Michael Offutt's Blog, page 95

The New York Times was right NOT to collaborate with the Panama Papers Leak because paying subscribers want original content that no one else has.

This weekend on NPR's "All Things Considered" program, the host Ari Shapiro interviewed several people at the center of the Panama Papers Leak, which has an estimated 11.5 million files and has been a collaboration of hundreds of media outlets around the world. The interview, which is pretty fascinating, went over how the whole thing got started and how a team worked in more than 25 languages so that they could all publish their stories at the same time.

Of particular interest to me was a section of the interview in which Ari asked (I think it was Gerard Ryle but my memory fails) the question, "Why do you think this hasn't been a bigger story in the United States?" He offered up the answer that the major newspaper outlets like The New York Times refused to collaborate on the story, and it just wouldn't work out. He claimed that newspapers like The New York Times still have a "We can do this on our own" mentality, and said that this is out of step with the modern times where all information is shared.

I actually had some strong opinions about this. First off, I think that opinion is wrong. I happen to have a New York Times subscription, and I don't subscribe to that paper so that I can read what everyone else is printing. That's what "shared content" means. It's the same as when a Walking Dead episode airs and everyone from Forbes to Vanity Fair to yours truly puts up a post about the episode and tries to single out one or two things that maybe no one else has said (which is impossible to do).
Truly original content is how newspapers make their mark in a digital world overrun by the same
stories printed and reprinted off of the associated press. For me, the Times has carefully cultivated a resource of extremely good writers who have (among them) credentials like Nobel Prizes, Pulitzer Prizes, and Peabody awards. In a day and age where everyone and their dog can throw up an opinion online, I fall back on credentials when I look to my news. I also want opinions that I can't find anywhere else, and The New York Times has some of the best opinion pages I've seen. And if I pay for something, I want original content.

I hate that there are journalists out there who despise The New York Times because they have a "we can do this on our own" mentality. That's precisely what makes The New York Times worth subscribing to. Otherwise, why even have news outlets at all? We could all just get our news from Twitter (which would be horrible by the way). The New York Times allows me to read the opinions of some of the smartest, most influential people in the world, and what they have to say has value to me.

Mon Mothma hasn't aged a day and is that a Grand Admiral uniform we're seeing? So many observations about Star Wars: Rogue One and so few answers.

The Star Wars: Rogue One trailer dropped yesterday and I had tons of observations, or questions framed as observations. Would you expect anything less? So naturally I'm going to blog about them because that's what blogs are for, right?
1) Who was Mr. Fancy Cloak? I liked that cloak and that look and immediately thought Tarkin! But then not so fast because Tarkin didn't ever strike me as someone who would wear a cloak. Then I remembered my Timothy Zahn novels and a character named "Grand Admiral Thrawn" that dressed like that, all in white. So is this a Grand Admiral? Hmm. Hey, they could have salvaged something from the old extended universe. That's a pretty huge database of some really interesting ideas.
2) Imperial Guard! Remember those guys in red that looked really cool but never did anything? They were all over Return of the Jedi's throne room sequence. Do we actually get to see them kick ass in Rogue One? I sure hope so.
3) Seeing the AT-AT's in a Pirates of the Caribbean-type setting is actually really cool. Maybe it's the director's ode to "Apocalypse Now!" New quote for the movie, "I love the smell of blasters in the morning."
4) Mon Mothma! If that's the original actress from Return of the Jedi thirty years ago, she hasn't aged a bit. Whhaatt? Seriously. She looks exactly like I remembered her looking. How is that possible?

Connecting with other living things is the reward for facing down insecurities about writing. Don't be afraid to take a stand and show your opinions to the world.

Today is the first Wednesday of the month of April.

For you bloggers participating in the A to Z challenge, I just want to say that I wish you luck in completing it. As for my insecurity, I think I still struggle to make a point with my writing. I still struggle to tell people what I really think. Writing (for me) is all about facing this terror and putting myself out there so that people can say: "that's gross" or "that's so weird" or "I like this" or even "you are my favorite author." I really like that last line by the way. It's my favorite.

I just wanted to point out that C.S. Lewis once said, "By confining your child to blameless stories of child life in which nothing at all alarming ever happened, you would fail to banish the terrors, and would succeed in banishing all that can ennoble them or make them endurable."

I think this quote is easily interpretable in a number of ways. For me it reinforces this idea: don't be afraid to make a point with your writing. A point is where you make a stand. It's where you reveal who you are, and readers will either like or dislike what they see. But remember that even if your reader rejects what you write, it is better to face that rejection than it is to hide from it. Being "safe" is a good way to be "invisible," and I don't think that's why any of us write. After all, most of us compose words because we think we have something interesting to say. And how can we stimulate interest if we never take the leap to communicate what we believe with other living things?

I've been fortunate enough as a writer to connect with a number of readers, and I'm continuing to do so. But I never could have made that connection if I'd failed to face my fear and just told stories in which "nothing at all alarming ever happened." 

Barbara Gordon's gruesome fate in The Killing Joke is getting the full-blown animated treatment this summer.

I'm kind of excited that this summer we are getting an adaptation of Alan Moore's The Killing Joke starring Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill (as the voice of the Joker of course). Whether or not you've actually read and either hated or loved the comic book (it's one that is very controversial), if you collect comics then you know that The Killing Joke is one of the most famous comic books of all time. It has dozens of alternate covers (the one with the green writing on it is the first printing but probably not worth that much money). As people have pointed out before, comic book companies produce such huge print runs of gimicky stories that even several decades later, none of them are worth anything.

The most important thing that you should know about The Killing Joke (if you haven't read it) is that it sets up Barbara Gordon becoming a paraplegic at the hands of the Joker. Basically, the Joker knocks on the door of the Gordon residence, and when Barbara answers the door he shoots her in front of her father, Jim Gordon. Because Barbara Gordon is Batgirl, that ends her escapades and sets her up to become Oracle. Oh and it's implied in the same comic book that she's later sexually assaulted by the Joker's goons because what Batgirl went through wasn't bad enough.

Maybe now that The Killing Joke is being made, it will open the door for other Batman-esque stories: Knightfall, the Long Halloween, and Hush. Also, it'd be nice if an animation studio adapted some of the Swamp Thing stories, because (for a while) Swamp Thing was pretty darn good. Any of you have any opinions on whether or not The Killing Joke should have been animated? I'd love to read your comments on the subject.

Could Ezra Bridger on Star Wars Rebels end up being Supreme Leader Snoke?

This is your spoiler warning as I intend to talk about all of the events in Wednesday night's Star Wars Rebels season finale: Twilight of the Apprentice.

There is so much to say about the second season finale of Star Wars Rebels that I hardly know where to begin. Called "Twilight of the Apprentice" it may be thus named because we've just seen the swan song of one of my favorite characters: Ahsoka Tano (Anakin Skywalker's one and only padawan), which has been an epic seven-year arc if you consider the character was created in The Clone Wars with the sole intent that there would be a showdown with Darth Vader at some point in a blazing lightsaber battle to the death.
The ambiguous outcome/dream sequence following the lightsaber battle on a Sith Temple on Malachor has led the online community to believe that Ahsoka may not be dead. However, Rebels is a story that has always seemed to me to be about Kanan and Ezra, so I doubt we will see much of Tano in the future. I'd like to think that she survived, but what better way to end a character than with the biggest bad of all taking them out. It's a little sad but also elegant in a way.

The other thing that came as a real surprise to me was the appearance of Darth Maul again. Now going by Maul (how he survived a lightning storm battle with Emperor Palpatine is beyond me, but then again, this is the same guy that survived being cut in half by Qui Gon). Maul lured Ezra to the Dark Side so easily it wasn't even funny. I like to think that it was written this way, because Star Wars Rebels is a television show on the Disney channel with an audience (target group) around thirteen or fourteen years old. But literally, Ezra had became fully engaged with the Dark Side of the force basically in the time it took to ride two elevators to the top of a pyramid. Enough at least that he was able to open a Sith holocron all by himself by show's end...something that only a Sith is supposed to be able to do.

This revelation leads me to conclude that (in recollection of the events we saw in episode VII) either Ezra Bridger or Darth Maul might (in fact) be Supreme Leader Snoke (whom we saw in the chair overlooking Kylo Ren in the movie). It seems fairly simple to assume Snoke could be either of these two. If Ezra Bridger were Snoke, it would explain his fascination with Luke Skywalker because he faced his dad in combat and Luke's dad destroyed his first lightsaber and basically opened his mind to the true power that the Dark Side possessed because Ezra saw him kill Ahsoka Tano. It also could be that Ezra (as Snoke) just wants to kill Luke Skywalker because he wants revenge against Vader (who happened to be Luke's dad). There was also the bit of foreshadowing when Ezra picked up a lightsaber that looked a lot like Kylo Ren's, and Maul did name Ezra "my apprentice" and kept stressing how there was always "two" in a Sith relationship (no more no less). So the path to Ezra becoming Snoke could be as easy as 1) Ezra killing Maul, and 2) then taking Kylo Ren as an apprentice at some point in the future (before the events of episode VII).
However, Snoke could also be Maul. Here's my evidence: first, the body types look eerily familiar if you contrast what we saw in episode VII to the way Maul moved in the series finale last night. As part of gaining the secret of immortality (previously known only to Darth Plagueis) I would think might also come a profound undead appearance and possibly the loss of the horns on his head? That would make him look a lot like Supreme Leader Snoke, if you could swallow that there would be those physical changes. Maul has already shown (and stated) that he no longer cares about the "Darth" title (I've never really been sure what that means). Perhaps it's a declaration similar to what Ahsoka said when she faced off against Vader and declared, "I am no Jedi." It's propagating this idea that (while the movies concern themselves with Skywalker and Yoda) there are other Force users in the galaxy that don't belong to either group as traditionally identified by the old Jedi Council. This gives leeway to walking around the statement from Yoda when he says to Luke on his deathbed, "When gone am I, the last of the Jedi will you be."
And then there's the matter of the whole Sith holocron that Ezra recovered. A holocron is like a huge library/database of Force knowledge. The Jedi have them and they can be used to teach other Jedi how to manipulate the Force. I never realized that the Sith would have them too. Presumably, it's going to be filled with all sorts of Sith tricks: Force Lightning and Undead Immortality spring to mind. Perhaps the ability to stop a blaster bolt in mid flight is also included (we saw Kylo Ren do this in episode VII). The thing that's got my mind swirling is why was Asajj Ventress' voice coming out of the Holocron? It could be that they used the same voice actress for the holocron. Or it could mean that the Holocron is Dathomirian technology (think witches from the planet Dathomir) as she was raised by the Nightsisters (who employed "magick" as opposed to the Force to do any number of miraculous things).
The last thing I wanted to touch on is that Kanan is now the Star Wars version of Daredevil. Maul blinded him, which is going to have a lot of repercussions I'm sure. Maybe it will make his Force use stronger. Or perhaps it's just a nod to the original Star Wars movies that with 1) Kanan blind and 2) Ezra embracing the dark side, that Luke really is the only alternative the Jedi have with any kind of chance to take down the Emperor.

Looking forward to season three. That season two finale was pretty darn incredible.

The Supergirl and Flash crossover had some pretty great moments and I hope it happens again.

When the Flash and Supergirl got together, it actually was better than watching cats on the internet (which is probably why the internet was invented in the first place). I've always liked the lighter feel of the Flash and teaming up with Supergirl (which also has a much lighter feel to it) seemed like a perfect fit. And then (of course) there was this moment early on:
When asked to explain your powers of speed, who wouldn't hook everyone
up with ice cream. By the way, I'm jealous that Barry needs to eat 10,000
calories a day just to stay thin. That's a superpower with some kick to it.I love the expression on Supergirl's face when she realizes that she has ice cream. But there's no way Barry paid for it so there is that issue...Barry you thief! Unless of course he just left a $20 and was like "keep the change." But there were so many great moments from the crossover. Seriously. And the best line of the night went to Cat Grant who kinda/sorta had a Deadpool-esque "break the fourth wall moment" when she commented that the cast of characters before her looked like the youth-obsessed, attractive, and racially diverse cast of a CW show. Oh my.
I suppose racially diverse and attractive does describe this cast. Cat Grant
nailed it. But then again, she is the CEO of a large company.And then there was the fact that the Flash just loves that Kara is an alien. He wants her to take a picture of him standing in front of her spaceship, which is in this top secret government facility devoted to "very serious things." How can someone not love an episode that is poking fun at itself so intently?
I hope that CBS decides to renew Supergirl. It's had a pretty strong and convincing first season. As of this writing, there's been no word yet. The only thing I didn't like about the crossover was that it took place on a different Earth that Barry just happened to pop into. That makes it seem like crossovers might be harder. I would have liked them to be in the same universe. But hey, maybe if Supergirl gets canceled on CBS it could get picked up by the CW. That would be kinda fun, and they could fix the alternate universe stuff and start building a CW version of the Justice League. Now all they'd need is a t.v. version of Wonder Woman. I suppose they could go with "Wonder Girl" since all of these shows take place pre- "Crisis on the Infinite Earths." For what it's worth, I thought Wonder Girl was cooler than Wonder Woman in many ways (when she was with the Teen Titans).

Say what you will about Batman v Superman. Wonder Woman's entrance was the best of any character since Darth Maul lit up a double-bladed lightsaber.

Warning: there may be some spoilers in this post.

Last week I saw Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and I'm actually going to say that I loved it despite the fact that all the critical reviews were terrible. I think my passion for it has to do with the way Zach Snyder films/portrays superhero action. Disclaimer: I love to watch really powerful heroes and villains slug it out on screen. It's fun, and Zach Snyder uses odd camera angles (to put the viewer in the action) and the clever use of computer graphics makes it look like the punches and sword swings really have a lot of power to them (as opposed to the silly wire work present in CBS's Supergirl). Also, Wonder Woman's entrance (when she saved the Batman from Doomsday's face beam of death by blocking it with her magical bracers) was the best entrance since Darth Maul was introduced to audiences in The Phantom Menace.

And yes! for Batman v Superman embracing Kingdom Come Wonder Woman. In that comic book (drawn by Alex Ross) Wonder Woman has the sword of Hephaestus (because it's magical it can actually cut Superman) and wings (along with her normal gear). Plus kudos to Zach Snyder for really capturing how powerful Wonder Woman's magic lasso is, i.e., it's unbreakable. And her having Doomsday in it was nothing less than spectacular.

This is a pretty common pose for Darkseid. He sits around
thinking about how he's going to destroy all his enemies.
I wonder who they'll get to play him or if they'll just totally
go all computer graphics on him with a voice over.Another thing that I loved about the movie was that it is the first time that a movie starring either Batman or Superman went "big" and decided to embrace the DC universe at large. I'm excited at the prospect of the Justice League now, fighting hand-in-hand against Darkseid (who was foreshadowed to be on his way in the "dream sequence" when Bruce Wayne saw a post-apocalyptic desert emblazoned with the Omega symbol).

Darkseid is basically DC's version of Galactus or Thanos. He's a merciless dictator from a world named Apokolips, and is the leader of a group of evil gods. Darkseid is on a quest for the Anti-Life Equation, which can rob all sentient beings of free will. Additionally, the winged creatures you see in the vision that Batman has are called "parademons" and they're Darkseid's minions.

This picture by George Perez was the
source of many a nerdgasm back in the day.Darkseid is a great bad guy to use because he's so powerful. Let's face it, when you have heroes with the kind of strengths that Wonder Woman, Superman, and the Flash bring to the table, you've got to have bad guys that can handle all of that. One of my favorite stories from comic book history was actually a crossover of DC and Marvel where the Justice League and the Avengers went up against Darkseid (yeah he's that powerful). In one scene, Superman ended up using Captain America's shield and Thor's Hammer. At the time, that was an epic nerdgasm. Seriously.

I admire comic book world building, and I think I understand it in this way: first you build this really powerful character. Next, you go about finding ways for that character to be challenged in the universe in which it lives. It's actually basic and simple but leads to a lot of interesting things when (as a writer) you start answering questions. For example, you might ask: how did so and so get his powers? And the answer essentially leads to world-building.

In some ways, I do the same thing in my writing by starting out with a character that I personally find compelling (and who has interesting powers) and then set about building a universe for that character to inhabit. Before long, stories emerge and voila: world-building 101. For you writers out there, do you have any tips on world-building that you'd care to share in the comics? Did any of you out there actually like Batman v. Superman? I know most people gave it bad reviews even if it did manage to demolish the box office this weekend. But who knows, comic book movies never have been strong on critical review.

I'm on hiatus until next Monday March 28th so I'll see you then.

I'll be back next Monday, March 28th. Have a Happy Easter. I can't wait to talk to you about Batman v. Superman. 

There's eleven minutes of footage from the new movie Batman V. Superman available online through all the trailers and promos

There is eleven minutes of footage available from Batman V. Superman, which comes out next week. When I saw this supercut that someone put together from all the trailers, promos, etc. that have been released, I just had to watch it. I think it's pretty incredible that they've released essentially 10% of the film already. And as of yesterday, there's even more available. Anyway, if you're looking forward to the movie, you may want to watch all of this. There's stuff I hadn't seen for sure.

I bet you didn't know that the cue balls in the billiards halls of America are magnetic.

I enjoy a game of pool at one of the coin-operated pool tables in a bar or billiards hall just like the next guy. I just haven't had much opportunity to play with anyone in a few years as most of my friends actually don't live in Salt Lake City, and those that do don't like to hang out at billiards halls.

My last trip to a billiards hall was a really strange one. I went with my friend Dylan and we were staying in Boise, Idaho with his dad. Bored, we went into town to play pool. It got late and being young guys we didn't really want to just go back home. So we saw this girl scraping her window out in the parking lot and she was parked next to our car. I asked her real nice if she knew of any place we could go that might still be open that had pool tables.

Out of the blue this car pulled up blocking my car from being able to back up. The doors popped open, and four guys with tattoos, spiked hair, chains (I saw a baseball bat too) hopped out and they asked the girl, "Are these two guys botherin' you, Wendy?" At that point I knew I needed to be very careful about what I said. Anyway, she said that we were just looking for information and they settled down and then we went on our way. But I never forgot that situation. How on a flick of a switch things can go wrong, and it doesn't matter if you are "right" or "wrong" because no one cares. I call that the "hidden pockets of civilized society" where we all live under this illusion that the law protects us but in fact, violence can occur in a matter of seconds and oftentimes you will be on your own.

So back to the "magnetic cue ball" thing. I always assumed that maybe the cue ball was a slightly different size or weight, but never bothered to follow-up on it. Then last night I saw this amazing video that does a breakdown of exactly how a cue ball always comes back to you when the other colored balls stay sunk. How you might ask? In one word: magnets. The cue ball has a thin layer of iron in it just below the white surface, and a strong magnet in the machine pulls it to one side so that it avoids the ramp that channels all the other balls into the storage box.

And that's not the only secret in this video. Watch and learn, friends.

Oh and in case you wanted to know, I changed up my blog a bit. It was looking kinda stale after five years of blogging (that seems like a lot LOL). Thanks for reading all those words. :)