Matt Moore's Blog, page 22

Great Reviews of Tesseracts Thirteen and Tesseracts Fourteen

A review of a number of books, which will appear in Cemetery Dance #66, included Tesseracts Thirteen and Tesseracts Fourteen (you'll need to scroll down), giving special mention to my stories in each anthology.

About my story in Tesseracts Thirteen, "The Weak Son," they called it "a welcome variation on the traditional ghost story, with an Alzheimerish twist of the tail." I couldn't put it any better!

As for my story in Tesseracts Fourteen, they said:

Finally, three stories with dark science fictional underpinnings stand out—Matthew Moore's "The Machinery of Government," in which a recently promoted public official finds himself caught in the midst of an invasion of Canada by an unnamed aggressor (not the US)… Strangely, all three of these stories seem like excerpts from longer works — and in all three cases, I hope the authors do, in fact, expand on what they've done here.

I'm thrilled to have my name appear in Cemetery Dance in the same article with Tim Lebbon (for The Thief of Broken Toys, published by ChiZine Publications), Tony Burgess, Brent Hayward, Erik Mohr (who did the cover for Tesseracts Fourteen) and David Nickle, who also got mentions for both his stories "The Radejastians" (T13) and "Basements" (T14).

Review: The Drunk and On Drugs Happy Funtime Hour Pilot

First, why am I reviewing a comedy from the creators of Trailer Park Boys? Because The Drunk and On Drugs Happy Funtime Hour has more to do with The Prisoner than TPB. This is a trippy, reality-bending series that I enjoyed as much as a spec-fic show as a comedy. Not since Lost have I been so intrigued as to trying to figure out just what is going on.

What is The Drunk and On Drugs Happy Funtime Hour about?

We open with Amy Sedaris as a production executive ranting about footage delivered by Robb Wells, John Paul Tremblay and Mike Smith (who played Ricky, Julian and Bubbles on Trailer Park Boys and also wrote for the series) for their new variety show, The Happy Funtime Hour. The footage is too bizarre to be used and she wonders what the hell they are doing.

Jump cut to Wells and Tremblay waking up in a trashed hotel room. Patrick Roach (Randy from TPB) arrives, explaining that he stashed Wells and Tremblay at the hotel to let the drugs in their systems wear off. They're six weeks into a shoot and have been high the whole time, so the two men have no memory of what's happened. We also learn all the actors are playing versions of themselves.

Roach tells them the drugs are in everything, not to eat anything blue (the colour of the drug) and the drugs have made the actors they hired for the series think they really are the characters they're playing. Before he can say more, he's apprehended by the police—or actors playing cops—and Wells and Tremblay are on their own to find the last member of their trio Mike Smith.

What follows is a trippy experience as the three men wander the town of Port Cockerton and meet its bizarre residents. However, we never know if the town is real or a set, nor if the residents are actors stuck in their roles or actually live there. Among the characters are pirates, superheroes, soldiers, cops, three gay radio station DJs and a trio of gangsters. Often, these characters are played by Well, Tremblay and Smith, which makes the experience even more reality-twisting because its possible the encounters are all a hallucination.

After two episodes, the plot driver is the boys trying to escape Port Cockerton while avoiding the gangsters, who are convinced the boys know the location of someone named Cincinnati Harry who can save the oldest gangster's life.

So why is this like The Prisoner?

The show is very meta. At the end of the first episode, the boys are exposed to the drug and began to freak out. Since they've been trying to recall what the show is about the entire episode, on the drugs they tell each other that they're on the show at that very moment. Both a drug induced hallucination and fact for the viewer. And the name of the show they are creating within the show is the same as the show itself.

The police, who may or may not be actors, have the job of keeping people happy by force-feeding them drugs and making sure no one leaves Port Cockerton. Sound familiar?

The show also plays with presentation, often changing depending on characters or if the point of view character is hallucinating . When the cops are on screen, the image takes on a washed-out, 60s-era quality. For the soldiers, grainy black and white. Super heroes turn everything into a cartoon. And we switch from standard TV 4:3 ratio to widescreen.

We also have no idea how many of the characters fit together. While the boys have met the gangsters and soldiers, the pirates' and superheroes' roles is still to be revealed.

Is it funny?

The Drunk and On Drugs Happy Funtime Hour is not laugh-out-loud funny as Trailer Parks Boys, nor is it trying to be. TPB was a genuine comedy, going for jokes. This is absurdist humour—bizarre, outrageous and, yes, vulgar.

Will I Keep Watching?

Hell yes, but the show needs to start delivering the goods. While I am intrigued, we have to start to see how the pieces fit together. Like Lost and X-Files, spending too much time on "Isn't this weird? What's happening?" story telling will turn me off.

I'm also worried the show will follow a formula the first two episodes have: the episode starts with the boys waking up after coming off the drugs only to be exposed to the drugs at the end of the episode. Too much formula will also turn me off.

But with an 8 episode season, we are already well into the story and I'm looking forward to what will happen next.

The Drunk and On Drugs Happy Funtime Hour airs on Action (a Canadian channel) at 9PM.

Thoughts & Theories on The Dark Knight Rises Trailer

Seen the new trailer for the new Batman movie The Dark Knight Rises? If not, watch it on Facebook or below since spoilers will follow.

Great story telling & teasing

First, setting it up as Nolan's last Batman film tells us all bets are off. Characters can die. Batman might be stopped. Knowing that Bane, the man who broke Batman's back in the comics, is in this film certainly raises the stakes.

Next, cutting to an infirmed Jim Gordon is brilliant. Oldman has nailed Gordon as balancing realism with idealism, a driven, flawed man who needs to do the right thing but is not ignorant of the dangers he faces. In the hands of a lesser actor, this scene—and the trailer—would lack a lot of power. Here, it begs the question: What happened to Jim? I want to see this movie to find out.

And what happened to Batman? At the 0:43 mark, Gordon says "And then you were gone." Not "he was gone," but "you." Since we gather that Gordon is talking to Bruce Wayne (since Christian Bale is using his normal Bruce voice), has Gordon learned Batman's identity? Then he says "Now this evil rises" and begs Bruce for the Batman to return. "He must," Gordon gasps. "He must."

Is Bruce retired, no longer having the pain that drives him to be Batman? Or is Bruce injured beyond his ability to be Batman? After all, we never see Wayne in that scene, just Gordon. Is that because Wayne is in a wheelchair?

So, what's happening?

What is the evil Gordon talks about? Like many have said, the League of Shadows returns in this film. In Batman Begins, fire played a major role with the League. Is the viral campaign "The Fire Rises" talking about the League burning Gotham? Does Gordon have an oxygen mask because of smoke inhalation?

And when does that scene take place? At the beginning, setting Batman on his path? The middle, as Gordon and Wayne need to figure out what to do? At the end of the film, with both Wayne and Gordon broken and beaten, but knowing Gotham needs its hero to rise again?

A few more question

At the 0:51 mark, we see someone climbing out of a well. Is this the same well Bruce fell into as a child? And is this new footage for the film, showing Bruce emerging into the light (perhaps after recovering from a devastating injury?) or is this footage cut from Batman Begins?

Same with 0:58 with Bruce doing push ups. Is that new footage, or rehashed footage from Batman Begins? It looks a lot like Ra's al Ghul's lair.

Finally, at the 1:23 mark, we can see someone behind Batman in the top-right. Hugo Strange? Ducard / Ra's al Ghul?

My theory

Everyone has their theory about the plot of The Dark Knight Rises, so here's mine with what little information I have (but also knowing how Nolan loves to borrow from the comics):

With the death of Harvey Dent and the Batman thought a murderer, Gotham has given up. For the League of Shadows, they realize even though the Joker, their agent, has been stopped, he succeeded in breaking Gotham's spirit. Now they need to destroy the last man in their way: the Batman. They unleash Bane, an alchemic monstrosity, telling him what they did not tell the Joker: Bruce Wayne is the Batman.

Meanwhile, Commissioner Gordon and Batman track down the daring and charismatic burglar Catwoman, one of dozens of costumed villains that have emerged. With Batman's reputation tarnished, their partnership is secret while Bruce Wayne wonders if he has it in him to continue.

Yet both men are unprepared for the arrival of Bane, who opens the gates of Arkham Asylum, pushing Batman and the Gotham police to the limit to round up the escaped criminals. Exhausted, Wayne returns to the newly rebuild Wayne manner, only to be confronted by Bane and left paralyzed.

With the dark knight defeated, the League, led by Ra's al Ghul's daughter Talia, move on Gotham, but find Bane is not willing to surrender what he views as his territory. The war between the League and Bane's criminal army—with Catwoman hoping to destabilize both forces—threatens to physically destroy the city.

With Jim Gordon injured during these battles, Bruce Wayne confesses to him that he was Batman, but no more. Gordon implores him that the city needs Batman to rise, to fight back.

Hoping to find a successor among the League's ranks, Wayne is taken before Talia. Recognizing they have a common enemy, Talia reveals to Wayne that her father had another alchemic trick, this one for regeneration. As proof, she takes him to the re-built training facility in the Himalayas where his wounds are healed. And Talia shares the secret with how to defeat Bane: the breathing apparatus on his mask.

Returning to Gotham, Batman and Catwoman unite to take down Bane, which Batman is able to do, but at the price of killing the monstrous man. Recognizing Bruce Wayne can do more to re-build Gotham than Batman, Wayne fakes the death of the dark knight. Catwoman, recognizing the damage costumed heroes are having on Gotham, also retires. Together, they agree to help rebuild Gotham if the League will leave it alone. Otherwise, they will expose them.

OK, not great, but I'd see that movie.

How to attract more followers on Twitter

"How do I get more Twitter followers?"

That's the magic question isn't it? Seeing how easy it is to follow someone on Twitter, especially with the new Follow Button, sometimes all it takes is a great tweet seen by enough people to gain a whole bunch of followers.

…Then you have to keep saying great things to keep them.

But let's go back to a few words that you may have skimmed over: "seen by enough people."

If you don't have the followers in the first place, they won't see your tweet. Sure, you can use hashtags or build your Twitter feed into your site. But to really reach a lot of eyeballs, your message needs to be retweeted by someone with a major following.

And how to you do that?

Easy: Compliment them.

A compliment will probably be retweeted

Think about it. Someone says something nice about you. Even someone not too many people know about. Even if you're a high-profile consultant or well-known artist, you'd want to share the nice words with your followers. To tell the world "Hey, someone likes me."

On Twitter, it's as easy as the hitting the retweet button.

Imagine you see:

Just had good talk w/ @FamousPerson at #socialmedia conference. Great ideas & insights. I recommend her blog: bit.ly/******

and you're @FamousPerson. Wouldn't you retweet something like? (Especially if that conversation just happened?) If the answer is yes, then the person who tweeted that has now been seen by all of your followers.

Now imagine you're the one who sent the tweet. Your tweet and username have been seen by more people than you could ever reach on your own. A minority of them will click over to your Twitter stream to see what you're about and fewer still will follow you, but they're more than you would have reached otherwise.

Some Advice

Now, before you start throwing compliments every which way, be honest in your praise of the other person. No one likes a suck-up. But if you are honest and forthright, it will shine through.

Google+ vs. Facebook

I know I am coming late to the party regarding Google+, but I've been trying to get an invitation to no avail.

So, I will have to write this post blind. The big question is "Will Google+ be the Facebook-killer?" Many have speculated, endorsing "yes" or "no" opinions and providing some well-reasoned arguments.

For me, the answer is "We'll see." Experts and specialists are not mystics or seers. The community at large will determine how well Google+ does.

But, some things I have been thinking about:

The invite-only beta isn't going well

Seeing the negative reaction to its invite-only Beta, Google+'s first big hurdle will be attracting people to its service who have felt burned for being left out in the first place. A post on Google+ by Paul Allen estimates 10 million users, but after almost a week of waiting for an invitation, I'm not one of them. If I have to wait too long, the excitement and curiosity will pass and I'll stick with Facebook.

Is the "Circles" Concept enough?
Google Circles Video

A lot has been made about the privacy feature, allowing users to create circles of friends and only sharing certain updates with them. This idea is not new. Ottawa-based Ramius did this with their Sixent social networking site.  Thought it has been around for a few years, it has not achieved much success. (Granted, it does not have the backing of Google.)

Still, this feature might be enough to draw people to Google+.

Will people leave Facebook for Google+, or set up yet another profile?

But, many argue, will people abandon years spent on Facebook for a new site just because of the Circles issue? Perhaps. Facebook wiped out MySpace because Facebook provided a cleaner interface and better tools for communicating with people in a way we want to communicate. If Google can provide an even better interface and more intuitive tools, it might have a shot.

Even if it is not a Facebook-killer, it could still be a competitor. I maintain profiles on Goodreads and LinkedIn for much the same purpose as Facebook: networking. I just use them to different ends. The same might be true for Google+.

The trouble for Facebook is if they see their ad revenue drop as Google is able to fine-tune its AdWords program with data gathered from Google+.

Single login

Consider: A lot of people already have Google accounts through signing up for YouTube, GMail or Google Docs. So, you are not signing up for yet another site, but another service that Google offers.

If Google+ can make sharing from its tools—YouTube, Google Docs, Picasa, GMail, Blogger, Google Reader—easy and seemless, it will have one up on Facebook. While Facebook sharing buttons are everywhere, mentally it just might seem easier to share from one Google tool to another. Not to mention the ease of sharing things that might have limited access, like Google Docs or YouTube videos set to private. This cannot be as easily done over Facebook.

This is especially true since you only need to log into one Google service to be logged into them all, rather than logging into both Google and Facebook. If anyone has ever shared a computer, you know that sometimes the other users doesn't always log out, leaving you accidentally posting to their Facebook / Twitter. With Google+, you just log into Google to start sharing.

Don't forget Android

Another wildcard is Google has its own mobile OS, which Facebook does not. Very soon you will be able to shoot a video, geo-tag it and say "Share video with family" into your phone. Google+ will then make your video and where it was shot available to everyone in your "family" circle. Yes, Facebook could also build this app, but Google always has all of the pieces in place.

Facebook will adapt

Despite these advantages, Facebook will now doubt adapt. Mark  Zuckerberg has shown himself willing to launch new ideas, test the waters, and adapt. Perpetual Beta is the mindset of Facebook. Though Google is certainly flexible in changing and improving its products, it spends a lot more time in development before launching. This difference in mindset could allow Zuckerberg & Co. to develop their own Circles variant and beat Google to the punch with a series of quick tweaks and overhauls.

So… what?

In the end, these discussions are fascinating, especially what one even might tip the balance? Could a celebrity cancel their Facebook page and set up on Google+ exclusively? Might movie tie-in find Google+ a better platform, setting the model for future movie promotions? Or will Google+ fizzle and die in the coming months.

Stayed tuned.

Sorry for the Silence – I'm Still Here

Sorry I have not been posting of late. It's been a busy few weeks with personal stuff and the job.

I am working on a new post with my thoughts on Google+, which should be short since what I think are just one person's opinion. The Web community will decide whether Google+ is the next Google Maps or Google Wave.

I did make it to the Soundgarden show last night in Ottawa, which was great.

And I did sell another short story to AE: The Canadian Science Fiction Review.

So again, sorry for the silence. I hope to get back up on the horse and keep talking with you all about social media, science fiction, horror, and whatever.

Zombies, the Prix Aurora Awards, Robert J. Sawyer – All in my interview on The Page of Reviews

Adam Shaftoe has posted a podcast interview he did with me on his The Page of Reviews site. We'd planned on half an hour, but all told this clocks in at an hour and fifteen minutes. So, the interview is available in two downloadable MP3s. Head over to this site or you can download Part 1 and Part 2.

In our discussions, we cover:

My writing, including "Touch the Sky, They Say", "Full Moon Hill" and "Silverman's Game"
The Prix Aurora Awards – who's nominated, why the awards are important and is it fair that a superstar like Robert J. Sawyer is in the same category as lesser known writers trying to establish themselves. (My answer: yes, because the Canadian public put him on the ballot so he deserves to be there… though Mr. Sawyer has plenty of awards, so please give my friends Hayden Trenholm or Marie Bilodeau a chance!)
Conventions – Being on panels and how cons and small presses have a symbiotic relationship
Two—count 'em, two—Star Trek references!
ChiZine Publications and all its awesomeness (and read the submission guidelines before you submit!)

Many thanks to Adam for the great chat and the hour-long off-mic conversation we continued to have once it was all over.

Writing Over the Victoria Day Weekend

A view of the lakeshore

While most of my fellow East Block Irregular passed a writing weekend together in Ottawa, I was with my wife and in-laws at their cottage north of the city.

Though I was able to spend some time writing, a weekend at the cottage is a challenge. There's chores to be done—packing and unpacking, preparing and cleaning up meals, and you always leave the cottage how you found it, so lots of vacuuming and sweeping. Not to mention chatting, lounging and enjoying each others' company.

What's more, the Victoria Day long weekend is always a work weekend. Putting the dock in the lake, mowing the grass, trimming branches, dusting, hauling, washing.

What secrets lurk in the old wood shed?

However, thanks to the lousy weather, I was able to get in about 5 hours revising "The Leaving," a short story I have been working on for some time. It was first written a year ago and I always had a few niggling doubts about it, which were confirmed by some personalized rejections.

So, I decided to revise it. While I kept the plot the same, I replaced the two main characters. Even though I think the story and its themes are stronger, placing two new characters in a series of events designed for others introduces some Rube Goldberg plot mechanic challenges: why did that character say that? Why did she react that way? Why does he arrive when he does? And since this is a horror story, why don't they get the hell away from the monster?

The result of the re-write is a lot of back story I needed to work out for myself, and then trimming as much of it away as I can without confusing the reader. So that's how I spent my writing time—reading and re-reading, consolidating and revising info dumps so they don't seem so expository, replacing "tell" with "show" (and sometimes "show" with "tell" if it's not important and saves a lot of useless words) and giving characters distinct voices.

The story is around 5.5K words right now, but feels a bit heavy. I hope to have to trimmed down to size this week, followed by some "desk time" and another review late next week.

I hope all of you have a great long weekend. The Canada Day long weekend is only six weeks away!

Hayden Trenholm, Marie Bilodeau and I Interviewed by Metro (Ottawa) for Aurora Nominations

A quick note: East Block Irregulars Hayden Trenholm, Marie Bilodeau and I were interviewed by the local newspaper Metro. In it, we talk about our Aurora Award 2011 nominations and our writing.

It's a short piece, so please give it a read.

Voting for the Auroras starts in June, so stay tuned for more information.

I've Been Nominated for the Aurora Award 2011 for "Touch the Sky, They Say"

My short story "Touch the Sky, They Say," which is available for free on AE: The Canadian Science Fiction Review, is one of five stories nominated in the Best Short Story category for the Aurora Awards. Thanks to everyone who nominated me!

What Are the Aurora Awards?

The Auroras are an annual award that recognize the best in Canadian fantasy and science fiction writing, artwork and fan activities. Past winners for Best Short Fiction include big names like Robert J. Sawyer and Peter Watts as well as my friends David Nickle, Douglas Smith and Hayden Trenholm.

This year, I have a number of friends who are also up for Auroras:

Hayden Trenholm ("The Burden of Fire") and Suzanne Church ("Destiny Lives in the Tattoo's Needle") are also nominated in the Best Short Story category
Marie Bilodeau (Destiny's Blood) and Hayden Trenholm (Stealing Home) are nominated for Best Novel
Sandra Kasturi ("Let the Night In") and Helen Marshall ("Waiting for the Harrowing"), fellow ChiZine Publications staff, for best poem
Douglas Smith (for this short story collection Chimerascope), Diane Walton (for On Spec magazine) and Brett Alexander Savory (for co-editing Tesseracts Fourteen) for Best English Related Work
Erik Mohr for Best Artist
Sandra and Helen for best Best Fan Organizational for the Toronto SpecFic Colloquium

What Happens Now?

I'll follow up with more information about this story and, once it's posted, how to vote.

For now, thanks again for your support.