Kelly Meding's Blog, page 14
June 6, 2011
The Dialogue: Talking about the Darkness
I sometimes wonder if adults forget what it was like to be 11, 12 and 13 years old, teetering on the cusp of childhood and being a teenager, and wondering how to make sense of it all. If adults forget that insatiable curiosity they had about all things "grownup" and how anything that your parents told you was off limits was something you wanted More Than Anything.
It's been eighteen years since I was in that group of awakening tweens, and the kids who are in it now are so different from me that it's kind of scary. They're smarter, they're more tech savvy, they are more connected. They were raised using digital technology, so they know how to get the answers they want. And if Mom and Dad won't talk to them about things, they'll get those answers from friends or from the Internet. Or from books.
Books were my life force as a kid. I was always very shy (and still am, to some degree). But during those awkward adolescent years, I had very few books to help me transition, to help me face those darker times ahead. I had Sweet Valley High (hard-hitting stuff there, /sarcasm). I liked those books well enough, but I wanted more. Which is why I loved the books by Norma Klein--books that touched on sexuality and teens. I still remember reading "It's Okay If You Don't Love Me" as a twelve-year old and being shocked that the author was writing an actual sex scene, and that the girl was the experienced one!
That book was pretty risque for me at the time. And in just a year, I was moving on to adult authors like Stephen King and John Jakes. I was hungry for books and for information, and my parents encouraged me to read.
Did they always like what I was reading? No. Did they say I couldn't read certain books? Yes. Did I read them anyway? Absolutely. (Sorry, Mom and Dad)
Teens are going to do what you tell them not to do. How is it that we grow up and forget that little tidbit of information?
So why the sudden long post on YA and reading? Because of a Wall Street Journal article that's been making the blog and Twitter rounds since Saturday. "Darkness Too Visible" made me laugh, and then it made me angry. Because the author seems sincere in thinking that our children should be shielded from difficult topics like sexuality, rape, and self-injury. Hello?!! That stuff is happening RIGHT THE HELL NOW in our schools, to our children, and your answer is to pretend it's not? To hide these scary facts from tweens and teens, and tell authors to write happy books?
*snorts*
There is a lot going on in YA literature right now, but you only have to look as far as "Speak" by Laurie Halse Anderson to understand why it's important that authors write about these topics.
Graphic violence/sex is not new to adolescents (sorry, parents). It's all over television and movies, and it's in every magazine and billboard. It's there. So rather than trying to cover up their eyes and pretend it isn't, talk to your kids. Ask THEM questions, instead of waiting for them to come to you (because they probably won't). It's easier for teens to talk to other teens, instead of talking to a grownup, so you need to start the dialogue. Not the lecture. Not the "don't do this/don't read this."
The dialogue.
A few other great blog posts have popped up in response to the WSJ piece, and I want to link to those.
The awesome Jackie Morse Kessler has a piece, as her book "Rage" was mentioned in the article. Leave Jackie a little love on her blog, and then go buy her book. You won't regret it.
Booking Through 365 has an article, written by an actual teenager. Good stuff there.
And from Publisher's Weekly. From that article:
We can't hide our kids from the darkness in the world. But we can talk to them about it. And that, dear parents, starts with you.
It's been eighteen years since I was in that group of awakening tweens, and the kids who are in it now are so different from me that it's kind of scary. They're smarter, they're more tech savvy, they are more connected. They were raised using digital technology, so they know how to get the answers they want. And if Mom and Dad won't talk to them about things, they'll get those answers from friends or from the Internet. Or from books.
Books were my life force as a kid. I was always very shy (and still am, to some degree). But during those awkward adolescent years, I had very few books to help me transition, to help me face those darker times ahead. I had Sweet Valley High (hard-hitting stuff there, /sarcasm). I liked those books well enough, but I wanted more. Which is why I loved the books by Norma Klein--books that touched on sexuality and teens. I still remember reading "It's Okay If You Don't Love Me" as a twelve-year old and being shocked that the author was writing an actual sex scene, and that the girl was the experienced one!
That book was pretty risque for me at the time. And in just a year, I was moving on to adult authors like Stephen King and John Jakes. I was hungry for books and for information, and my parents encouraged me to read.
Did they always like what I was reading? No. Did they say I couldn't read certain books? Yes. Did I read them anyway? Absolutely. (Sorry, Mom and Dad)
Teens are going to do what you tell them not to do. How is it that we grow up and forget that little tidbit of information?
So why the sudden long post on YA and reading? Because of a Wall Street Journal article that's been making the blog and Twitter rounds since Saturday. "Darkness Too Visible" made me laugh, and then it made me angry. Because the author seems sincere in thinking that our children should be shielded from difficult topics like sexuality, rape, and self-injury. Hello?!! That stuff is happening RIGHT THE HELL NOW in our schools, to our children, and your answer is to pretend it's not? To hide these scary facts from tweens and teens, and tell authors to write happy books?
*snorts*
There is a lot going on in YA literature right now, but you only have to look as far as "Speak" by Laurie Halse Anderson to understand why it's important that authors write about these topics.
Graphic violence/sex is not new to adolescents (sorry, parents). It's all over television and movies, and it's in every magazine and billboard. It's there. So rather than trying to cover up their eyes and pretend it isn't, talk to your kids. Ask THEM questions, instead of waiting for them to come to you (because they probably won't). It's easier for teens to talk to other teens, instead of talking to a grownup, so you need to start the dialogue. Not the lecture. Not the "don't do this/don't read this."
The dialogue.
A few other great blog posts have popped up in response to the WSJ piece, and I want to link to those.
The awesome Jackie Morse Kessler has a piece, as her book "Rage" was mentioned in the article. Leave Jackie a little love on her blog, and then go buy her book. You won't regret it.
Booking Through 365 has an article, written by an actual teenager. Good stuff there.
And from Publisher's Weekly. From that article:
Teens are committing suicide because of bullying, eating disorders are common, even kids in "nice" neighborhoods have drug problems, and kids sometimes get pregnant. And sadly, some kids grow up in abused households with alcoholic parents. Reading about kids with alcoholic parents can make a kid feel better. Kids reading about cutting will not make them cutters. It might, however, make them recognize when one of their friends is cutting and could use help.
We can't hide our kids from the darkness in the world. But we can talk to them about it. And that, dear parents, starts with you.
June 1, 2011
Do You Hear What I Hear?
(I couldn't resist the thread title. It's one of my very favorite Christmas songs.)
It's finally June. June means summer, my birthday, Father's Day, and (most importantly), it means only two more months until ANOTHER KIND OF DEAD finally releases! Can I get a WOOT!?
It also means that THREE DAYS TO DEAD is available for purchase from Tantor Audio. It's narrated by the fantastic Xe Sands (if you don't already follower her on Twitter, go follow her. It's okay, I'll wait....). I'll be posting an interview with her later in the month, so look out for that.
TDTD is currently 50% off at Tantor's site, so go order! They also gave the book a super-sexy cover!
I like this version of Evy and Wyatt. It's true to the original cover, while still being original and sexy. For some reason, the model makes me think of Kate Beckinsale.
June is also Audiobooks Month, which I only learned yesterday. If you want to learn more, search the Twitter tag #JIAM. Help me celebrate the month by listening to an audiobook or two! I'll be doing a giveaway for audio copies of TDTD soon, so stay tuned.
It's finally June. June means summer, my birthday, Father's Day, and (most importantly), it means only two more months until ANOTHER KIND OF DEAD finally releases! Can I get a WOOT!?
It also means that THREE DAYS TO DEAD is available for purchase from Tantor Audio. It's narrated by the fantastic Xe Sands (if you don't already follower her on Twitter, go follow her. It's okay, I'll wait....). I'll be posting an interview with her later in the month, so look out for that.
TDTD is currently 50% off at Tantor's site, so go order! They also gave the book a super-sexy cover!
I like this version of Evy and Wyatt. It's true to the original cover, while still being original and sexy. For some reason, the model makes me think of Kate Beckinsale.
June is also Audiobooks Month, which I only learned yesterday. If you want to learn more, search the Twitter tag #JIAM. Help me celebrate the month by listening to an audiobook or two! I'll be doing a giveaway for audio copies of TDTD soon, so stay tuned.
May 30, 2011
May 18, 2011
Release Date Change
So that year-long wait for Dreg City 3, Another Kind of Dead, is going to have to last for another week. The on-sale date has been pushed back from July 26 to August 2, 2011.
Remark your calendars folks, and help spread the word!
Remark your calendars folks, and help spread the word!
May 3, 2011
To Fong Who? Thanks For Nothing, Kevin Hearne....
Okay, so the blog post title only makes a funny pun if you've heard of a certain drag queen movie starring Patrick Swayze and Wesley Snipes. If not...well, go watch it!
Today is the day that fellow League of Reluctant Adults member Kevin Hearne pops his cherry! Not just by guest blogging here (although that must be pretty spiffy, too), but also by having his first novel released by Del Rey!
HOUNDED is the first Iron Druid Chronicles book, and it's fabulous. I'm not just saying that--I've read it. And blurbed it. And it's fabulous. Ever wanted to get in on the inner workings of the mind of an Irish Wolfhound? This is your book. (Oh, and the Druid dude is pretty cool, too.)
So without further blathering, here is Kevin's post. And with his post, a challenge for me. Because what goes around, comes around....
#######
The Challenges of Writing
Hi there, fans of Evy Stone! I'm not here to talk about the challenges of picking the right word for the right moment. I'm here to talk about the challenge of having the word picked for you and finding someplace to stick it in your book, or suffer the relentless taunting of your peers. Authors do this to each other, because the pressure of meeting deadlines and doing publicity and stuff just ISN'T ENOUGH.
A few months ago, Kelly challenged me to put Rocky Mountain Oysters into my next book. For those of you who don't know, that's the polite term for fried bull balls. It's not the sort of thing that casually comes up when you're writing about a Druid caught in the middle of a vampire territory war. But she double-dog dared me to do this, so of course I had to accept. I successfully inserted them into Chapter 14 of my current work in progress, TRICKED, which will be the fourth book in The Iron Druid Chronicles. (Book one, HOUNDED, is available now, and the next two books, HEXED and HAMMERED, will be released on June 7 and July 5, respectively.)
Now I get to challenge Kelly in turn. No, wait: I get to TRIPLE-DOG DARE her! Without further ado, here it is: In Dreg City #5, Kelly must use the word "fong" as a running joke. To fong is an endearing verb that means to kick the living poo outta something, and since this is an activity Evy and her cronies rather enjoy doing, I don't think that's going to be especially difficult. (Fong was used most famously in the movie A Knight's Tale. You should watch it again!) The trick here is going to be turning it into a joke. Knowing it has to be a joke will freeze Kelly at the keyboard for WEEKS. I can already taste the victory, and it is sweet, my friends. Sweet.
Challenge delivered, I can now confess to you that Kelly has been completely sweet to me and does not deserve to be cruelly fonged by my evil machinations. She's been a tremendous font of wisdom as I've tried to figure out the publishing biz as a newbie author, and she was even kind enough to write a blurb for the back cover of HOUNDED for me. I still think the first chapter of THREE DAYS TO DEAD is one of the best in all urban fantasy, and I'm as addicted to Dreg City as you are. Personally, I cannot wait for books three and four, much less the epic fonging to come in book five! Please give Kelly all the support you can in the comments, because she could always use the additional pressure of your high expectations.
Mwah-ha-ha-ha!
Today is the day that fellow League of Reluctant Adults member Kevin Hearne pops his cherry! Not just by guest blogging here (although that must be pretty spiffy, too), but also by having his first novel released by Del Rey!
HOUNDED is the first Iron Druid Chronicles book, and it's fabulous. I'm not just saying that--I've read it. And blurbed it. And it's fabulous. Ever wanted to get in on the inner workings of the mind of an Irish Wolfhound? This is your book. (Oh, and the Druid dude is pretty cool, too.)
So without further blathering, here is Kevin's post. And with his post, a challenge for me. Because what goes around, comes around....
#######
The Challenges of Writing
Hi there, fans of Evy Stone! I'm not here to talk about the challenges of picking the right word for the right moment. I'm here to talk about the challenge of having the word picked for you and finding someplace to stick it in your book, or suffer the relentless taunting of your peers. Authors do this to each other, because the pressure of meeting deadlines and doing publicity and stuff just ISN'T ENOUGH.
A few months ago, Kelly challenged me to put Rocky Mountain Oysters into my next book. For those of you who don't know, that's the polite term for fried bull balls. It's not the sort of thing that casually comes up when you're writing about a Druid caught in the middle of a vampire territory war. But she double-dog dared me to do this, so of course I had to accept. I successfully inserted them into Chapter 14 of my current work in progress, TRICKED, which will be the fourth book in The Iron Druid Chronicles. (Book one, HOUNDED, is available now, and the next two books, HEXED and HAMMERED, will be released on June 7 and July 5, respectively.)
Now I get to challenge Kelly in turn. No, wait: I get to TRIPLE-DOG DARE her! Without further ado, here it is: In Dreg City #5, Kelly must use the word "fong" as a running joke. To fong is an endearing verb that means to kick the living poo outta something, and since this is an activity Evy and her cronies rather enjoy doing, I don't think that's going to be especially difficult. (Fong was used most famously in the movie A Knight's Tale. You should watch it again!) The trick here is going to be turning it into a joke. Knowing it has to be a joke will freeze Kelly at the keyboard for WEEKS. I can already taste the victory, and it is sweet, my friends. Sweet.
Challenge delivered, I can now confess to you that Kelly has been completely sweet to me and does not deserve to be cruelly fonged by my evil machinations. She's been a tremendous font of wisdom as I've tried to figure out the publishing biz as a newbie author, and she was even kind enough to write a blurb for the back cover of HOUNDED for me. I still think the first chapter of THREE DAYS TO DEAD is one of the best in all urban fantasy, and I'm as addicted to Dreg City as you are. Personally, I cannot wait for books three and four, much less the epic fonging to come in book five! Please give Kelly all the support you can in the comments, because she could always use the additional pressure of your high expectations.
Mwah-ha-ha-ha!
April 28, 2011
Cover Reveal: TRANCE
I saw this cover a few weeks ago, but now have a final version to show off. TRANCE is the first in my (what I'm currently referring to as) MetaWars series from Pocket, due October 25, 2011. I really love this cover--from the L.A. setting (palm trees!), to Trance's hair and powers.
Enjoy!
The cover copy:
Enjoy!
The cover copy:
Kelly Meding's war-ravaged Los Angeles is ground zero for the ultimate Meta human showdown in this sexy, action-packed new series.
Fifteen years ago, Teresa "Trance" West was a skilled telepath and a proud member of the Ranger Corps. But ever since the Rangers were inexplicably rendered powerless at the climax of the devastating Meta War, she's bounced from one dead-end job to another. Now her powers have reappeared just as mysteriously as they vanished— only they're completely transformed and more potent than ever. And they're threatening to destroy her.
Trance heads to Los Angeles to track down the surviving Rangers and discover who restored her powers—and why—but a phantom enemy is determined to kill them before they can reassemble. As they dodge his deadly attacks and come to terms with their new role as heroes, Trance and the rest of the team set out to annihilate the sinister madman . . . only to discover their own powers are his greatest weapons.
April 27, 2011
Third Snippet: Another Kind of Dead
Three months to go until ANOTHER KIND OF DEAD hits shelves! So here's another snippet from the book, this time from Chapter Seven. There are, of course, minor spoilers for this story's plot.
###
Five minutes or so before the call was expected, I was in the bathroom, hands braced on either side of the porcelain sink bowl, glaring at myself in the mirror. A wave of nerves had hit, leaving me completely unsettled. I'd walked into unknown situations before, faced unknown enemies alone, and even tackled one particularly nasty hostage situation involving my late partner Ash and three Halfies. I had no reason to be so scared of this phone call.
No, that wasn't true. [redacted name] had something that, if released, could be truly devastating to this city. He wanted us to give him two unknown vials of liquid, for his own unknown purposes. In an unknown location, with a very uncertain outcome.
I hated the word "unknown."
I splashed cool water on my face and patted dry on a frayed towel. Compared to the rest of their apartment, the bathroom was oddly tidy. I guess they had some standards of cleanliness when it came to their throne. Even the mirror lacked water spots or toothpaste spray. I had a clear view of my face. The tension bracketing both brown eyes, lips pursed so tightly they were almost gone. Familiar and foreign—mine and hers. Sometimes I still glanced in a mirror and expected my old face—blond hair cut short and uneven, wide blue eyes, pale skin. Not the dark-haired, curvy, freckled-nose woman I'd been for nearly two weeks.
The door opened and shut. "You okay?" Wyatt asked. He shuffled behind me, and our gazes met in the mirror's reflection.
"If I say yes, will you believe me?"
"Not while you're hunched over the sink like you want to vomit."
"What happens if we don't get the crystal back?"
"We deal with it."
"Deal with it?" I rounded in the tiny space, long hair whipping across my face. "I saw that entity in Tovin's body, Wyatt. I have never been so terrified as when I looked into its face and knew it could snap me in half before I could blink. It was the ugliest, most evil thing I've ever seen. We can't just deal with it."
Warm palms framed my cheeks. I wrapped my hands around his wrists. His outward calm helped, even though I imagined his insides quaked as hard as mine. No one else had seen the Tainted elf; my description could never do the terror justice. He couldn't understand.
"We. Will. Deal. With. It." Each word from him fell like a promise, driven home by the gentle crackle of energy around us. I tried to believe in that promise.
Then the damned cell phone rang, and my stomach clenched. We parted. I fished the phone out of my jeans pocket as I led the way back into the living room.
###
Five minutes or so before the call was expected, I was in the bathroom, hands braced on either side of the porcelain sink bowl, glaring at myself in the mirror. A wave of nerves had hit, leaving me completely unsettled. I'd walked into unknown situations before, faced unknown enemies alone, and even tackled one particularly nasty hostage situation involving my late partner Ash and three Halfies. I had no reason to be so scared of this phone call.
No, that wasn't true. [redacted name] had something that, if released, could be truly devastating to this city. He wanted us to give him two unknown vials of liquid, for his own unknown purposes. In an unknown location, with a very uncertain outcome.
I hated the word "unknown."
I splashed cool water on my face and patted dry on a frayed towel. Compared to the rest of their apartment, the bathroom was oddly tidy. I guess they had some standards of cleanliness when it came to their throne. Even the mirror lacked water spots or toothpaste spray. I had a clear view of my face. The tension bracketing both brown eyes, lips pursed so tightly they were almost gone. Familiar and foreign—mine and hers. Sometimes I still glanced in a mirror and expected my old face—blond hair cut short and uneven, wide blue eyes, pale skin. Not the dark-haired, curvy, freckled-nose woman I'd been for nearly two weeks.
The door opened and shut. "You okay?" Wyatt asked. He shuffled behind me, and our gazes met in the mirror's reflection.
"If I say yes, will you believe me?"
"Not while you're hunched over the sink like you want to vomit."
"What happens if we don't get the crystal back?"
"We deal with it."
"Deal with it?" I rounded in the tiny space, long hair whipping across my face. "I saw that entity in Tovin's body, Wyatt. I have never been so terrified as when I looked into its face and knew it could snap me in half before I could blink. It was the ugliest, most evil thing I've ever seen. We can't just deal with it."
Warm palms framed my cheeks. I wrapped my hands around his wrists. His outward calm helped, even though I imagined his insides quaked as hard as mine. No one else had seen the Tainted elf; my description could never do the terror justice. He couldn't understand.
"We. Will. Deal. With. It." Each word from him fell like a promise, driven home by the gentle crackle of energy around us. I tried to believe in that promise.
Then the damned cell phone rang, and my stomach clenched. We parted. I fished the phone out of my jeans pocket as I led the way back into the living room.
April 25, 2011
Audio Books Are Coming!
I mentioned this on Twitter a week or so ago, but now that contracts are winging their way to the appropriate parties, I'll officially announce it.
We've sold audio adaptation rights for the first three Dreg City books (Three Days to Dead, As Lie the Dead, Another Kind of Dead) to Tantor Audio! The books will be narrated by Xe Sands, and the first, Three Days to Dead, will be available May 30th. Yep, in just over a month! How awesome is that? As Lie the Dead will follow on 6/20 and Another Kind of Dead on 7/26 (same day as the paperback release!).
I'm really excited to hear Evy's world come alive, and I'll definitely be doing some giveaways once I have a few copies in my hands.
For now...
We've sold audio adaptation rights for the first three Dreg City books (Three Days to Dead, As Lie the Dead, Another Kind of Dead) to Tantor Audio! The books will be narrated by Xe Sands, and the first, Three Days to Dead, will be available May 30th. Yep, in just over a month! How awesome is that? As Lie the Dead will follow on 6/20 and Another Kind of Dead on 7/26 (same day as the paperback release!).
I'm really excited to hear Evy's world come alive, and I'll definitely be doing some giveaways once I have a few copies in my hands.
For now...
April 24, 2011
Happy Easter
No matter how you may (or may not) celebrate today, don't forget: microwaving marshmallow Peeps is FUN!
April 20, 2011
The Good, the Bad, and the WTF?!
THE GOOD
I'm a huge horror buff, which I bet is no surprise at this point. When the first Scream film came out in 1996, I was in high school. I'd seen the slasher films from the eighties, and I loved anything scary. But at the time, very few horror films were being made and released by major studios. And Scream was exactly the creative boost that the horror genre needed at the time. It revitalized the genre, while making fun of itself at the same time. I'm a huge fan of the entire trilogy.
Needless to stay, I was absolutely pumped when I heard that Scream 4 was being made, with original director Wes Craven, original screenwriter Kevin Williamson, and original stars Neve Campbell, David Arquette, and Courtney Cox. How could a fan not be stoked for this?
So I admit to going into this film with pretty high expectations. And you know what? For once, my expectations were very much met, maybe a little exceeded. Scream 4 was brilliant. It does for the glut of horror film remakes what the original film did for the dying slasher genre: it exposed the cliches, makes statements on society, and it also (minor spoiler) remakes the first film! Remakes it in a hugely original way that I didn't always see coming.
Horror fans may still appreciate this film, but if you haven't seen Scream 1-3, then don't bother with Scream 4. You just won't have the same experience.
THE BAD
So there was once a time when I loved "Glee." I bought the boxed set of Season 1 at the end of last summer and I spent an entire weekend watching it. It hooked me. I loved the characters. I loved the stories. I loved what they were doing with the songs and musical numbers, and how everything flowed well.
Cut to the hot mess that's been Season 2 so far, and can I just say "Gah!"? Gah!
The show's been on a month hiatus, and the last aired episode was amazing. It was the Regionals ep, and the cast sang original songs. It was tense, it was emotional, and it was what the show used to be.
A new episode finally aired last night. I watched it this morning. Gah!
I just don't have the energy to rant on everything that I thought sucked about last night's episode. So I'll talk about the only good thing (besides the fact that Paltrow is gone for the foreseeable future). The corridor confrontation between Kurt, Blaine, Santana and Karofsky--pure gold. I loved Santana getting up in K's face, and I really hope this is setting up for what was promised to us earlier this year. There is a lot of potential with the Karofsky character, and I'm afraid the writers will butcher it, like they've managed to butcher most of this season.
One more "Gah!" for good measure....
THE WTF?!
Last week, ABC Daytime announced the cancellation of daytime soap opera staples "One Life to Live" and "All My Children," leaving the network's daytime lineup with one soap opera ("General Hospital"). GH joins what will become only four surviving soap operas on network television (ABC's "Days of Our Lives," and CBS's "The Bold & the Beautiful" and "The Young and the Restless"). OLTL and AMC become the third and fourth soap to be canceled in the last two years.
I watched "One Life to Live" for a few months last year and then stopped once the stories I was following ended, and most of the actors were fired. But it wasn't a terrible show, and I'll mourn its loss. I can agree that television is changing, and that maybe soap operas are a somewhat dated format. But there are still loyal viewers and fans out there, and it sucks that they are losing shows they've watched for THIRTY or FORTY YEARS. That's a lifetime.
I think my major complaint is that these dramatic serials are being replaced by more cookie cutter talk shows. I mean, really, do we need more groups of people gabbing at each other over inane topics? Really?
I don't know. But I do applaud Hoover for listening to their consumers and pulling their ads from ABC. Some might say it's counterproductive to pull ad revenue from a show that relies on it to stay afloat, but it's already canceled, no? I can't imagine ABC Daytime would eat humble pie and reverse the cancellations, so why not show them exactly how their fans feel about this betrayal?
I'm a huge horror buff, which I bet is no surprise at this point. When the first Scream film came out in 1996, I was in high school. I'd seen the slasher films from the eighties, and I loved anything scary. But at the time, very few horror films were being made and released by major studios. And Scream was exactly the creative boost that the horror genre needed at the time. It revitalized the genre, while making fun of itself at the same time. I'm a huge fan of the entire trilogy.
Needless to stay, I was absolutely pumped when I heard that Scream 4 was being made, with original director Wes Craven, original screenwriter Kevin Williamson, and original stars Neve Campbell, David Arquette, and Courtney Cox. How could a fan not be stoked for this?
So I admit to going into this film with pretty high expectations. And you know what? For once, my expectations were very much met, maybe a little exceeded. Scream 4 was brilliant. It does for the glut of horror film remakes what the original film did for the dying slasher genre: it exposed the cliches, makes statements on society, and it also (minor spoiler) remakes the first film! Remakes it in a hugely original way that I didn't always see coming.
Horror fans may still appreciate this film, but if you haven't seen Scream 1-3, then don't bother with Scream 4. You just won't have the same experience.
THE BAD
So there was once a time when I loved "Glee." I bought the boxed set of Season 1 at the end of last summer and I spent an entire weekend watching it. It hooked me. I loved the characters. I loved the stories. I loved what they were doing with the songs and musical numbers, and how everything flowed well.
Cut to the hot mess that's been Season 2 so far, and can I just say "Gah!"? Gah!
The show's been on a month hiatus, and the last aired episode was amazing. It was the Regionals ep, and the cast sang original songs. It was tense, it was emotional, and it was what the show used to be.
A new episode finally aired last night. I watched it this morning. Gah!
I just don't have the energy to rant on everything that I thought sucked about last night's episode. So I'll talk about the only good thing (besides the fact that Paltrow is gone for the foreseeable future). The corridor confrontation between Kurt, Blaine, Santana and Karofsky--pure gold. I loved Santana getting up in K's face, and I really hope this is setting up for what was promised to us earlier this year. There is a lot of potential with the Karofsky character, and I'm afraid the writers will butcher it, like they've managed to butcher most of this season.
One more "Gah!" for good measure....
THE WTF?!
Last week, ABC Daytime announced the cancellation of daytime soap opera staples "One Life to Live" and "All My Children," leaving the network's daytime lineup with one soap opera ("General Hospital"). GH joins what will become only four surviving soap operas on network television (ABC's "Days of Our Lives," and CBS's "The Bold & the Beautiful" and "The Young and the Restless"). OLTL and AMC become the third and fourth soap to be canceled in the last two years.
I watched "One Life to Live" for a few months last year and then stopped once the stories I was following ended, and most of the actors were fired. But it wasn't a terrible show, and I'll mourn its loss. I can agree that television is changing, and that maybe soap operas are a somewhat dated format. But there are still loyal viewers and fans out there, and it sucks that they are losing shows they've watched for THIRTY or FORTY YEARS. That's a lifetime.
I think my major complaint is that these dramatic serials are being replaced by more cookie cutter talk shows. I mean, really, do we need more groups of people gabbing at each other over inane topics? Really?
I don't know. But I do applaud Hoover for listening to their consumers and pulling their ads from ABC. Some might say it's counterproductive to pull ad revenue from a show that relies on it to stay afloat, but it's already canceled, no? I can't imagine ABC Daytime would eat humble pie and reverse the cancellations, so why not show them exactly how their fans feel about this betrayal?
