| Non-Writing post: Things to do for November |
[Nov. 2nd, 2009|06:00 pm] |
Writing obligations for the Month of November
1 50,000 word novel for National Novel Writing Month
1 600 word book review for Friends Journal (have to finish reading the book first)
1/2 a dozen reviews/updates for livejournal/ferretbrain, to write/edit, including a follow-up to my Brandon Sanderson/Charlaine Harris recommendation, a discussion of anniversaries celebrated this year, a rant on Scott Westerfeld, and my long-promised Fireflyreview
1 short story/novelette that I should really get back to working on, as I do intend to submit it at some point
... And that's just what I know about right now. Let the fun commence. |
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| Writing post: Encounter in the Woods 3.0 |
[Oct. 31st, 2009|06:06 pm] |
Good evening, and Happy Samhain--although I guess that's not technically today.
The following is the third incarnation of my short story "Encounter in the Woods." Horror is not one of my specialties, but since I've found myself writing a horror story anyway, I might as well try to do it well. Hopefully, this version works better as horror than the previous attempt.
( Encounter in the Woods ) |
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| Non-Writing post: Anakin Solo Day, eighth anniversary |
[Oct. 30th, 2009|08:02 pm] |
After its contribution to the Star Wars: Vector crossover, the Star Wars: Rebellion ongoing series was canceled. I'm largely ambivalent towards this decision, although I did find Rebellion generally smarter and more entertaining than Dark Times, and I fear this abrupt end will leave many plot threads dangling.
The reason for canceling Rebellion though, was to make way for a brand new comic: Star Wars: Invasion.
( And that could be a problem ... )
Bring back the Man Who Killed Ithor! |
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| Non-Writing post: Reflections on Republic Commando: True Colors |
[Oct. 30th, 2009|06:00 pm] |
For reasons I fail to recall just at the moment, I read Darth Traviss' third Republic Commando novel, True Colors, over the summer.
( Here's what I think ... )
Bring back the Man Who Killed Ithor! |
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| Non-Writing post: Reflections on Star Wars: Vector, Volume 1 |
[Oct. 30th, 2009|10:02 am] |
| [ | Tags | | | celeste morne, critical artwork failure, crossovers, darth vader, deus ex machina, graphic novels, integrated plotlines, knights of the old republic (comics), star wars: dark times, star wars: vector, vector volume 1, women in media | ] |
| [ | Current Location |
| | Yellow Springs, Ohio | ] |
| [ | mood |
| |  Story's pretty good ... | ] |
| [ | music |
| | Revenge of the Sith (novelization), by Matthew Stover | ] |
In an earlier post, I mentioned my misgivings about Star Wars: Vector, the comics crossover series which begins in Knights of the Old Republic, continues in Dark Times and Rebellion, and wraps up in (unfortunately) Star Wars: Legacy.
Since this is such a landmark endeavor for Star Wars, I've decided to share my thoughts on the storyline in some detail, ( To put it mildly ... )
Bring back the Man Who Killed Ithor! |
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| Non-Writing post: Observations on Michael Moore's Capitalism: A Love Story |
[Oct. 16th, 2009|06:06 pm] |
| [ | Tags | | | 700000000000 dollar bailout, a people's history of the united states, capitalism: a love story, comedy in film, economic crisis, economics, howard zinn, limitations of keynesianism, michael moore, movies, myth of "original sinlessness", people's history, sliding scale of journalistic profession, social movements, societal problems, the shock doctrine | ] |
| [ | Current Location |
| | Yellow Springs, Ohio | ] |
| [ | mood |
| |  Volker, hort die Signale ... | ] |
| [ | music |
| | Die Internationale, Bien Sur! | ] |
( The Good, the Bad, and the Funny ) |
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| Non-Writing post: A double-barreled Watchmen review |
[Oct. 16th, 2009|10:36 am] |
| [ | Tags | | | "dark protagonists", adrian veidt, alan moore, anti-climaxes, block universes, dan dreiberg, dr. manhattan, graphic novels, mary-sues, movie adaptions, movie reviews, predestination paradoxes, roarschach, v for vendetta, watchmen, watchmen (film) | ] |
| [ | Current Location |
| | Yellow Springs, Ohio | ] |
| [ | mood |
| | All-in-all, not bad | ] |
| [ | music |
| | We Didn't Start the Fire, by Billy Joel | ] |
Rejected titles for this essay include: Who Clocks the Minutemen?, Impractical Joking, Playing Superheroes, Demigods, Masterminds, Heroes, Psychos and Rorschach, a review of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' Watchmen, A Different Kind of Superhero, The Genius and Self-Congratulation of Alan Moore
In this entry, I review both Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' Watchmen and the 2009 movie based off of it.
Warning, major spoilers.
( First up: the graphic novel )
( And next the movie )
For some alternative views on Watchmen—the graphic novel and the movie—click here. For an amusing short parody check out Saturday Morning Watchmen. |
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| Writing post: Welcome to the Real Worlds (part 1) |
[Oct. 16th, 2009|10:16 am] |
This is the first scene of a just-for-fun project I recently began with the working title "Welcome to the Real Worlds." I'm toying with the idea of continuing it for National Novel Writing Month (an event I've never participated in before). I think the free-style, almost stream-of-consciousness approach I've taken to the story so far would make it practically ideal for NaNo. No idea if I'll ever do anything else with it; it'll mostly depend on how I feel about the story once the first draft is done. For now, though, enjoy.
( And so it begins ... ) |
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| Ninth Anniversary of the Afghanistan Invasion/Founder's Day |
[Oct. 5th, 2009|03:06 pm] |
| [ | Tags | | | antioch college, causes of terrorism, founder's day, non-stop antioch, politics, reunion, terrorists, us imperialism, utter exultation, war on afghanistan | ] |
| [ | Current Location |
| | Yellow Springs, Ohio | ] |
| [ | mood |
| |  1 awful, 1 awesome | ] |
| [ | music |
| | none (frickin' sound system) | ] |
This Wednesday, October 7th, will mark the ninth anniversary of the US invasion of Afghanistan—an invasion which is still ongoing.
( Now, is that invasion now, or has it ever been, at all legitimate? )
Today is also Founder's Day for Antioch College. ( As such, it was fitting the Alumni Board chose this weekend for Reunion ... ) |
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| Non-Writing post: International Day of Non-Violence |
[Oct. 2nd, 2009|08:30 am] |
Apparently, today is the 140th anniversary of the birth of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, celebrated as Gandhi Jayarti in India, and around the world as the International Day of Non-Violence. Happy birthday, Bapu. |
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| Semi-Writing post: TV review: Dollhouse: Episodes 7-12 |
[Sep. 16th, 2009|03:30 pm] |
| [ | Tags | | | characterization, criticism, dollhouse, identity in fiction, joss whedon, joss whedon storytelling, morality in media, nice guy syndrome, science fiction, science fiction series, sexism in media, tv series | ] |
| [ | Current Location |
| | Yellow Springs, Ohio | ] |
| [ | mood |
| | So bad it's good ... | ] |
| [ | music |
| | Gott est ein Popstar, by OOMPH! | ] |
No, you didn't miss a previous post, I'm starting my review with Episode 7. The original version of this entry was intended as a continuation of a review written by Dan Hemmens of ferretbrain. The article was turned down for artistic reasons which I understand and accept (and may even agree with in time). But, I find this still leaves me with an awful lot to say about the second six episodes of the first season of Joss Whedon's new television series Dollhouse. So I've decided to say them here.
As always, spoilers.
( Buckle up, you're in for another long one ... ) |
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| Non-Writing post: Book reflection: “The Jews: A History of A People,” by Howard Fast |
[Sep. 15th, 2009|06:06 pm] |
| [ | Tags | | | historical revisionism, history, holocaust, howard fast, hypocrisy, jewish history, palestinian history, palestinian occupation, the jews: a history of a people, zionism | ] |
| [ | Current Location |
| | Yellow Springs, Ohio | ] |
| [ | mood |
| |  Some days ... | ] |
| [ | music |
| | Integral, by the Pet Shop Boys | ] |
Warning: the following entry contains moderately strong language.
One of the books I've recently been listening to is Howard Fast's “The Jews: A History of A People.” Howard Fast was at one time a member of the American Communist Party, and he's one of the people featured in blurbs on the back of Howard Zinn's “A People's History of the United States.” That's a good enough recommendation for me.
( It started out pretty good, too ... ) |
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| Non-Writing post: TV spotlight: Merlin |
[Sep. 9th, 2009|10:30 pm] |
| [ | Tags | | | arthurian legend, characterization, fantasy, fantasy series, merlin, mythological retelling, nimueh, status quo stagnation, tv series, uther pendragon, women in media | ] |
| [ | Current Location |
| | Yellow Springs, Ohio | ] |
| [ | mood |
| | Lovin' it | ] |
| [ | music |
| | none | ] |
A smart little fantasy show targeted approximately at the Doctor Who crowd, Merlin chronicles the adventures of the young wizard in the court of Uther Pendragon, father of King Arthur.
( And predictable-but-entertaining adventures ensue ... ) |
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| Non-Writing post: Discworld Con + Book recommendation |
[Sep. 9th, 2009|08:36 am] |
| [ | Tags | | | bittersweet endings, conventions, conversation with famous people, melina marchetta, north american discworld convention, on the jellicoe road, rob wilkins, terry pratchett, tragic fiction done right, truly awesome, utter exultation | ] |
| [ | Current Location |
| | Yellow Springs, Ohio | ] |
| [ | mood |
| |  And the turtle moves on ... | ] |
| [ | music |
| | Jigue, by the Alan Parsons Project | ] |
Just got back to Yellow Springs by way of the North American Discworld Convention the other day.
The Convention was, in a word, awesome. ( How awesome, you ask? Well ... )
Speaking of awesome, one of the panels I attended at Discworld Con was on Young Adult Fiction. At one point we ended up giving recommendations from the audience, and I put my word in for On the Jellicoe Road (US and UK title: Jellicoe Road), a book by Australian author Melina Marchetta. ( This book is fan-f***ing-tastic! ) |
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| Good for Peekskill |
[Sep. 3rd, 2009|03:30 pm] |
60 years ago this month, the good citizens of Peekskill, New York, ran Paul Robeson and Pete Seeger out of town, motivated by racism and intolerance for the two entertainers' Socialist politics.
An article in today's paper informs me that the local Peekskill theater will be holding a special event in honor of Robeson, who died in 1976. It heartens me to learn that my hometown is finally working to redress this terrible stain on our city's history. So this is what patriotism feels like.
... In other news, my flight to the North American Discworld Convention leaves tomorrow morning. Then, Monday night, it's back to Yellow Springs. Excited yet? I am. |
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| Non-Writing post: More miscellanea |
[Aug. 28th, 2009|11:36 am] |
I've never much followed Cindy Sheehan, but the other day I read this. This woman is awesome.
In other news, I'll be missing my third livejournal anniversary post next week, as I'll be rather busy at the North American Discworld Convention. [insert Bond Villain Cackle here]
After that, it's back to Yellow Springs, Ohio. Hopefully, they'll have something going there that I can contribute to. Ah, sweet uncertainty.
Peace out, everybody. |
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arkan2's journal
So, so wrong ...