E.P. Isaacs's Blog, page 3

Of “Stan And Ollie”

The next book in Nika’s adventures touches on vaudeville theater.  Like many small town kids of my generation, I grew up watching two comedy acts on Saturday morning television that got their start in  vaudeville.  These comedy acts were The Three Stooges and Laurel and Hardy.  It seems that a movie of the latter act will be coming to light – hopefully soon.

There are many reasons to despair any time a movie like this surfaces.  Who is making the picture?  How involved is the subject’s estate?  Who will be writing and directing?  Who are the stars?  How invested are they in making sure that they get the roles they’ve been given ‘right’?  In 2000, a movie chronicling the rise and fall of The Three Stooges was made.  It is the only post-mortem biopic of the comedy trio of which I am aware.  It was watchable, but it didn’t carry the same weight or polish as a movie like 1992’s Chaplin.  Where will Stan and Ollie fall compared to these two?

For now, I am optimistic about the project.  The BBC was responsible for developing it, and stars Steve Coogan and John C. Reilly will play the leads.  The meat of capturing and crafting Coogan and Reilly’s work seems like it has been assigned to capable hands.  I hope so.  Until the movie comes out, I (and you, dear reader) can be content watching and reading about Laurel and Hardy at the official Laurel and Hardy website.

Happy Monday, one and all!

 

Filed under: Movies, Other, Uncategorized, Victorian Tagged: John C. Reilly, Laurel & Hardy, Steve Coogan, vaudeville

A Clockwork’s Critique: A Study In Steampunk – Choice By Gaslight

Type: Interactive Novel

Author: Heather Albano

Where Found: Google Play, Choice of Games, iTunes, The Steam Store

Whatsis:

An army surgeon in a time and place vaguely similar to Britain in the 1880s-1890s (and yet not Britain) works to preserve his homeland against the machinations of those who oppose his queen and country. By the end of the story, his actions (guided by you, fair reader) have unforeseen implications on all those he holds dear.

Thoughts:

Choice of Games does not disappoint. I have read many of their titles. I have yet to find one I do not like. The author has done a superb job at melding a number of steampunk tropes into this work. You want airships? Check. Disaffected and disgruntled labor movements? Check. Steam-mechs? Sure! Sorcery and intrigue? Yep! All of these elements are woven into a coherent narrative.

The story starts a bit clumsily for my taste. The main empire (Mercia) is a bit too much like Britain – without being Britain – and I initially bogged down trying to understand whether or not the author intended a Choose-Your-Own-Adventure historical novel with steampunk overtones. Once the author’s intent became clear (extremely early on), my enjoyment of the work picked up markedly (within the first page or two).

By the end of the first read-through, I was silently cursing myself at the choices I had made, primarily the one that led to the death of my spouse. I didn’t finish the first read-though, instead opting to start over from the beginning. Despite the problems I had with the opening of the book, I did enjoy it, and I would readily recommend it to others that appreciate interactive novels and steampunk literature.

Where Positives and Negatives Collide:

As I stated, I thought the story was compelling enough to read through a couple of times. It held my interest, and by the end of the story both times I felt extremely world-weary and tired. The author’s writing is solid, and it allowed me to connect with what my character was experiencing at a depth that I am not used to in titles that use the Choice of Games engine.

That being said, I think the story borrowed a bit too much from familiar steampunk conventions without presenting anything particularly new or memorable. As well, I wish that the author had included the ability for the main character of the novel to be either gender. The Victorian Age (in which many steampunk stories find the roots of the cultures they present) was a time of male-supremacy, to be sure. Still, the Victorians were not without women ready to challenge convention – from Susan B. Anthony to Nellie Bly to women like those that fought and died in engagements like the United States Civil War. Granted, the story HAS strong and important female characters. You just can’t be one even if you wanted to.

Allowing the character to be female would possibly opened up the protagonist to the complex illusions women in combat roles in Victorian societies had to undergo to stay where they thought they should be. Introducing the possibility of a female main character could have exposed the reader to blackmail, unwanted (or wanted!) advances by members of their same biological sex, and made attempts to court characters in the story infinitely more difficult. For me, this element or a host of other changes that could have been tried would have made a good story such as this that much better. I also wish there were more romance choices. Why? Because, it’s romance. Who doesn’t need more romance in their lives?

Just adding this writer’s two cents to a tale already worth far more than its $3.99 price tag. Keep calm, and read on!

Filed under: Interactive Fiction, Literary Reviews, Steampunk Tagged: A Clockwork's Critique, Choice of Games, Heather Albano, Interactive Fiction, Steampunk

Back In The Saddle: It’s 2016, And I Am With A Doll Named Vengeance

Dear Reader:

The new year is upon us. What will you do with it? What are your resolutions? I know what mine are. I’m going to share them with you so that I am more likely to meet them. When we tell others our hopes, dreams and goals, we are more likely to strive for them. It’s like we expect them to hold us accountable or something. I’m not sure why, but it’s true. It works.

So, what are my goals for 2016? Become better at illustrating, have a book of poetry and the second book of Nika’s tales in print, and finish Nanowrimo 2016 as a winner with the third book in Nika’s series. By the end of the year, if I do this, I want to start Ghisling’s tale, too. I plan to have a new blog entry once a week, and the entries will alternate between personal updates, book progress updates, reviews of steampunk or clockpunk media, and commentary on transgender issues worldwide.

I’ve kicked off my goals today by sifting through GIMP’s tutorial sections and some online galleries of some of my favorite artists. L. Frank Baum had W.W. Denslow and John Neill. All Nika has is me. Not saying her story is as grand as Oz, but it’s her story. It’s the only one she has. And it deserves something. So, for any of you that might have an eye for late 1800s-early 1900s eye candy, I’ll include a few links. W.W. Denslow and Winsor McCay were all about lines. Their drawings were simple, and beautiful, and whimsical and breathtaking (to me …). If you don’t know either of these men, who knows? Their drawings might catch your eye too.

And with that, I am off to work on the outline of my second book. Wherever you are and whatever you do on this first day of 2016, may your New Year be a good one, dear friends!

Sincerely,

E.P. Isaacs

Filed under: Op-Ed Tagged: E.P. Isaacs, New Years, Nika Thought-werk

What Does A Child Know?

I was talking to someone recently.  The person was excited and wanted to share with me that a child close to them – a young child – had recently started wanting to dress against the norms of their birth-assigned gender.  The child took things a step further in that they expressed a desire to be identified by a name associated with the gender they were not assigned at birth.  As they related this to me, they shared a video on their phone of the child laughing and playing in clothes that were traditionally associated with the gender opposite the one the child was assigned at birth.  The child looked completely comfortable and happy.

The adult asked a number of questions, as any person who cared for this child might be expected to do.  Specialists were being sought out, but since this person knows me – and knows about me – they decided to ask my thoughts, too.

Their questions boiled down to this: Is it possible, if the child was allowed to live as they chose, took sex-hormone suppressors in puberty, and so on,  what would be the likelihood that they might change their minds latter on?  If they did change their minds later on, what could they do about it?

Like most medical conditions that have the ability to seriously impede a child’s quality of life if left untreated, gender dysphoria is best treated if it is identified as early as possible.  How do you identify it?  I think the best way to do it would be to listen to the child.

So, a child gives indications to you that they suffer from gender dysphoria.  You, as a responsible adult who cares for the child, go to a doctor as puberty approaches, and the doctor prescribes medicines to block the effects of the sex-hormones the body would normally produce.  If, at some point the child changed their minds and wanted to live as the gender they were assigned at birth, they’d just have to stop taking the hormone suppressors.  Their bodies would develop as they would have without the suppressors.

Note that if a child has stopped growing (as most people do between the ages of 16 – 20), they might be shorter or smaller than what they might otherwise have been.  That’s about the only negative effect a child or adult might face in terms of physical development from going off hormone suppressors.  It is not until sex-hormones are introduced into the body that more serious changes take place.

Here’s the thing, though.  The lion’s share of studies I have read on this subject suggest that the number of people that commit unwaveringly to a gender transition once it’s begun (a commitment that begins with such steps as hormone suppressors, dressing and identifying as the opposite sex) is at least as high as 90% (if not higher).  A key to this commitment is the support of family and friends.  If a person has little to no emotional support in their transition, they are more likely to stop the transition.  Still, I reiterate that study after study shows that once an individual starts down the path of a transition, the overwhelming majority never turn back.

Listen to your child.  Watch.  Read.  Love.  If your child starts communicating to you that they may be affected by gender dysphoria, seek out reputable resources to help them live the most happy and productive lives they could ever imagine – even if it might be a life you never did.  Children deserve to be happy – and a child should be worth just as much to their parents regardless of whether they are boys or girls.

Peace to you, dear reader.  Now and always.

Filed under: Op-Ed Tagged: gender dysphoria, hormones, transgender

On The Horizon: Nanowrimo And Book Two

Dear Friends:

E.P. Isaacs here.  The month of November is almost upon us.  During that month, there is a writer’s event called Nanowrimo.  Yeah, you already know about it?  Most people do.  Especially insane writerly-types.

During November, I hope to lay down the framework of Book Two.  I already have a title.  I’m also sketching out the plot structure and main characters.  The story opens with Patience watching a movie with her mother. It ends with a little girl taking off with a lost little boy in search of her best friend.

There are moments that send me into fits of laughter. There are two moments that almost bring me to my knees. There will be more world-building, and the Witch Queen will begin to rise in her full glory.

We will understand WHY human… children are taken by the fey … and readers will meet the little girl that the mother lost at the beginning of Book One. The story will be darker than the first, as the reader begins to see more of this world. It’s not a pretty world – but it is beautiful. And when the light shines through it, it shimmers.

I will do my best to have the book done – in a rough draft form – by April of 2016.  I am studying illustration, so I hope the drawings and cover for Book Two will be better than what I could offer for Book One.

In the lead-up to Book Two, I am planning to retire the first printing of Book One from production.  I will have an updated, crisper second printing available by January.  I also plan to step up my marketing game – but right now, I have other things to contend with that are grabbing my attention.  Nika is a grand girl, and she has a great story.  Unfortunately, she tags me with typing the story, and drawing the pictures, and editing it.

I’ll do my best, dear readers – for you and for Nika.

Sincerely,

E.P. Isaacs

Filed under: Uncategorized

The ‘nited Clockwork Postal Service Seeks Workers

What happens when Nika gets control of a keyboard?  This …

Are you ready to do what it takes to give people faith in the mail?

Are you of a most steady and sure make and model?

Are you good with a side-arm (if you have them) or front arms (if you don’t have a side arm)?  Do you have arms?  If not, care’ying the mail may be hard.  You may want an other line of work.

If you are a fan of steampunk, role-play, and civil service, the UCPS now seeks workers to staff its post office branches in New Babbage and Mar’kesh.  Please send a note to the Post-Mistress of the UCPS showing you have an int’rest in playing a clockwork mail servant – or that you have questions about doing so.

You are welcome to discuss this further with Nika.  Working with her, you will create a clockwork mail-servant, complete with backstory, purpose – and your own clockwork key.  You will work with Nika to spearhead new and wondrous ways to serve the Steamlands of Second Life – and to improve roleplay for one and all.

To learn more about Nika and the UCPS, please visit http://werksfromtheironroad.com – or just drop her a note.  Thank you for your time – but it’s time to run.  After all, the mail never sleeps, and neither do we.

If you wish to visit the UCPS Headquarters, follow the link for it on the UCPS page.  If you have any questions about Second Life, the UCPS, or the life and times of a little clockwork mail-girl, please send a note to me or Nika using the ‘Comments’ form also on the UCPS page.

To learn more about Second Life, please visit: http://www.secondlife.com .

Most Sincere We Remain,

N. Thought-werk & E.P. Isaacs

Filed under: Clockwork Culture, Second Life Tagged: clockpunk, Nika Thought-werk, role play, Second Life, UCPS, United Clockwork Postal Service

Magnum Opus

Trigger Warning: This story deals with domestic violence and undertones of incest.  Please be aware of this before proceeding with either this review or the original story itself.

Her name was Imogen.  She was created by a man seeking to recapture the memory of a loved one long gone.  Denied the power of speech, the hope of a shred of freedom, and in the end, her very existence, Imogen’s tale is one that is more fact than fiction for far too many.

The tale itself shares a very strong tie to the old tale Bluebeard and echoes Li Ang’s The Butcher’s Wife.  I will try to reference the story as little as possible so as not to spoil it for those who might wish to read it.  However, I find Nika’s first months – when she was under Ghisling’s care – and Imogen’s less-than three dozen hours to have strikingly eerie similarities.

It makes me think.  Wonder.  I don’t like it.

The makers of these clockwork girls are all seeking to capture perfection.  Their version of it.  When the created do not live up to the creator’s expectations, the creators see nothing wrong in laying the blame at the created’s feet.  Dismantling them.  Scratching them out and starting over.

But.  They think therefore they are … aren’t they?

Who cares if they think.  There is a purpose to a thinking machine.  Know its maker so it can better serve his needs.  That doesn’t take much thought.  When the machine steps beyond the tiny bounds allowed it, the maker has every right to descend upon it full force.  To fix it as he sees fit – or to destroy it as he desires.

Why not?  It’s not a person.  It’s a machine.  It’s property.  It isn’t real.  It doesn’t feel.

Only people do that, right?  Society places no value on the clockwork because it isn’t seen as having the intrinsic worth afforded a human being.  Even in humans, some are still more worthy of the title.  Having the wrong skin color, the wrong gender, or any of a host of ‘wrongs’ children are born to without asking – can land a person a life a little less human and a little more …

Why not?  They aren’t as human as us.  Through the fault of their birth, they carry less worth.  Why, just look at any woman paid less than a man for doing the same work (I could give worse examples, but I want to leave this as PG as I can) or any gender-variant person shamed in countless ways by total strangers without a thought.  Because they don’t matter as much.  If at all.  They aren’t us.  They don’t know what we know.  They don’t eat what we eat.  They don’t pray as we pray.

They aren’t us.

Just look at men and women like Eric Garner or James Byrd Jr or Sandra Bland or Matthew Shepard.  Men and women we allow society to push to the fringes before we snuff their lives out.  We do this actively in the case of the Aaron McKinneys and Lawrence Russell Brewers of the world … or passively every time we feel like we should speak up … something just doesn’t feel right … but we choose not to get involved.

Just look at the life of any child that exists in the shadows of any world as dark as Imogen’s.  Or Nika’s.

There’s so much I would like to ask the author of this story, and I believe I will someday.  Why clockworks?  Why a story that touches on so many of the same themes as Nika’s?  Is this a common element in stories that feature clockwork girls as the main characters?  It makes me think too much of many of the darker strands in Nika’s story.  The strands I don’t care to think about.

Someday.

Maybe.

Let the little one have hope today.  Maybe, if she has it, she’ll share a little with me.  She deserves hope.  She deserves freedom.  She deserves love – not the love of a man like Imogen’s Rastigan (none deserve that) – but the kind of love any child deserves.  The love Imogen deserved.  The love James Byrd or Matthew Shepard deserved.

The love any of us deserve.  Simply because we are.

Nika deserves love, and I think I need to make sure her tale is full of it.

Magnum Opus is a story by author Deina Furth.  Buy it for Kindle here.  While you’re at it, if you like the story, feel free to check out Ms. Furth’s website at http://deinafurth.com .   

Filed under: Literary Reviews Tagged: clockpunk, deina furth, Magnum Opus, short stories