going full out Monty Python's Quest for the Holy Grail.
I've heard some people hate this movie but many love it. If you like Whedon, odds are you'll like this. If you hate movies that make you think, even if you normally like 'all kinds of cinema' then this probably isn't your thing.
Me, I probably will own this movie even if I don't normally like Horror per se (though I am starting to like it.) I like things that break the norm and break the rules, which this definitely does without getting to wrapped up in its own cutesyness.
Medium Version: Five friends go into what is supposed to be their certain predestined doom, only to find out that reality is often messier than the fictional fiction they are supposed to emulate. Which might sound crazy but so is the movie.
Long Version: Spoilers below.
So this is basically a meta movie. I've read some who call this an analysis of the relationship between the audience and Hollywood. There is some of that. After all, horror fans demand these conventions and are squeezed into amalgamated cans of preponderated crap that are then packaged and sold to the Sline populace for as much bang for their buck as possible on Opening Weeekend.
But I think it is more than just a meta movie. It is also a movie that tries to apply reason where reason normally has no business existing.
Why do ordinarily smart people split up or have sex or mess around with the creepy artifact? Are they really guilty of something when the odds are tilted in the favor against them so much that they are doomed from the start?
This movie is on the surface about five characters in search of a bloody death, but becomes much more once they get out of the cliche and into the support structure of the infrastructure. Joss Whedon both obeys and destroys regular convention but does so in a way that still keeps it grounded in some kind of reality without going full out Monty Python's Quest for the Holy Grail.
I've heard some people hate this movie but many love it. If you like Whedon, odds are you'll like this. If you hate movies that make you think, even if you normally like 'all kinds of cinema' then this probably isn't your thing.
Me, I probably will own this movie even if I don't normally like Horror per se (though I am starting to like it.) I like things that break the norm and break the rules, which this definitely does without getting to wrapped up in its own cutesyness.
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Review of Hugo
Martin Scorcese is a master film maker by anybody's barometer, and I certainly enjoy his work. But I think he has achieved something transcendantly new in his most recent release of "Hugo." My initial impression of the movie, based on the whimsical but mysterious trailers leading up to it, was that it involved a train station and some kind of hidden world within the world that all revolved around a mechanical man that Hugo, an orphan living inside of the train station, was desperately trying to recreate.
I only got it partially right. And I do think that any attempt by the marketing department to mismarket a film will cause its demise. Anyone remember the fate of Kangaroo Jack or Hudson Hawk? Of course, I'm not exactly weeping over the fate of Kangaroo Jack, which I understand to be miserable, but Hudson Hawk was a whimsical fourth wall breaking 'crime drama' that did not at all take itself seriously, which was instead marketed by yet another Hollywood genius as something similar to Die Hard. Yeah, because lying to your audience is always a brilliant idea.
Then again, when one looks at the fare targeted to the audience in most network TV in recent years, this is no surprise. Then again, given my opinion of Slines after 2010, I'm not entirely convinced they're wrong. Then again again, the Slines do not appreciate being underestimated and most stupider shows have died horrible deaths this season. So I suppose the trick is to play for the lowest common denominator, but not to bid beneath the actual IQ of the critical mass of the mob thereof? Who knows. The price is wrong Bob.
Regardless, this film is both a heartwarming trip into whimsy, but also a celebration of the lost work of the early pioneers of cinema. To begin with, it formally attributes the creation of the motion picture camera to France instead of Edison (who was noted for stealing other people's ideas). The movie basically involves (spoilers follow) the discovery of the long lost works of Georges Méliès and how due to the bitterness and jaded hyperrealism demanded after the horrors of WWI, the fantasies of Georges Méliès were considered trite. Ruined, Melies retired into obscurity as a toy maker. The toy maker who happens to be in the very same shop in the very same subway station being run by the orphan Hugo. It is a whimsical tale in which everyone gets a happy ending. But what else do you expect from a movie set in France but made by Americans? Still, in this case it works, and not only does it work, it works fantastically so.
It is particularly ironic to me that this film is about the robbing of future generations from their cultural heritage as so many of Georges Méliès's works were destroyed that the major zaibatsu studios are destroying their 9mm collections because they find them difficult to maintain. And after all...digital copies exist right? I mean, it isn't like future generations will want to see them on film or anything...they'll want to see them on the latest ASTOUNDOVISION(tm) digital or hyperdigital or whatever made up format that the zaibatsu's dream up next.
I enjoyed this movie and highly recommend seeing it.
I only got it partially right. And I do think that any attempt by the marketing department to mismarket a film will cause its demise. Anyone remember the fate of Kangaroo Jack or Hudson Hawk? Of course, I'm not exactly weeping over the fate of Kangaroo Jack, which I understand to be miserable, but Hudson Hawk was a whimsical fourth wall breaking 'crime drama' that did not at all take itself seriously, which was instead marketed by yet another Hollywood genius as something similar to Die Hard. Yeah, because lying to your audience is always a brilliant idea.
Then again, when one looks at the fare targeted to the audience in most network TV in recent years, this is no surprise. Then again, given my opinion of Slines after 2010, I'm not entirely convinced they're wrong. Then again again, the Slines do not appreciate being underestimated and most stupider shows have died horrible deaths this season. So I suppose the trick is to play for the lowest common denominator, but not to bid beneath the actual IQ of the critical mass of the mob thereof? Who knows. The price is wrong Bob.
Regardless, this film is both a heartwarming trip into whimsy, but also a celebration of the lost work of the early pioneers of cinema. To begin with, it formally attributes the creation of the motion picture camera to France instead of Edison (who was noted for stealing other people's ideas). The movie basically involves (spoilers follow) the discovery of the long lost works of Georges Méliès and how due to the bitterness and jaded hyperrealism demanded after the horrors of WWI, the fantasies of Georges Méliès were considered trite. Ruined, Melies retired into obscurity as a toy maker. The toy maker who happens to be in the very same shop in the very same subway station being run by the orphan Hugo. It is a whimsical tale in which everyone gets a happy ending. But what else do you expect from a movie set in France but made by Americans? Still, in this case it works, and not only does it work, it works fantastically so.
It is particularly ironic to me that this film is about the robbing of future generations from their cultural heritage as so many of Georges Méliès's works were destroyed that the major zaibatsu studios are destroying their 9mm collections because they find them difficult to maintain. And after all...digital copies exist right? I mean, it isn't like future generations will want to see them on film or anything...they'll want to see them on the latest ASTOUNDOVISION(tm) digital or hyperdigital or whatever made up format that the zaibatsu's dream up next.
I enjoyed this movie and highly recommend seeing it.
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Thursday, November 24, 2011
Thursday, October 13, 2011
I saw the car from the road and was intrigued. I pulled in and saw right in the middle of nowhere (Well...Flagler Colorado to be precise) a perfect 1950's replica Diner. The people were very nice, but the food was awesome. I liked the Hamburger Flights and LOVED the Pie (Cherry), Potato Soap, and most of all the small samplings of Chili I was given to show how awesome they were. The red chili was the best. These guys are trying to get on a TV show, and I agree they should be there. Nice little place, incredible food, with weird little wind up car out front.
Friday, September 23, 2011
Book Review: High Midnight by Rob Mosca
Full Disclosure: I know the author and he is a friend.
The book is an excellent read and masterfully crafted. For being his first novel, Rob Mosca seems to have harnessed magic in words. He has an intuitive sense of pacing, and makes an image in your mind of exactly what is going on without it being bogged down by excessive details. In truth, if there was a literary opposite to the works of Faulkner, High Midnight is such a work. Not that Faulkner is excessive in his details, rather, High Midnight hits the 'sweet spot' in my personal spectrum.
The genre I would call this would be 'Stew' in honor of a Passage in the 6th Dark Tower novel, "The Song of Susanna" in which the characters fret about the restrictions of genre in literature. Of course, at that point in the Dark Tower series it has begun to enter the bizarrely (but cool) metaficitonal stage. High Midnight blurs many genres but it does not break the 4th wall.
To give you an idea of how much I like the book, I'm adding it to my permanent library. Something only gets on that shelf if is something that I am going to read more than once. And I assure you, I will be reading this again. Some books are page turners, that you only get a proper sense of the second or third time that you read them.
Theme wise, the phrase, "High Midnight" is an excellent choice, since the original western upon which the name is based, "High Noon" is a good mirroring point. Though the townsfolk of Unity, Texas are not quite as craven as those in Hadleyville, the pattern still remains the same. A lone sheriff, defending what is right and good against impossible and deadly odds, despite the fact that he has strong personal interests not to. There is a strong sense of Good and Evil, properly shadowed by postmodern shades of gray. Evil is evil, but it is not cartoon evil. Good is good, but it is a slovenly harrowed good. Well, OK that Cartoon evil is not entirely correct, but for the most part it is.
I speak, of course, of Mooseburger, who I feel is the true protagonist. Now most people would regard Sheriff Laredo as the true hero of the story, and while it is true that he is definitely a figure that would feel right at home in any western you care to name (sans Mexican wrestling mask perhaps), no literary critique would be complete without a complete mangling of the original intent of the author. This is why I feel that this is really Mooseburger's story. A large, misunderstood man-child, who possesses extraordinary strength and physical resilience, it is his choices that make the difference in the story. It is his decision not to pick up a gun that gives the mayor enough courage to take on the gang, stalling for enough time for the sheriff. It is Mooseburger who chooses the brawling tactics in the dramatic fight scene between the Sheriff and the gang of clowns that ultimately allows Good to triumph over evil. Mooseburger keeps his word, when other, unnamed characters do not.
For despite the surface of schlock in Saturday afternoon action movies upon which, by declaration of the author that the story is based (Zombies, Psychopathic Clowns, Western Crptids of a menacing variety, Anthropomorphic Simians etc) deeper and more interesting themes manage to creep in none the less. There is a consistency of imagery and setting that only someone who's soul has gone to dwell in the town a while or for days and weeks at a time can truly manifest. To me, from a literary perspective, the billboard of the laughing cowboy, rotting away in all its mocking glory is no different than that found in the Great Gatsby with its accusatory menacity. (Yes that's a word, I just made it up.) Magic, the appropriateness of oaths, love, what love is, the physicality therein, tragedy, loss, sacrifice, honor, betrayal, friendship, bravery and even humanity itself are covered within its pages.
But it is also popcorn munching fun.
Just read the damn thing. Better yet, buy it.
The book is an excellent read and masterfully crafted. For being his first novel, Rob Mosca seems to have harnessed magic in words. He has an intuitive sense of pacing, and makes an image in your mind of exactly what is going on without it being bogged down by excessive details. In truth, if there was a literary opposite to the works of Faulkner, High Midnight is such a work. Not that Faulkner is excessive in his details, rather, High Midnight hits the 'sweet spot' in my personal spectrum.
The genre I would call this would be 'Stew' in honor of a Passage in the 6th Dark Tower novel, "The Song of Susanna" in which the characters fret about the restrictions of genre in literature. Of course, at that point in the Dark Tower series it has begun to enter the bizarrely (but cool) metaficitonal stage. High Midnight blurs many genres but it does not break the 4th wall.
To give you an idea of how much I like the book, I'm adding it to my permanent library. Something only gets on that shelf if is something that I am going to read more than once. And I assure you, I will be reading this again. Some books are page turners, that you only get a proper sense of the second or third time that you read them.
Theme wise, the phrase, "High Midnight" is an excellent choice, since the original western upon which the name is based, "High Noon" is a good mirroring point. Though the townsfolk of Unity, Texas are not quite as craven as those in Hadleyville, the pattern still remains the same. A lone sheriff, defending what is right and good against impossible and deadly odds, despite the fact that he has strong personal interests not to. There is a strong sense of Good and Evil, properly shadowed by postmodern shades of gray. Evil is evil, but it is not cartoon evil. Good is good, but it is a slovenly harrowed good. Well, OK that Cartoon evil is not entirely correct, but for the most part it is.
I speak, of course, of Mooseburger, who I feel is the true protagonist. Now most people would regard Sheriff Laredo as the true hero of the story, and while it is true that he is definitely a figure that would feel right at home in any western you care to name (sans Mexican wrestling mask perhaps), no literary critique would be complete without a complete mangling of the original intent of the author. This is why I feel that this is really Mooseburger's story. A large, misunderstood man-child, who possesses extraordinary strength and physical resilience, it is his choices that make the difference in the story. It is his decision not to pick up a gun that gives the mayor enough courage to take on the gang, stalling for enough time for the sheriff. It is Mooseburger who chooses the brawling tactics in the dramatic fight scene between the Sheriff and the gang of clowns that ultimately allows Good to triumph over evil. Mooseburger keeps his word, when other, unnamed characters do not.
For despite the surface of schlock in Saturday afternoon action movies upon which, by declaration of the author that the story is based (Zombies, Psychopathic Clowns, Western Crptids of a menacing variety, Anthropomorphic Simians etc) deeper and more interesting themes manage to creep in none the less. There is a consistency of imagery and setting that only someone who's soul has gone to dwell in the town a while or for days and weeks at a time can truly manifest. To me, from a literary perspective, the billboard of the laughing cowboy, rotting away in all its mocking glory is no different than that found in the Great Gatsby with its accusatory menacity. (Yes that's a word, I just made it up.) Magic, the appropriateness of oaths, love, what love is, the physicality therein, tragedy, loss, sacrifice, honor, betrayal, friendship, bravery and even humanity itself are covered within its pages.
But it is also popcorn munching fun.
Just read the damn thing. Better yet, buy it.
Monday, September 19, 2011
[Band] The Sexual Side Effects
There are three things that every band must have in my opinion to be successful: Music, Magic and Mojo. The music is either there or it isn't. They have to have at least one song, preferably more that stick in your head. For me, the litmus test for this is, "Do I want to pay money to own this song or not?" For I am a cheap bastard and do not own much a music collection. Magic is something that sets the band apart from other bands. There is something between the members of the band that makes them greater than the sum of their parts, and there is an interaction between the band and the audience that makes the live concert experience a living thing. Mojo is an image, that something that you can fit on a cereal box or in a 15 second sound bite on MTV or whatever randomly stupid entertainment reality TV show, but something about the band that is different and also memorable that makes them stand out.
The Sexual Side Effects have all three in spades.
I have only heard them once, and I want to own the CD. I don't do that that often. In the last year I've only bought three. And they had three of the songs that I really enjoyed. "Dancing to the Radio." And...I don't remember what the other two are. The truth is that I'm not exactly an expert on music, I just know what I like and I liked what I heard.
Magic was the only way to describe the interaction between the band members and also the band and the audience. Everyone enjoyed the music. There was electricity in the air and it worked. Its just something you have to be there to feel.
Mojo is...complicated, but I think the Sexual Side Effects have it. They each dress as a different icon of the 1970's or 1980's, which is also reflected in their music. There is something about their poster/image thingy that seems to work as well. And they are the 'it' band right now. I'm not exactly someone who has their thumb on the pulse of the Atlanta scene, but I know history and I know how to 'feel' society or a group very well, and you can see the band's trajectory going up, both in the gigs they're booking and their general attitude.
I think one reason the band has only recently begun to ascend, despite being around for about five years, is becaause Amber Taylor, the lead singer for the band has only recently completed a journey of her own, but it shows in everything she does. She practically drips sex appeal, and it echoes off the stage in waves. I am eagerly awaiting the purchase of the band's CD in December and seeing their next show on Oct 1.
Watch them. They're going places.
The Sexual Side Effects have all three in spades.
I have only heard them once, and I want to own the CD. I don't do that that often. In the last year I've only bought three. And they had three of the songs that I really enjoyed. "Dancing to the Radio." And...I don't remember what the other two are. The truth is that I'm not exactly an expert on music, I just know what I like and I liked what I heard.
Magic was the only way to describe the interaction between the band members and also the band and the audience. Everyone enjoyed the music. There was electricity in the air and it worked. Its just something you have to be there to feel.
Mojo is...complicated, but I think the Sexual Side Effects have it. They each dress as a different icon of the 1970's or 1980's, which is also reflected in their music. There is something about their poster/image thingy that seems to work as well. And they are the 'it' band right now. I'm not exactly someone who has their thumb on the pulse of the Atlanta scene, but I know history and I know how to 'feel' society or a group very well, and you can see the band's trajectory going up, both in the gigs they're booking and their general attitude.
I think one reason the band has only recently begun to ascend, despite being around for about five years, is becaause Amber Taylor, the lead singer for the band has only recently completed a journey of her own, but it shows in everything she does. She practically drips sex appeal, and it echoes off the stage in waves. I am eagerly awaiting the purchase of the band's CD in December and seeing their next show on Oct 1.
Watch them. They're going places.
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Play: Body Awareness
This is a great play. Its a 93 minute comedy playing at the Seven Stages theater. It is about a couple that have a son with Asberger's (well, one of them does, his mother, the other is his step mother). The son is rather in denial of this fact. The mother is a high school teacher and the step mother is a psychologist at the extremely PC local university running Body Awareness Week. Frank, an artist who takes nude photos of women, shows up as the guest artist in their home and all hell breaks loose.
Without giving too many spoilers in the play I will say a) It is a comedy. b) It has some surprisingly insightful things to say about the human condition. c) It is an excellent opportunity to learn a lot about the dictionary and what not to say at McDonalds. The actors are all quite talented, and with just four characters, they are able to establish unusual and interesting chemistry between all four of them. Seeing the group dynamics is one of the more interesting elements of this play as it the slow descent into madness or apotheosis for three of the four characters involved.
It runs through the 28th.
Without giving too many spoilers in the play I will say a) It is a comedy. b) It has some surprisingly insightful things to say about the human condition. c) It is an excellent opportunity to learn a lot about the dictionary and what not to say at McDonalds. The actors are all quite talented, and with just four characters, they are able to establish unusual and interesting chemistry between all four of them. Seeing the group dynamics is one of the more interesting elements of this play as it the slow descent into madness or apotheosis for three of the four characters involved.
It runs through the 28th.
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Movie Review: The First 20 Minutes of Percy Jackson the Lightning Thief.
The Book is interesting and fun.
The movie is a joke.
The book spends the better part of the book building up who Percy's father is. It is no secret he's a demi god, but it spends a long time trying to make the reader guess.
The movie reveals it in the first 30 seconds.
The movie goes from scene to scene with adequate but mostly forgettable flare after that. Its not really good, but its not horrifically bad either; about on par with the average forgettable fantasy movie until they get to the scene with the minotaur right before they get to the camp.
First of all, this is a critical scene that defines Percy's character, and they do it in about 2 minutes 30 seconds....but even that is forgivable (if not a tragic loss.)
Then his mother dies.
He looks about as upset as if stepped in a pile of dogsh*t. He doesn't cry. Doesn't stoically swear revenge. He just goes, (essentially) 'bummer'. Then they proceed to show him the camp.
And that's when I stopped watching.
The movie is a joke.
The book spends the better part of the book building up who Percy's father is. It is no secret he's a demi god, but it spends a long time trying to make the reader guess.
The movie reveals it in the first 30 seconds.
The movie goes from scene to scene with adequate but mostly forgettable flare after that. Its not really good, but its not horrifically bad either; about on par with the average forgettable fantasy movie until they get to the scene with the minotaur right before they get to the camp.
First of all, this is a critical scene that defines Percy's character, and they do it in about 2 minutes 30 seconds....but even that is forgivable (if not a tragic loss.)
Then his mother dies.
He looks about as upset as if stepped in a pile of dogsh*t. He doesn't cry. Doesn't stoically swear revenge. He just goes, (essentially) 'bummer'. Then they proceed to show him the camp.
And that's when I stopped watching.
Saturday, August 6, 2011
Voice Acting Class by September Day and Bob Carter
So, if you have the slightest interest in doing voice acting work, I can't recommend this class enough. They typically advertize by only advertizing on Craigslist, primarily because they really don't need the class to make a living but use it as a recruitment and filtering tool for their talent agency. And they both make an excellent point, about the fact that you really want to take a class from someone who has recent industry experience and someone who knows how to get more work.
In fact that is the first half of the class. The basic XYZ's of what you need to do to put together a home studio and how to put together a demo reel without coming across as a jackass. It is practical and it works.
The second half of the class involves how to network and basic studio etiquette. It also involves taking concrete steps and setting up a plan to put their counsel into concrete format. The last portion of the class involves an actual audition in the studio where you read for a commercial and then an anime character.
To be honest, the banter and chemistry between Bob and September was worth the price of admission alone. Their story is the kind of thing you can't make up, proof that reality is more interesting than fiction, and they make even the driest subject seem interesting. There is also a genuine honesty about them that makes them very fun to watch.
If you want to get into voice acting, contact them and take their class. You won't regret it.
In fact that is the first half of the class. The basic XYZ's of what you need to do to put together a home studio and how to put together a demo reel without coming across as a jackass. It is practical and it works.
The second half of the class involves how to network and basic studio etiquette. It also involves taking concrete steps and setting up a plan to put their counsel into concrete format. The last portion of the class involves an actual audition in the studio where you read for a commercial and then an anime character.
To be honest, the banter and chemistry between Bob and September was worth the price of admission alone. Their story is the kind of thing you can't make up, proof that reality is more interesting than fiction, and they make even the driest subject seem interesting. There is also a genuine honesty about them that makes them very fun to watch.
If you want to get into voice acting, contact them and take their class. You won't regret it.
Monday, August 1, 2011
Play On Con 2011
This was a most excellent con. Play On con is a largely gaming based convention merged with party and other fan aspects. The entire thing takes place in a Birmingham Mariott this absolutely the right size for what it does. I don’t have precise attendance numbers but I’d estimate it between 300-400 people, which lets it have enough numbers to sustain the parties, the costuming and the gaming but still keeping an intimate feeling. By the time the con is done you’ve had a chance to get to know many of the people there though there are still strangers.
One thing I’ve come to realize from these cons is that the costuming aspect is very important. Its kind of the glue that brings a lot of fandom subcultures together, and more importantly the costume contest is often the single largest gathering of a con. Especially of the medium sized ones. The effort that goes into building them ranges from the sublime (such as the winner of the contest who made a Steam Punk bordello owner who was able to give functional body shots on stage to the MC with an extremely elaborate hand piece) to the simplistic (such as the Liono costume the guy put together in two to three hours the night before which still looked pretty damn good.) Many of the secondary prizes seemed invented on the fly, but they were also appropriate such as ‘fan favorite’ for Judge Dread or ‘most creative’ etc etc. Each of the costumes that won an award definitely deserved something. One VERY nice thing about a medium sized cons is that there are no huge lines anywhere.
There were six panel/room locations sites which tended to be going for all of the prime hours and only seemed to have a few vacant spots. One of the more interesting to me was the ‘how to’ element which showed everything from how to make your house haunted, how to dance (anticipating national dance off week) to how to design your own world. It also included a whedon track, media track, anime and gaming. The Cheese Grinder from dragon con was also there and ran a marathon session from Friday through to 1pm Sunday. I made three characters, which lasted from 2-3 hours to 5 seconds. The rooms can be lethal but fun. I spent most of my time doing the alternate activities rather than the games, primarily since the rpg aspect of things focused mainly on Pathfinder. If I end up going next year I’ll probably run some Shadowrun missions. It could use a bit more variety in that department.
The parties were very fun. There were three parties I wasn’t able to go to Sunday night. Attendance dropped off a bit on Sunday afternoon and Evening but they also had an election and party congress. I also greatly enjoyed the casino on Friday night where I won enough chips to be able to become a party judge. The con suite was very well run as was the video game room. Basically the whole thing worked very well.
One thing I’ve come to realize from these cons is that the costuming aspect is very important. Its kind of the glue that brings a lot of fandom subcultures together, and more importantly the costume contest is often the single largest gathering of a con. Especially of the medium sized ones. The effort that goes into building them ranges from the sublime (such as the winner of the contest who made a Steam Punk bordello owner who was able to give functional body shots on stage to the MC with an extremely elaborate hand piece) to the simplistic (such as the Liono costume the guy put together in two to three hours the night before which still looked pretty damn good.) Many of the secondary prizes seemed invented on the fly, but they were also appropriate such as ‘fan favorite’ for Judge Dread or ‘most creative’ etc etc. Each of the costumes that won an award definitely deserved something. One VERY nice thing about a medium sized cons is that there are no huge lines anywhere.
There were six panel/room locations sites which tended to be going for all of the prime hours and only seemed to have a few vacant spots. One of the more interesting to me was the ‘how to’ element which showed everything from how to make your house haunted, how to dance (anticipating national dance off week) to how to design your own world. It also included a whedon track, media track, anime and gaming. The Cheese Grinder from dragon con was also there and ran a marathon session from Friday through to 1pm Sunday. I made three characters, which lasted from 2-3 hours to 5 seconds. The rooms can be lethal but fun. I spent most of my time doing the alternate activities rather than the games, primarily since the rpg aspect of things focused mainly on Pathfinder. If I end up going next year I’ll probably run some Shadowrun missions. It could use a bit more variety in that department.
The parties were very fun. There were three parties I wasn’t able to go to Sunday night. Attendance dropped off a bit on Sunday afternoon and Evening but they also had an election and party congress. I also greatly enjoyed the casino on Friday night where I won enough chips to be able to become a party judge. The con suite was very well run as was the video game room. Basically the whole thing worked very well.
Thursday, July 21, 2011
BOOK Review: The Dervish House by Ian McDonald
I enjoyed this book. It provides an excellent view into the future, or at least one possible future. It is the best look on the potential ramifications of nanotech that I’ve read since Diamond Age. I admit I was far more interested in the implications of the ubiquity of drone technology than the nanotechnology, because I think robotics are finally starting to come of age, and this book reflects a potential path well on that vein. It also explores a lot of social questions in interesting ways.
The other thing I liked about this book was that it was set in Turkey in the 2020’s. I learned a lot about Turkey and it is quite clear McDonald did his homework. In fact I’d be rather shocked if he didn’t spend a good deal of time in Turkey conducting research.
The immerse quality certainly makes it feel like you’re there.
I do think that the book is definitely hard science fiction to me. The characters are interesting and engaging but the novel might be a bit too in depth for the casual reader to truly enjoy. Having said that it does provide a payoff for those who stick past the first 25 pages.
The other thing I liked about this book was that it was set in Turkey in the 2020’s. I learned a lot about Turkey and it is quite clear McDonald did his homework. In fact I’d be rather shocked if he didn’t spend a good deal of time in Turkey conducting research.
The immerse quality certainly makes it feel like you’re there.
I do think that the book is definitely hard science fiction to me. The characters are interesting and engaging but the novel might be a bit too in depth for the casual reader to truly enjoy. Having said that it does provide a payoff for those who stick past the first 25 pages.
Friday, July 15, 2011
Book Review of Feed - by Mira Grant
Book Review – Feed by Mira Grant
This novel is awesome. First of all, let me say that I’m not really a fan of Zombies. I mean, they’re fun. But I don’t go out of my way to see them or read about them like I do, say…Alternate Timelines (which is odd because I find that I actually LIKE a lot of zombies stories but rarely enjoy Alternate World fiction…sometimes the fill is not the same as the genre. Just like my taste towards Steampunk. Love the genre….less than impressed with almost anything this side of the original material.) Which is doubly particularly odd since my third book is “Grenademan vs the Zombies” (though admittedly that was written on a dare).
Now that we’ve gotten my tastes out of the way, let me say that one of the things I like about this book is the title. That’s because zombies are largely peripheral to the plot, even though they are not. See, this book is about a group of young bloggers that follow the presidential campaign in a post zombie world. Getting one scene element brilliantly right is an accomplishment, getting two is a work of genius, but Grant manages to do it quite well. She shows us a viable world after a zombie apocalypse that incorporates changes in as many areas as there actually would be, while still maintaining the level of normality that actually happens despite titanic changes in our own (such as 9/11). She also does an excellent job of showing one possible thread in the future of journalism.
In the world of Feed, Bloggers gain respect and prominence because the traditional media are lying to them about the Zombies. People, especially the younger generations simply do not trust the traditional media after their betrayal. (And who could blame them?) Such a trend is already kind of happening in the real world, though it is more of a jaded apathy rather than a religious following of stalwart independent journalists. Still, if we had a transformative event of a magnitude of what is happening Egypt or Syria in the United States, I could easily see this happening. Even if it does not, it is still a remarkably realistic future.
The characters are excellent as is the plot. Some elements are fairly predictable, but others are not. And even the ‘predictable’ elements leave just enough of an X factor that you’re never entirely sure, just mostly sure. And all of the characters are also interesting. I also really like her mirror image of the United States post apocalypse, since it is clever and I think realistic in the way people are reacting. She is quite clever in addressing elements that most people might not think of, such as Animal Rights when some of them might be zombies, the desire for some people to hunt said animals in massive numbers, and the fact that there is actually a slightly positive element that resulted from the zombie apocalypse in that people no longer get common colds or cancer.
I highly recommend reading this book.
This novel is awesome. First of all, let me say that I’m not really a fan of Zombies. I mean, they’re fun. But I don’t go out of my way to see them or read about them like I do, say…Alternate Timelines (which is odd because I find that I actually LIKE a lot of zombies stories but rarely enjoy Alternate World fiction…sometimes the fill is not the same as the genre. Just like my taste towards Steampunk. Love the genre….less than impressed with almost anything this side of the original material.) Which is doubly particularly odd since my third book is “Grenademan vs the Zombies” (though admittedly that was written on a dare).
Now that we’ve gotten my tastes out of the way, let me say that one of the things I like about this book is the title. That’s because zombies are largely peripheral to the plot, even though they are not. See, this book is about a group of young bloggers that follow the presidential campaign in a post zombie world. Getting one scene element brilliantly right is an accomplishment, getting two is a work of genius, but Grant manages to do it quite well. She shows us a viable world after a zombie apocalypse that incorporates changes in as many areas as there actually would be, while still maintaining the level of normality that actually happens despite titanic changes in our own (such as 9/11). She also does an excellent job of showing one possible thread in the future of journalism.
In the world of Feed, Bloggers gain respect and prominence because the traditional media are lying to them about the Zombies. People, especially the younger generations simply do not trust the traditional media after their betrayal. (And who could blame them?) Such a trend is already kind of happening in the real world, though it is more of a jaded apathy rather than a religious following of stalwart independent journalists. Still, if we had a transformative event of a magnitude of what is happening Egypt or Syria in the United States, I could easily see this happening. Even if it does not, it is still a remarkably realistic future.
The characters are excellent as is the plot. Some elements are fairly predictable, but others are not. And even the ‘predictable’ elements leave just enough of an X factor that you’re never entirely sure, just mostly sure. And all of the characters are also interesting. I also really like her mirror image of the United States post apocalypse, since it is clever and I think realistic in the way people are reacting. She is quite clever in addressing elements that most people might not think of, such as Animal Rights when some of them might be zombies, the desire for some people to hunt said animals in massive numbers, and the fact that there is actually a slightly positive element that resulted from the zombie apocalypse in that people no longer get common colds or cancer.
I highly recommend reading this book.
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
BOOK Review of Cyroburn - By Lois Bjold Mcaster
This story is about an Imperial Auditor coming from a neofuedal planet that suspects someone is attempting to mess something up in Imperial space. His cover is to attend a corporate sales camp, but when the local ‘freedom fighters’ attack things go horribly wrong. He is given the wrong drug and ends up meeting the son of the one hope this world might have. It turns out that the entire planet is filled with Hibernation Coffins filled with people waiting to be reborn. These people have given their votes to the corporations that care for them until the sleeping dead and their proxy’s rule the planet.
This book is an excellent mix of old school Asimovian science fiction with modern expectations of plot and character. The auditor is very likable but also has flaws, as is the young child that he accidentally runs into. The story is very engaging and makes you want to read more. I would definitely recommend reading this book.
This book is an excellent mix of old school Asimovian science fiction with modern expectations of plot and character. The auditor is very likable but also has flaws, as is the young child that he accidentally runs into. The story is very engaging and makes you want to read more. I would definitely recommend reading this book.
Saturday, July 9, 2011
Book Review: Blackout
Blackout is a book by Connie Wills who has won a large number of hugo and nebula awards for her fiction. Blackout is basically about three time travelers who get stuck in WWII whilst documenting various elements of the bombing of London. The reader is left wondering if they have broken the timeline or not, thus leaving the suspense open and real for the planned second half of the book “All Clear” (which came out in the latter half of last year.)
Willis’s work with the historical accuracy of the book is uncanny, and it is clear that she has done an extensive amount of research. In fact, the characters who are not time travelers often show more depth and humanity than those that are. I am rather curious to know how much they were based on real people or not. Still while the book starts out somewhat slow, over time it draws you in more and more as the stakes are raised for each of the three, and their revelations that they are dealing with real people with real problems who face real consequences, even if it was (for them) more than a hundred years ago.
Blackout is an excellent lesson on the fact that the Past Is not Frontierland or a Pirates of the Caribean ride. Our ancestors had real hopes, dreams and fears and seeing them as people rather than as icons can help us understand ourselves a bit better. I greatly enjoyed the book and look forward to reading the second half of the story.
Willis’s work with the historical accuracy of the book is uncanny, and it is clear that she has done an extensive amount of research. In fact, the characters who are not time travelers often show more depth and humanity than those that are. I am rather curious to know how much they were based on real people or not. Still while the book starts out somewhat slow, over time it draws you in more and more as the stakes are raised for each of the three, and their revelations that they are dealing with real people with real problems who face real consequences, even if it was (for them) more than a hundred years ago.
Blackout is an excellent lesson on the fact that the Past Is not Frontierland or a Pirates of the Caribean ride. Our ancestors had real hopes, dreams and fears and seeing them as people rather than as icons can help us understand ourselves a bit better. I greatly enjoyed the book and look forward to reading the second half of the story.
Monday, July 4, 2011
Book Review: The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin
This book is a brilliant fantasy. It explores themes in the real world but does so with sufficient subtlety that they are not easily noticed until long after you have read the book. It starts off incredibly strong with the rejected heir to an all powerful empire that controls the world, thrown into the proverbial lion's den where she must sink or swim. The world has been shattered between a war of the gods where the victor shackled the losers and turned them into weapons for the governing regime.
The thing that I love about this book is that the author takes the story to its natural conclusions. All of the characters behave for logical reasons and are dynamic. There is no attempt to create a formulaic status quo. Actions have consequences and in the case of this book, titanic consequences. The protagonist is also very very likable and yet not a caricature at the same time.
N.K. Jemisin is writing a sequel in a world where the ending would make (to me) a sequel somewhat more difficult for a less daring author. But in her case I'm confident she can handle it. And I look forward to reading it as I recommend reading this book.
The thing that I love about this book is that the author takes the story to its natural conclusions. All of the characters behave for logical reasons and are dynamic. There is no attempt to create a formulaic status quo. Actions have consequences and in the case of this book, titanic consequences. The protagonist is also very very likable and yet not a caricature at the same time.
N.K. Jemisin is writing a sequel in a world where the ending would make (to me) a sequel somewhat more difficult for a less daring author. But in her case I'm confident she can handle it. And I look forward to reading it as I recommend reading this book.
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