Bryan Caron's Blog, page 33

WANWM – Chapter 9 Answers

This week, we have two very similar answers to choose from, but answers which could send the narrative in two very different directions.

As you consider these great choices, make sure to take into account the story thus far and where you would like to see it go. Check the Cliff Notes if you’d like a refresher of characters, important items, chapter summaries and links to the chapters in case you’d like to read them in full.

Answers are in order of submission. You have until 5 p.m. PST on Monday, February 2, 2015. The winning answer will be the basis for Chapter 9. In case of a tie, I will be the deciding vote.

I look forward to seeing which direction you’d all like to see the story go.

Take Our Poll

Movie Mayhem – Strange Magic

Every original story begins with a foundation in past lore. Whether that includes fables, mythologies or tales written centuries ago, inspiration is a key to building a story that people relate to, or find comfort in. Sometimes, these muses are hidden in a well-crafted, innovative idea. For others, like Strange Magic, the ingredients are on full display: Mix together a pound of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, a cup of Romeo and Juliet, a pinch of Ferngully and a dash of The Dark Crystal, then lather it in a bowl of love potion number 9. Voila! An odd little love story from the mind of George Lucas is born.

Set in the world of fairies, imps, goblins and sprites (and a combination of other weird insects and creatures), Strange Magic throws us into its mystical setting with just enough exposition to make us think we know everything we need to know — the land has been split into two distinct halves: the light half, led by the princess, Marianne (Evan Rachel Wood), is full of love, optimism and naiveté; the dark woods, ruled over by the sinister Bog King (Alan Cumming), is scornful and devious (and in a lot of ways, dimwitted). Like their homes, these two characters are worlds apart, yet one and the same. They have both been scorned by love in some way, and do everything in their power to keep others from falling into its treacherous web. It’s clear why Marianne has abandoned her idea of what love is when she discovers the man she is about to marry, Roland (Sam Palladio), is cheating on her with another woman, but the reason behind the Bog King’s desire to eradicate love altogether stems from an incident that is only alluded to throughout the majority of the film. When it is finally revealed, it’s more than anti-climactic, but still fits with the theme of the overall film.

Both Marianne and the Bog King are terrific characters that get wasted among a weak narrative that fails to deliver much in the form of tension between them. Their relationship is at the heart of the story, and yet they are given very little time to grow and flourish, both individually and as a enemies of each other. The producers want us to see their antagonism as a kinetic attraction, but the screen time they’re given warrants nothing more than antagonistic besties. Though we get to see the Bog King’s gradual transition from menacing overlord to sympathetic martyr, Marianne’s transition from naive little waif to independent warrior is relegated to a two minute song at the very beginning of the film. Having her growth mirror the Bog King’s opposite transformation would have bound them together to create a much more moving and powerful bond.

Instead, the film gets sidetracked by secondary characters and subplots that either have no purpose, or are dealt with for too long, thus diluting the main attraction. The heaviest of these subplots involves Sunny (Elijah Kelley), a dwarf who looks like Jaleel White in old-age makeup, and his acquisition of a love potion that will help him secure the love of his best friend — and Marianne’s googly-eyed sister — Dawn (Meredith Anne Bull), who seems infatuated with almost everyone except Sunny. Prompted by Roland for his own nefarious reasons, Sunny heads into the dark forest to search for the Sugar Plum Fairy (Kristin Chenoweth), who is being held captive by the Bog King to keep her from being able to make the desired potion.

From the jump, Sunny (as well as a couple of the Bog King’s minions) are set up to be the breakout comic relief, however, he’s given far more importance than is warranted. His side quest, as well as a superfluous subplot of trying to reacquire the potion after its stolen by some rat creature who wants to make all of the animals in the forest fall in love with each other, takes away a lot of time that could have been devoted to Marianne and the Bog King. Then again, the love potion angle does lead to one of the more amusing subplots in the film. When Dawn is accidentally struck by the potion, she is instantly captured by the Bog King, unable to look into Sunny’s eyes and fall in love. Instead, the potion is activated when she sees the Bog King, and her joy and love over him (as well as the reactions from other characters) creates the magic that the film reaches for throughout.

The soundtrack for the film, though, is where most of the fault can be found. The animation is so glorious in its attention to detail, and the character models are so beautiful (whether it be the gorgeous princesses, the pretty-boy war monger, or the creepy goblins), that you would expect the producers to match its quality with fun, inventive, original songs. Instead, we’re offered nothing more than “reinventions” of popular love songs from the last fifty years thrown out in short bursts that never allow us to latch onto them or their meaning. Coupled with the episodic narrative structure that causes the pace and flow of the film to be abundantly muddled, and voice acting that is somewhat indecisive (in both tone and the actor’s various accents), and Strange Magic, though aspiring to be an adventure for the ages, comes off as less than magical, keeping me from falling head over heels in love with it.

My Grade: B

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Next week, new movies include Project Almanac, The Loft, and Black or White. If you would like to see a review of one of these, or any other film out next week, please respond in the comments below.

Write A Novel With Me – Chapter 9

Welcome to the next chapter in our continuing saga. Chapter 9 once again brings us to new territory, as I have split the chapter into two parts. What does this mean for you, my charismatic readers? It means you get to answer not one, but two questions (that are related to each other, of course). It’ll definitely be interesting to see how I craft the story from here, but based on the answer given to Chapter 8’s question, I thought the narrative deserved a change of pace.

Before you begin, if you’d like to see the answer for Chapter 8’s question, “Why won’t the engines start?”, you can find it here. And if you’d like to get caught up on all previous chapters, or simply refresh your memory on what characters we’ve met so far and what they’ve had to go through, check out our extremely convenient cliff notes.

Now, please enjoy Chapter 9 of our story where we find out why the engines wouldn’t start.

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CHAPTER 9

Part I — Rick

The Osteris continued to be one step ahead of Rick.

As much as the Majestrata had told him about the Osteris, there was still very little he knew about it and the expanse of its power. But it was the only thing he could think of that could possibly be keeping his ship grounded. The connection Jaden had to Salinar was much stronger than he initially thought. Somehow, the Osteris must have bound them together so that they would never be separated from the other. Salinar depended on Jaden’s life to control the Osteris; it only made sense then that the Osteris needed to keep Jaden close, and would do so by any means necessary. If that meant the ship would start on its own if Salinar decided to leave the planet was questionable. It was far more conceivable that the Osteris wouldn’t allow Salinar to leave the planet without Jaden, either, which meant if she was attempting to leave, she would be having the same issues as Rick — just the thought of which amused Rick to no end.

He sat back and rested his hands behind his head. Serves the bitch right, he thought. The elation didn’t last long, though, as it occurred to him that she would figure it out sooner or later, and would be coming for them both — if she wasn’t already.

Rick turned and looked at Jaden. He lay so stiff and rigid, much like their mother as she slept so peacefully in the mahogany casket covered in daisies and roses. The emotions that flooded Rick’s body as he waited for her to wake from her never-ending nap were so countless, none of them could gain prominence over any other. He was incredibly sad, but his anger for not being able to help her kept any tears from forming, and his fear of living without her remained distant to the denial that anything had even happened.

See you later, alligator, he kept repeating in his head, hoping he would finally hear her return the pleasantry —

After awhile, crocodile.

If anything, at least he felt the soft kiss on the forehead that always followed the exchange, though it killed him to know that because Rick was super late and had to be shuffled off lest he get a third tardy slip and detention, the only time they didn’t perform the ritual was the last time he would have the chance to say, “I love you.”

Rick didn’t buy it. She was just playing a game. If he got close enough, she would sit up, with her hands in the form of claws and growl at him as she snuggled his neck and made him laugh uncontrollably. Maybe if he simply reached in to tickle her, perhaps then she’d break the act. His father squeezed his shoulders tightly, keeping him from reaching over the side of her forever bed. For the first time Rick could remember, his father was at a loss for words. He simply flashed the fakest of smiles (staying strong for the sake of his sons) and escorted Rick to his seat next to Jaden, who was too afraid to go to the casket. Unlike the others, Jaden was a bloody mess, unable to stop crying since their father sat them down on the couch to tell them the bad news. Being the awesome big brother his mother always hoped he’d be one day, Rick wrapped his arm around Jaden’s shoulders to comfort him — the first of Rick’s many acts of affection that kept Jaden protected from any harm.

It was hard for Rick to accept the fact that his initial need to keep Jaden safe had led to the failure to protect him from the true evils of the universe.

“I’m sorry, little brother,” Rick whispered. “I’m going to make this right.”

He checked the engines one last time (you never know), then stood and set a timer to shut the main power systems down. It was clear to him now that he couldn’t just sit around and wait for Salinar to ambush them. Rick had to be aggressive about this and figured that if she was on her way here, he was going to be the one on the offensive. He lowered the ramp and threw his dark glasses back on, taking one last look at Jaden before departing. As he settled to the floor of the cave, he slid his finger along the side of the glasses to switch the lenses from night vision to heat vision so as to make sure Salinar hadn’t already infiltrated the cave and was now hiding in wait among the rock. Without any sign of her — or any type of life, for that matter — Rick hustled back through the caves, cautiously searching every inch of them.

When he reached the cab, he took one last look around for any sign of Salinar, and then pulled them off to look for somewhere he might be able to hide the cab and give him the advantage when she did finally show. About a hundred yards from the mouth of the cave was a dense arch of trees and brush that would give him the perfect cover, but at the same time allow him a clear, unobstructed view of the cave. He jumped in the cab and as reached for the ignition, he felt the cold metal of a weapon (whether a gun or a knife he couldn’t be sure) press against the back of his neck. Making sure to keep his heart rate from exploding, he closed his eyes and regulated his breathing, raising his hands as slowly as he could.

Part II — Jaden

Staring at the heart rate monitor was a lot easier than watching his father’s chest, which with even the sharpest of eyes, he’d hardly be able to tell if he was even still breathing. It didn’t help that his father’s hand burned Jaden’s with its icy flaccidness. He knew his father’s life was reaching its inevitable end, but after having taken care of him for so long, it was hard to believe that that time was now. And his inability to accept it was affecting his life in more ways than one. His schoolwork was suffering (but what was new?), failing several classes over the past year, and his relationships weren’t much better. A half a dozen messages currently sat on his phone from his girlfriend, who he knew was using this time to scorn him for not paying more attention to her. He didn’t much care, as anyone inside their inner circle could tell you, the relationship was on the outs long before Jaden’s father was hospitalized. It seemed all either of them needed was an excuse to finally put an end to it… and this seemed the best opportunity.

But Jaden’s thoughts were far from his relationship status with Calii (that’s right, two i’s, as if it made her more special — or as she liked to put it, spedazzilr… ugh…). They were too focused on his anger toward Rick for leaving them both in a lurch and then forgetting about them altogether. In some way, Jaden blamed Rick for his father’s swift demise; somehow he thought Rick’s presence alone would have prolonged their father’s life exponentially. Jaden knew it was stupid, but he needed something to blame, and Rick was a terrific scapegoat. That hint of disappointment mixed with resentment would occasionally leak out when his father (in those seldom moments he was awake and lucid) talked about him in relation to a memory or anecdote that kept his spirits high.

Your brother will always be your blood, no matter the circumstances, his father might say when Jaden turned away with an obvious roll of his eyes. That or, maybe:

There are a million satisfying things in this world that are fleeting; family isn’t one of them.

Or sometimes:

Blood is stronger than ice covered in superglue and reinforced with vibranium. That is until you tap it with imaginary bitter resentment.

If only he could hear his father’s voice now. Jaden lowered his head and spoke softly to himself, almost as if in prayer. After a few seconds, he could have sworn someone was speaking back to him. When he looked up to see if it was his father, he noticed a man walking away from the room. Although he could only see his back, the man felt oddly familiar, as if he knew him from another life. Regardless, Jaden was drawn to him in some weird way. After reaching the door, something came over him.

“Rick,” he called out without even realizing it.

The man stopped for a brief second, acknowledging the name with the slight downward turn of his head, and then continued walking away.

“Rick,” Jaden said again, taking a step from the room. That’s when, out of the corner of his eye, he took notice of the steady stream on his father’s heart monitor. Jaden turned back to his father, but he couldn’t move; he couldn’t feel; he couldn’t speak…

He couldn’t cry.

All he had left in him was to yell out Rick’s name in the hollows of his mind until he passed out, only to wake in a heap of sweat.

He sat up sharply, calling out Rick’s name one last time before succumbing to the pain that splintered his entire body. The sound of agony leaked from his lips as he pressed his hand to his chest. But the pain shifted quickly to his upper forearm as his body calmed. He pressed his hand to the wound, which only made the red-hot pain sear even stronger. Curiosity quickly got the best of him. He hissed through his teeth as he pulled the sash off of his arm, but still couldn’t see anything through the darkness. At least the sting wore away now that it had the ability to breathe a little.

Hovering his hand over the wound (subconsciously subduing the pain even further), Jaden scanned the room, looking for anything that might tell him where he was. Except for the scattered dots of light that signified some computer networks at work, the only thing he could see was the cushion he was sitting on. The last thing he remembered was staring into Sawyer’s eyes, so for all he knew, he could be on Salinar’s ship waiting to be transported to her planet for harvesting or some such thing. There was always the possibility that Rick had bested Salinar, though, so this could very well be his ship. Or it might not even be a ship at all. But he wasn’t going to know for sure sitting around in the dark.

To his surprise, the comforter shifted its shape as he slid his legs over the side to rest his feet on the floor. He took a moment to let a slight bout of nausea pass, then stood and shuffled to where the majority of the lights were active. By the time he reached the cockpit, he felt extremely lightheaded and had to sit down in the chair. He leaned forward, resting his forehead in his hand. At the same time, his elbow struck a set of keys on the console. A panel lit up above him, revealing a freakish black smoke of something. Jaden was mesmerized by the its soft elegance.

Then it was gone.

It took Jaden a few seconds to realize the panel had returned to its original state, and even if he wanted to open it back up, he had no idea what sequence of buttons he might have pushed. He sat back, a smirk of a smile landing across his lips. If he was right, he just saw the Majestrata in person. And better yet, there was no doubt this was Rick’s ship.

Just then, a series of hisses burst from the main chamber. Jaden jumped to his feet and watched the ramp slowly open. His heart raced as a figure, shrouded in darkness, stepped up the ramp with very meticulous steps.

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Who is in the cab with Rick? Who is in the ship with Jaden?

Be as creative as you can (don’t hold back!), as outrageous as you want (throw me a curve ball!), and as detailed as possible. The best answer will determine where the story goes next.

Post your answers to Facebook, Twitter (using #WriteANovelWithMe and @phoenixmoirai) or in the comments section below by 5 p.m. PST on Thursday, January 29, 2015. You can give as many different answers as you want. The top 5 will be posted on Friday.

I can’t wait to see where your imaginations soar

Write A Novel With Me Cliff Notes

For everyone who has wanted to join in on the fun of my interactive novel but were late to the party and don’t feel they have time to read all of the chapters — or don’t like the idea of answering the next chapter’s questions without knowing what’s going on — you’re in luck. You can now jump on over to the Cliff Notes page for Write A Novel With Me and learn everything you need to know about the project, including character descriptions, who or what certain items are and what they can do, and of course, brief chapter summaries (including the question posed and the winning answer) with links to the full chapter for your convenience.

This is also a helpful tool for those who have been following the story from the beginning, but may have forgotten a certain aspect or need a refresher on what happened so that you might better answer a particular question.

Check it out and come help write a novel with me.

Movie Mayhem – The Wedding Ringer

For the second time in two weeks, I’m reviewing a film I have mixed feelings about. As a film, Taken 3 failed on several levels, forgetting about what made the original film a solid thriller (and the second a fun diversion). But because it was already part of an established franchise, it relied heavily on brand recognition, hoping everyone — myself included — would lower their expectations and enjoy it as a brainless action piece. The Wedding Ringer, however, doesn’t have the luxury of a namesake to fall back on, which means it needs to try harder to prove they can put together a winning formula, provide laughs beyond what was shown in the trailers (a hard task to do in this day of TMI overload) and tell a well-written story that speaks to their target audience. On some level, they succeeded, despite the inability to find a consistent voice.

Director Jeremy Garelick does a very good job setting up the main characters, telling you almost everything you need to know about them in the first ten minutes. Opening on Doug Harris (Josh Gad), we are introduced to a desperate loner (or loser, as it were) calling pretty much everyone he’s ever talked to in his life to be groomsmen at his upcoming nuptials to an out-of-his-league hottie, Gretchen Palmer (Kaley Cuoco-Sweeting), who has eight bridesmaids of her own. He’s insecure and stressed, unable to accept he doesn’t really have any “Best Man”-caliber friends. Jump to Jimmy Callahan (Kevin Hart), the exact opposite of Doug — a confident ladies-man who talks as good as he looks. Jimmy is the guy everyone wants to hang with, but he’s also a bit standoffish, mostly because of his profession as a Best Man for hire. He doesn’t want his time with the groom to become more than business, detaching himself from any real relationships. Together, Gad and Hart share a kinetic chemistry that carries the film as they try to pull off the impossible “Golden Tux” option of Jimmy’s services.

This is where the film hits a bit of a wall. Though most of comedy between Gad and Hart is fun, the rest of the film is a roller coaster ride of hits and misses, with an uneven tone that never quite figures itself out. Half the time, it feels Garelick is trying to represent a quiet realism, while the other half resorts to odd slapstick and cartoonish buffoonery that not once is able to capture the same energy or spark that Gad and Hart provide. This includes all seven guys Jimmy hires to be Doug’s groomsmen. They are all nerdy and have unique quirks (and could be considered a little off, mentally) however, instead of treating them like normal people who happen to be geeks, their personalities are heightened so far, they break the mold of insanity that feels far removed from the world Garelick is creating.

And he only has himself to blame. Garelick also wrote the film (along with Jay Lavendar) and along with the chaos of the comedy styles, the references to other movies, wedding related or otherwise, he embeds are just as uneven. When these references are used subtly, they work really well. Getting to hear the rousing score from Rudy during a football game between Doug and his “groomsmen” and Gretchen’s father’s (Ken Howard) old teammates, is an awesome touch, as is the very last line of the film, which I won’t spoil here, but is probably the best line in the movie. When the references are as blatant as bad product placement, they fall incredibly flat, even when there’s a clear meaning behind it. My eyes rolled during the introduction of Doug and Gretchen’s wedding planner, Edmundo (Ignacio Serricchio), who is a shameless ripoff of Martin Short’s Frank from 1991’s Father of the Bride. Garelick does eventually pay it off in a small twist that doesn’t have much effect on the piece itself, but it still felt incredibly lazy and unoriginal.

Where the film sings is in the dramatic undertones, which raise the film above its mask of ineptitude. Doug is scared to death about losing Gretchen, someone he never thought would ever talk to him, much less marry him. In trying to cover that fear up and hide from the truth, he withdraws heavily within himself, using it to direct all of his choices and actions, a delicate theme that hovers over the entire film like a cloud ready to break free with buckets of rain at any time. On the flip side, Jimmy’s confident bravura masks a much deeper internal sadness he’s afraid to connect with. As he tells all of his clients, they’re hiring a best man, not a best friend. But deep down, that’s exactly what Jimmy is missing, whether he wants to believe it or not. One of the most most eloquently written and acted scenes in the film is when Jimmy gives his toast at Doug and Gretchen’s wedding. Not only is the speech incredibly moving, but it shows the cracks in his armor with incredible emotion. This one scene alone proves why Hart is such a hot commodity at the moment.

When you have hints of intelligent writing being overridden by such heightened surrealism, it’s hard to find a solid footing. If it wasn’t for Gad and Hart (who has another movie coming out this year where he helps another white boy deal with something they aren’t ready for) the film would have bordered on ludicrous, but with Garelick’s ability to speak to some universal truth’s (and make light of the unrealistic pairings we are constantly seeing on screen, which leads to an honest twist in the final act), The Wedding Ringer finds a way to keep you invested in what’s happening on screen, even when the party does get a little too out of hand.

My Grade: B+

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Next week, new movies include Strange Magic, The Boy Next Door, Mortdecai and Black Sea. If you would like to see a review of one of these, or any other film out next week, please respond in the comments below.

World Chaos Roundup #2

This week in my World Chaos News Roundup, I discuss the exit of a dancing scream queen, the unnecessary plan to provide adults with more “free” education, and the omissions of both a beloved film from the biggest award show and a politician from the biggest march in French history.

FREE College Education for everyone

President Obama has recently announced a plan to give millions of young people a chance at an education after high school by paying for community college. Good for him. It’s always nice to see someone who has found great success give back to the community… wait… what was that? The tax payers will be footing the bill? Oh, I see. I didn’t know we the people had a couple extra billion dollars lying around with nowhere to go. And why exactly does the President feel the country is obligated to support two extra years of education? The k-12 system is where kids are supposed to learn everything they will need to navigate life as an adult. College, therefore is meant to teach them extra skills that will help them grow as individuals and excel in an area they have chosen. Community colleges are set-up to be a bridge for those who aren’t ready to tackle the academics of a University, can’t afford said University or are simply looking to learn a trade that makes them happy and put food on the table. Community colleges aren’t even that expensive. Yeah, it may save someone some three to five thousand a year in tuition costs, but is that really all that much. A student with a decent job can afford to pay that. The bottom line is, if an adult really wants to better themselves and move up the ladder of success, they will find a way. The government should not be helping anyone that doesn’t have the wherewithal and tenacity to help themselves first, and that includes getting an education. And if the reason for wanting to give these young adults two extra years of education is because there’s a lack of skilled middle ground workers in the U.S., there are other ways to change this than spending money the country doesn’t have. How about we stop incentivising kids with “free” stuff and start encouraging them to work hard? What if we got rid of “No Child Left Behind” so that we no longer have to lower our standards because one or two students can’t or aren’t willing to learn at the pace of others? How about we encourage junior high and high schools to reinstate courses like wood shop and metal shop, or home economics and computer IT classes that will give these kids a chance to earn a trade while still under the age of eighteen? Heck, these classes could even be set up to generate certificates so that when a child completes a certain amount of courses, they will already be certified to begin work in technical jobs when they leave school, thus capable of working while going to college, if they so choose. Besides, the best education a man can receive is the one that isn’t in the classroom. Continuing to encourage people with handouts will only drive further laziness and entitlements, and do exactly the opposite of what this idea is supposed to do. If the President really wants to help our youth, it’s time we return to being the hard-knock parent and make our kids respect personal accountability, hard work and pride in a job well done

CW went crazy for renewals

Giving good news to a lot of fans this Monday was the CW, who unprecedentedly decided to give out early renewals to pretty much their entire lineup. I, for one, couldn’t be happier. Of the eight (8!) shows the fledgling network renewed, I watch six of them. Supernatural has been in my viewing lineup since it debuted on the WB (remember that network!); The Vampire Diaries and its sister show, The Originals (my choice for the new best show last year), are still holding strong in the ratings while Arrow and its new counterpart, The Flash, continue to give DC something to hold over Marvel. The only show I watch that I could have gone either way on is The 100, which has held my interest over the past two seasons, but has never been one that felt like must-see TV. In fact, I was ready to give up on it after the first few episodes, but hung in there and am now hooked enough to keep watching til the end (even though it does keep Paige Turco from possibly returning to Person of Interest where she belongs). The two shows coming back that I don’t watch are Jane the Virgin and Reign, neither of which held my interest after a couple of episodes. Not to be outdone, CBS sent renewal notices to three of its freshman dramas — Madam Secretary, Scorpion and NCIS: New Orleans, all of which I watch and all of which I’m happy to see returning.

America MIA from rally march in France

This week has seen a myriad of complaints over America’s absence from the rally to unite behind free speech after terrorists attacked the French satirical magazine, Charlie Hebdo a couple of weeks ago. Both high-ranking democrats and republicans have berated the White House’s decision to refrain from joining several world leaders (and allies) in unity, most of them arguing that at the very least Vice President Biden or Secretary of State Kerry should have been there (or at the very, very least, Attorney General Holder, who was in France when the march was happening). But even if one of these high-ranking officials had gone, it still wouldn’t have had the same effect had President Obama attended, proving his words about free speech and efforts against terrorism (in whatever form he wants to call them) aren’t hollow. One of the major factors being reported for this blatant absence was the concern over security risks the rally may have imposed. That, or there wasn’t enough time to reschedule everything. (Then again, there’s President Carter’s excuse that the President was too tired from his vacation… really?) I have to call foul on all of it. No other world leader had issues with security or felt they had no time to show their solidarity over the issue. Just as I said in the college post, when it comes down to it, if President Obama really wanted to be there, he would have been there. All this absence (and the excuses for it) does is prove, to both people of the U.S. and around the world, that our President — and in connection with him, our country — is either a coward or is sympathetic to the Islamic State. By retreating from such an event, President Obama has given more power to the terrorist threat, as they now know we aren’t willing to do anything to stop them. He’s already done plenty to show his sympathy, including the refusal to call out the militant groups for what they are — Islamic terrorists. It doesn’t matter if it’s a warped idea of Islam as a whole, they still attacked under the name of Allah and the guise of Islam, which means it was Islamic related. If he was serious about winning this war on terror, President Obama, as well as his entire White House staff, would be emulating Charlie Hebdo, whose first issue after the attacks included a cover of an illustrated Muhammad holding a “Je Suis Charlie” sign and basically forgiving the terrorists for their cowardly act. Sadly, our President showing that type of heroism isn’t something I see happening anytime soon, and to know that is the real terror.

Mary Murphy exits SO You Think You Can Dance

That’s right, So You Think You Can Dance fans — the “Hot Tamale Train” has been put out of commission. Mary Murphy, the centerpiece of the judges panel since the very beginning, confirmed this week that she will not be returning to the show because FOX didn’t pick up her option. I have mixed feelings about this. On one hand, the dance competition (still one of the best on television) won’t feel the same without her. She has doled out some incredible and thoughtful criticism when it comes to ballroom technique and what dancers need to watch out for, especially in the earlier seasons when she hardly ever pulled her punches. Which brings me to my other hand, which is it seems over the last couple of seasons, Mary has felt a bit tired of the whole charade, feigning interest and giving criticism without much interest on whether the dancers would or should care. I don’t need her to give bad reviews to everyone all the time, but I also don’t want to see a love fest for all dancers at all times either (leave that to the coaches on The Voice), which it seems was all Mary had left in the tank. So, although it might not feel right to be without her, it might just be the right time to say farewell.

The LEGO Movie shut out at Oscars

Academy Award nominations were announced yesterday, and though most of the choices fell in line with expectations, one major film, The LEGO Movie, was all but left out in the cold. As an outcry toward the lack of diversity in this year’s crop of nominations continues to grow louder and stronger, the stunned anger over The LEGO Movie‘s omission from the Best Animated Feature race is just as heated. Now, I can’t speak for the validity for the inclusion of Song of the Sea and The Tale of the Princess Kaguya because I haven’t even heard of these films, much less seen them (however I do admire them both for being traditionally hand-drawn efforts), but I have seen the other three nominations, and though I agree How To Train Your Dragon 2 and Big Hero 6 deserve their places in the coveted lineup, I can’t understand how the Boxtrolls found its way in. The film was mildly humorous, in a madcap sort of way, and had some good moments with some decent animation, but as far as performance, characterization and plot, the film was a bit stagnant, never capturing the wonder The LEGO Movie was able to generate. In the latter, you can tell the filmmakers were having a blast constructing this extremely detailed, elaborately layered and frenetically jubilant trip with a strong underlying message. I count three other films (other than the aforementioned nominees) that were better than the Boxtrolls this year, so what the Academy saw in the film, I’m not sure. At least The LEGO Movie wasn’t completely shut out of the awards altogether, as the catchy ear worm, “Everything is Awesome”, was nominated for Best Original Song. If there is any humanity in the world, the song will take home the prize just for the sheer joy that emanates from the beat alone.

2015 Kiss the Brides Expo

Earlier last year, I attended the Kiss the Brides Bridal Expo as a vendor. My company was only a couple of months old, and it was a great opportunity to try to gain a foot in the door of wedding videography. It was fun and I got a few leads, but nothing ever became of it, so when the next expo came around in the area, I wasn’t much keen on spending the money to attend again — not until I could justify spending the time and money to do so. Then last Thursday, I got a call from the director of the expo asking if I would be willing to film the event and edit a 2-3 minute promo video for their website in exchange for a booth. My first reaction was negative, but within minutes of the call, I was on board. After all, the price of the booth was equivalent to what I would have asked for to create the promotional video, and it would give me a chance to seek more leads that I otherwise wouldn’t have.

Me at the 2015 Kiss the Brides Expo at Pala Casino. Picture by Selina Rose from Selina Rose Weddings and Events. (Thanks for all of your help, Selina!)

I can’t say I had a good day as far as being a vendor is concerned — even with having a booth right in front of the main stage, I still didn’t come away with a lot of leads — but I did have a great time filming the event and came away with over two hours of footage that I feel will make a great promotional video, and at the very least, a terrific piece to add to my portfolio.

WANWM – Chapter 8 Answers

It seems either everyone was on vacation this week, or the question posed at the end of Chapter 8 left everyone’s minds blank (or overloaded with possibilities) because only one person offered up an answer to the question, “Why won’t the engines start?”

ANSWER:

It won’t start because the Osterois is linked to Jaden. Jaden cannot be in a different planet than where the Osterois is. Which means, Salinar is still reachable.

As you can guess from this turn of events, there will be no vote this week. The above answer will be the basis for Chapter 9, which should see the light of day on Monday, January 26, 2015. Until then, here’s another great chance to catch up on all previous chapters ( Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6, Chapter 7, Chapter 8) and prime yourself to give voice to this incredible story.

One final note: as the story gets longer, I understand that new readers might find it a challenge to get caught up by reading all of the previous chapters. In order to resolve that issue, I am looking into creating a cliff notes Page of sorts that will break down the characters, important objects and plots of all previous chapters so that newbies can jump right in without having to sludge through the entire book thus far, which hopefully will give everyone a chance to join in, regardless of where they start reading.

Movie Mayhem – Taken 3

Prior to 2008, Liam Neeson had only dabbled in high-octane roles that required a lot of physicality, which got him away from the doldrums of period romances and revered dramas. But it wasn’t until the original Taken film premiered that his career trajectory made a complete one-eighty, sending Neeson into the stratosphere of mad-dog action hero (and in-demand voice actor… and comedian? Hey, it works). Since then, Neeson has been stuck delivering what amounts to the same basic character trapped in the same basic scenario — a man pretending to be just another “average Joe” who actually has a secret past and some tremendous “skills” is pulled back into the life he left behind long ago to hunt down some unknown terrorist to save the world (and his family). The films are more often than not released in January (his next film with this premise, Run All Night, debuts in April), and that includes Taken 3, Neeson’s final ride (or so they want you to believe) as Bryan Mills, the beleaguered ex-special forces operative who wants nothing more than a peaceful life with his loving family.

But hold your horses; this isn’t your average Taken. Unlike the first two films, Taken 3 switches gears to become an average man-on-the-run Fugitive knock-off with a familiar set of characters. When Bryan finds his wife, Lenore (Famke Janssen), lying dead on his bed one morning, he goes on the lamb to track down the real killers.

“I didn’t kill my wife!”

“I don’t care.”

If thoughts of this exchange continually run through your head as you watch the film, you’re not alone. Other than Bryan Mills, Lenore and their daughter Kim (Maggie Grace), the only thing that makes this a Taken film is when Lenore is kidnapped from some out-of-the-way parking lot prior to her death. I guess if you really wanted to play semantics, you could say that the things being “taken” in this movie are Lenore’s life and Bryan’s freedom… but that is a bit of a stretch. Furthering Taken 3‘s detachment from the franchise, producers have opting for the comfort of Los Angeles this time around over some picturesque locale, and nothing that happens to Bryan and his family is in any way connected to the past (aside from the villains knowing about Bryan’s infamous reputation).

I know repeating the same scenario over again would have really been stretching our ability to suspend disbelief beyond its limits, but don’t you think that might have been the first red flag for producers that perhaps the franchise has run its course? It begs the question of how much the studios are willing to risk on name recognition and how willing an audience is to spend more time with a certain set of characters. The best thing about returning to the franchise and keeping it local was being able to see Bryan’s trio of friends (Jon Gries, David Warshofsky and Andrew Borba) get more to do and have a little fun in the process. It still wasn’t as much as it could have been, but it was a welcome addition, even if one of them never got the sense of finality he deserved.

Joining the fray are Don Harvey and Dylan Bruno as a pair of detectives tracking Bryan as he tears up L.A. (mostly with their help). Always a step behind, the detectives are given very little to do but sit around and watch. They become the designated fools a couple of times as Bryan outsmarts them, sometimes in inexplicable circumstances, such as when he somehow finds an entrance to the sewer under a beat-up old truck in some random person’s garage, and other than a few typical quips and razzing between partners, there isn’t a whole lot to them.

At least Franck Dotzler (Forest Whitaker, moseying about with his signature righteous arrogance), the lead investigator looking into what happened to Lenore, is given some characterization that goes beyond stock status, even if some of his quirks are a bit stereotypical. Beyond his knack for seeing things others can’t see and refraining from jumping to any conclusions, Dotzler also carries around a chess piece (a knight, to be specific) and has a rubber band that he occasionally snaps across his wrist or plays with when he’s struggling to complete his task of bringing Lenore’s killer to justice. There isn’t a lot (if any) explanation for why these things matter to this man, but at least it gives him depth, something that can’t be said for a lot of the elements in the film.

Because of the format change, I already felt removed from Bryan’s plight, so when the producers up the ante on what is considered believable, and at the same time heighten his skill-set, it’s hard to relate to what’s happening and enjoy the film on the same level as the original. Most of the action follows a similar structure to any random action movie, with a car chase here, a foot chase there and lots of gunfire and fist fights, but Bryan’s invincibility is so heightened, not only does he hardly get a scratch after some harrowing stunt work, nothing he touches ever seems to get destroyed either. I mean, I never knew a Porshe had a strong enough body to withstand smashing through a locked fence and taking out the wheel of a private plane, all without getting one scratch! Now that’s a powerful car only James Bond could love.

The funny thing is, I still had a fun time watching it. Neeson’s bravura is as electric as ever and it’s still a thrill to see him search for clues, find his way to the end of the puzzle and wipe out some bad guys. It’s the only reason people return to these types of films and the reason why studios will keep making them, no matter how twisted or convoluted the plots become. Neeson has found a decent niche that works well for his gravelly voice and overbearing demeanor, but just as he was typecast with one particular set of skills before Taken, if he doesn’t try to branch out a little more than he has been, I feel he might find himself stuck in a hole he can’t get out of.

My Grade: B

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Next week, new movies include The Wedding Ringer, Blackhat and Paddington. If you would like to see a review of one of these, or any other film out next week, please respond in the comments below.

Write A Novel With Me – Chapter 8

Welcome to the next chapter in our continuing saga. Chapter 8 was a little slow to get started, but once I added just a small touch of my own to the winning answer, everything started flowing quite nicely.

Before you begin, if you’d like to see the answers for Chapter 7’s question, “How does the standoff end?”, you can find them here. And in case you haven’t read them yet, here are the previous chapters: Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6 & Chapter 7.

Please enjoy Chapter 8 of our story where we find out how the standoff comes to a conclusion.

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CHAPTER 8

The time for Rick to make a decision was non-existent, but he was used to it. Nothing helps you learn quicker than the fear of death, which is what made up the bulk of his training to become a Galaxy Gifted. It didn’t matter that it was all part of an elaborate virtual simulation.

When someone dies in their sleep, it’s only because they were too old, too lazy or too cowardly to stand up to their own damn dreams.

Rick was never asleep during his simulations, but the idea was the same. One mistake in the simulator and the “neural bomb” as he liked to call it would go off. Split second decision-making relied heavily on a cool, calm demeanor, an idea he learned the hard way when the skin on his chest burned completely off after he let fear get the best of him during the routine dismantling of a flash bomb. The pain of that event still lingered as a reminder.

Within the time it took Jaden to raise the gun and pull the trigger, a limitless amount of options flashed through Rick’s mind. He paired them down to three viable scenarios, all of which would keep Jaden from serious harm — maybe.

Scenario #1: Disarm Jaden by firing at the gun. Possible outcomes include disintegration of Jaden’s hand, which could lead to irreparable shock.

Scenario #2: Jump through the window and work out a new plan of attack. (Live to fight another day!) Possible outcomes include complete transformation of Jaden into Salinar’s slave. Even if a rescue mission was successful, prolonged exposure to the Osteris could lead to complete mind alteration.

Scenario #3: Leap into the kitchen and use the element of surprise to take out Salinar once and for all. Possible outcomes include Jaden falling into a catatonic state due to his connection to Salinar through the Osteris.

Rick didn’t care for any of the options, but the third scenario was the only one that would give him the chance to cut the head off the snake. Salinar was the shape-shifter’s lead strategist and combat operative. Without her, the rest of her faction would resort to making futile mistakes that would allow the Galaxy Gifted to finally put an end to their tyranny throughout the realms. No matter what it might do to Jaden, it was his best option.

As the first bullet sped from the barrel of Jaden’s gun, Rick dove into the kitchen. Another shot may have been fired as his body slid across the kitchen floor, but he was too preoccupied with mitigating the pain of his back hitting the pantry while simultaneously firing a direct hit against Salinar. Only it wasn’t Salinar he saw sitting against the counter and staring into the distance like a corpse on a ventilator.

Rick had been a millisecond away from killing his brother.

The whole thing could very well be another trick. The Osteris was powerful enough to keep Rick from seeing the truth, which meant it had the ability to play games with his mind. He wasn’t willing to take that chance, so he boosted the energy acceleration of his weapon to full power and kept it aimed at the zombie sitting in front of him.

“Salinar,” he said with command. “You know what I’m capable of. If you leave now without harming my brother, you will live. If not, you’re life is over.”

The laugh that followed sprinkled across Rick’s ear like a wine glass shattering over a glass floor. “I’m more powerful now than ever, Rick,” Salinar said. “You can’t kill me, not with your childish weapons.”

“I never said I would kill you, Salinar. The Galaxy Gifted will know what happened here, and they will not let it rest. Leave now and I will protect you from them.”

“I always knew you loved me.” Salinar’s voice (which still sounded uncomfortably like Jaden) was right above him on the other side of the counter. “Let me make you an offer. Surrender your last breath and I will promise your brother will be well protected.”

In all of the years Rick had known Salinar, not once had she ever offered to protect someone. Shape-shifters were notorious for their narcissistic need of self-preservation. The only reason she would make such a promise was to mock Rick (which wasn’t entirely out of the question) or because Salinar and Jaden were connected, and without him, she wouldn’t be able to control the Osteris. There was only one way he could test the theory. He didn’t like the idea, but without knowing which Jaden was the real deal, it had to be done. As sweat dripped from his brow, Rick turned the energy acceleration to the lowest setting and burned a hole in the upper arm of the Jaden sitting handcuffed in the kitchen. The body didn’t even flinch.

The other Jaden, though, screamed with the pitch of a defense whistle. Rick got his chance to end it all when he heard the gun hit the floor. He immediately stood and wasted no time firing off as many rounds as he could. Salinar dodged every last one, seemingly capable of anticipating each of the shots before they happened, and leapt through the window. Viable option #2!

Rick bolted to the window. By the time he got there, Salinar had disappeared among the trash. He thought about following her down, but with all of the shifting options at her disposal, she was a ghost, and Rick had more pressing issues to attend to. He slid his thumb along the edge of his weapons handle, shutting the electrical rings down, and holstered the weapon. After taking one last survey of the alley (and glancing up toward the roof for good measure), he sprinted back to Jaden, who was now slumped across the floor. Blood oozed from the wound on his arm. Rick figured he had only a few minutes to patch it up before Jaden died from too much blood loss, so he pulled the sash that indicated his status as a Galaxy Gifted off his belt and tied it as tightly as he could around the wound. That should give Rick a few extra minutes to tear the house apart for anything that he might be able to use to stop the bleeding. Thanks to Salinar (at least he hoped), he found a small sewing kit tucked away in a cabinet stored in the bedroom closet. It took Rick a half a dozen attempts to slide the piece of thread through the eye of the needle until he realized the kit came with a needle threader, which made the whole thing stupid easy. He then hustled back to the kitchen and sutured Jaden’s arm. When complete, he bit the thread off and opened every drawer in the kitchen to find a lighter or some sort of grill igniter to cauterize the wound. All he found was a vile of superglue.

Good enough.

He doused the wound with nearly the entire bottle, retied the sash around Jaden’s arm and then pulled him into a sitting position. “Jaden,” he said loudly, slapping him across the cheek when he didn’t respond. He was still breathing, so he was alive, just not conscious. It was going to take time — time Rick did not have — to come to. But he couldn’t leave him here, not with Salinar still out there.

“Come on, little brother,” Rick said as he threw Jaden’s arm around his neck and lifted him to his feet — which was a lot harder than he expected. “God, dude. Time to lay off the sweets, or hit the gym, or something.” He dragged him from the apartment and sat him against the wall as he waited for the elevator. He thought about using the stairs to be more discreet, but there was no way he was going to carry this dead weight down three flights of stairs and still remain vigilant in case Salinar returned. When the elevator doors opened, Rick pulled Jaden inside and waited until the display read first floor to lift him back to his feet. Because it was still early in the morning, the apartment complex lobby was empty. Getting through one set of doors with a lifeless body dangling all over you was hard enough; getting through two was tortuous. But it all pared in comparison to a hobo trying to flag down a cab while balancing a passed-out drunk guy on his feet. What cabbie wouldn’t want to pick them up?

After a few minutes of failure — and several disgusted, or bewildered gazes by the early birds heading for their rise-and-shine juice (and some night shift workers on their way home) — Rick had had enough. He dropped Jaden to the ground and stepped out into the street, slinging his weapon at an oncoming cab and lighting it up. Except for a bit of smoke that filled the interior, no other damage was done. But it forced the driver to stop and crawl out, coughing dramatically for fresh air. A light smirk lingered on Rick’s lips as he holstered his weapon. He then slid Jaden into the back seat and walked to the driver’s door.

“I’m gonna need your cab,” he said and was squealing the tires before the cabbie knew what was happening. Rick only looked back once during the drive through the city — which was starting to clog up with morning commuters — and that was to check on Jaden after he gurgled in his sleep. He thought he might have woke up for a minute, but it might have simply been a reflex, or response to a dream. Either way, Jaden remained passed out for the remainder of the ride that took them to Citywalk Park, where Salinar had been shot only hours earlier. Rick didn’t bother to get out, choosing instead to use the jogging paths as a road following the river down to where the wooded hiking trails began. At that point, he tore off into the brush, heading around the hills to a secluded system of caves, where he finally had to park the car. It was still a couple mile hike to where he hid his ship, but the cab wouldn’t have made it over the rocky floors that made up the majority of the cavern.

He pulled Jaden from the cab and sat him down on a ledge just inside the mouth of the cave. He then pulled a pair of lenses from the inside pocket of his coat and placed them against his eyes. The moment they touched his skin, a jelly-like substance formed around his eye sockets, gluing the lenses in place, allowing Rick to see in the dark as if it were daylight.

“This would be so much easier if you were awake,” Rick said before pulling Jaden up once again and lurching through the caves. It probably took him quadruple the time it would have taken him had he not had to deal with Jaden plus two, but he got to his ship with only a few minor scrapes and bruises — mostly on Jaden.

As soon as Rick got within a hundred feet of the ship, the ramp hissed smoke from the outer pressurization nodules and lowered down to invite him inside. Rick quickly tapped the center of his glasses to remove the glue from his skin and once aboard the ship — which was more of a shuttlecraft if you were to ask anyone who grew up on Star Trek — he dropped Jaden onto a round cushion that immediately extended outward to fit the length of his body and then curled up just a bit at the edges to keep him from rolling off. The rest of the main living area consisted of nothing more than a few amenities, for sleeping, eating and disposing of waste. To the right was the smaller, but still roomy cockpit area, which housed the weapons bay as well as four passenger seats.

Before going to the cockpit to switch on the communications system, Rick raised the ramp and activated the lock to guarantee no others could access the ship.

Can’t be too cautious; you never know who might be following you.

After a short warming up period, part of the shield that protected the main window extended out in front of Rick. With a few keystrokes, the back of the screen lit up and the shadow’s visage appeared just in front of the screen as if Rick was watching a 3D television.

Rick. What is your status?

“I’ve found Salinar, but she has the Osteris.”

Where is she now?

“I’m not sure. The Osteris is somehow shielding me from seeing her.”

The shadow was silent. He examined Rick’s features and then said, Return home so that we may devise a plan for her capture.

“We have one other problem. In order to activate the Osteris, it has to be linked to the subject who gifted it to Salinar with love.”

I am aware.

“Well, Sir,” Rick said a bit apprehensively, “that subject is my brother.”

Again the shadow was silent.

“Is there any way to break the link?”

The only way is to destroy the subject.

Rick was afraid of that. He nodded. “Can we do the same by destroying the master?”

It is possible, but much harder to accomplish.

“What would that do to the subject, if we were successful?”

Come home, the shadow said and vanished from the screen.

“God damn it,” Rick yelled and slouched back in his seat. He rubbed his mouth as he looked over his younger brother. He hated when the shadows were elusive and opaque as hell, but regardless of what might happen to him, it was pointless to worry about it until they could figure out how to stop Salinar.

“You’ll be okay, little brother,” he whispered and turned to fire up the engines.

Nothing happened. Curious, he ran a few diagnostics. All systems were green, so he tried again.

Nothing.

“What the…?” he mused. He ran through every diagnostic again, some more than once, and nearly pulled his hair out when everything pointed to perfect functionality. He rested his hands on the console and took a moment to calm his demeanor, reflecting on any possible reason the engines wouldn’t ignite. A minute later, it finally occurred to him.

“Ah, hell,” he said with sickening disappointment.

_____________________________________

Why won’t the engines start?

Be as creative as you can, as outrageous as you want, and as detailed as possible. The best answer will determine where the story goes next.

Post your answers to Facebook, Twitter (using #WriteANovelWithMe and @phoenixmoirai) or in the comments section below by 5 p.m. PST on Thursday, January 15, 2015. You can give as many different answers as you want. The top 5 will be posted on Friday.

I can’t wait to see where your imaginations soar.

World Chaos Roundup #1

With a new year under way, I wanted to try a little something new for my blog. Along with Movie Mayhem and the continuing adventures of Write A Novel With Me, I’m going to add a new weekly (or bi-weekly in some cases) post with my thoughts on events and news items that sparked my interest — or in some cases, my ire — as well as anything exciting that is news-worthy as it relates to my life and career. I don’t know how long this will last, or if anyone will even find it interesting, but it’s worth a shot. And please, whether you agree or disagree, don’t hesitate to leave your thoughts on these items in the comments section below.

In this, the first full full week of 2015, I will discuss the drop in movie attendance, the picks for Hall of Fame induction and a couple of movie-related items.

People aren’t going to the movies anymore

With 2014’s ticket sales hitting an all-time low in North America, the industry can’t believe people have stopped attending the cinemas. I mean, with mostly pure digital projection, massive IMAX selections and state-of-the-art 3D, how has attendance dropped? Could it be the high price of tickets (not to mention concessions) that could cost a family of four to spend upwards of $80? Could it be the glut of alternatives, such as Netflix and Redbox, that allow consumers to relax in the comfort of their home with a entertainment center that is just as good as a typical theater (without the sticky floors)? Or could it be that the films people are most hungry for are sent to VOD services rather than a theater that’s overloaded with computer generated rehashes, reboots and sequels? Then again, it could be because people are tired of dealing with rude and inconsiderate people. I think it’s option E: All of the above, with an emphasis on the heavy lack of originality. For whatever reason, studios have decided the only way they are going to get butts in the seats is with name recognition, meaning if it isn’t a sequel, prequel, reboot or rehash (re-imaging!), then it doesn’t belong in the cineplex. Neither do any film that costs less than a $100 million or doesn’t have at least three actors people recognize (or are overexposed). The problem is, people are tired of it all and have turned to these alternative sources because of the originality they provide. In fact, due to the growth of cable, television has exploded with quality and originality as well. Where just ten years ago, a movie star wouldn’t debase themselves by doing a lowly television show, today, incredible actors (strictly movie stars) have chosen to jump ship and head to television because the material far exceeds that of film. If the studios would take some risks now and then (meaning, stop kowtowing to the lowest common denominator), quit relying so heavily on special effects (because you know practical effects can be just as powerful, sometimes even more so… thanks J.J. Abrams) and LEAVE THE EIGHTIES ALONE (the last golden age of cinema, where the majority of films were creative, fun, original and weren’t scared of offending anybody), then maybe they’d be able to lure fans back to where it all began.

The Government wants to dictate your diet

Apparently, when the government gets involved in your healthcare (*cough*health insurance*cough*) they now get to tell us what we should and shouldn’t eat. It seems some committee somewhere that advises the agricultural department in what is “healthier” for the people and the environment is going to be releasing a new report about why everyone should reduce their intake of red meats and expand their intake of fruits and vegetables. First of all, where does the government get off telling me what I can and can’t eat? It’s been an issue for quite awhile now (how many regulations are there on food nowadays?), and though they’re just recommendations for the time being, if someone doesn’t stop them from continuing down this path, eventually, it will become a mandate that foods we once enjoyed will be gone from our lives. Not everyone like, or can eat, a diet of fruits and vegetables, or chicken and fish, just as everyone can’t eat nuts or gluten. Besides, I don’t understand how eating more fruits and vegetables is healthier for the environment. Unless we’re ready to follow China’s lead and start regulating the population, forcing everyone to eat healthier will only lead to an abundance of people living longer, thus needing further resources to sustain them, which in turn will do exactly the opposite of what these so-called “experts” are seeking to do (unless all they want is control and power). What happens then? Nature will take whatever action necessary to save herself, despite the arrogance of people who believe they can control her. If the government wants to help, they should disband this committee (thus saving the government — or the taxpayers — some money) and let the farmers do what they do best — give the majority of the population what they demand. If that’s more fruits and vegetables, so be it. At least it was what the people want, not the rabid government elite who continually thumb their noses at the “average” man by telling us they know better.

Teaser trailer bombardment

When exactly did teasing a trailer become the next big thing? Thanks to Marvel, last week! First, they release a teaser for an exclusive new trailer for The Avengers: Age of Ultron that will air during the National Football Championships on Sunday, January 12.

They follow that up with a release of the tiniest teaser trailer ever (because you can’t discriminate against the army of ants who are really excited to see the movie) as a fun way to promote the “human-sized” trailer of their new Ant-Man… teaser trailer premiere, which aired this past Tuesday after the premiere of Agent Carter.

Next up, the exclusive teaser trailer for the teaser trailer for a teaser of Captain America: Civil War.

Amazing Spider-Man 3 Rumors

After the Sony hack a few weeks ago, confusion set in as to the future of Spider-Man, as well as Andrew Garfield’s involvement as the wise-cracking webslinger, and whether Marvel would find a way to “share” him to join The Avengers storyline. However, this week it was reported that extras were being hired for a third installment of The Amazing Spider-Man, which if true, we may be see The Amazing Spider-Man 3 sooner rather than later. On one hand, having Spider-Man join the Marvel universe would be an awesome move, but doing so would mean losing Andrew Garfield, who I find a welcome presence behind the mask. He brought a charisma to the role that Tobey Maguire (though really good in the original trilogy) never really captured. And unlike a lot of people, I found The Amazing Spider-Man 2 to be a very well-done film with a surprising and emotional climax (probably because I was unaware of the comic book storyline). So to see a third installment come together with this particular cast would be fine (so long as Venom and Sandman are nowhere near it!), but if it doesn’t come to pass, I’m fine with that as well, so long as the studios wait a good thirty years before trying to start over. By then, Marvel may just have the rights back to do as they please.

Johnson, Smoltz, Martinez and Biggio chosen for Cooperstown

This July, four deserving players will be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Randy Johnson made a name for himself with a tall, lanky frame that helped him destroy batters with his brutal fastball and an even deadlier slider (literally… poor bird). He also appeared in the criminally underrated baseball fantasy, Little Big League. John Smoltz was the third best pitcher in the trio of Aces (namely, Tom Glavine and the professor himself, Greg Maddux, who based on stats, is actually better than Cy Young, the pitching maestro for which the coveted pitching award is named after) that led the Braves to domination in the nineties. I didn’t follow Pedro Martinez as much as the rest, so I can’t speak much about him except to say he was a rock star on the mound. And finally, Craig Biggio, who I liked to call “Hit Me” Biggio because of his magnetic ability to somehow draw the ball into his body, should have been inducted two years ago when he was first eligible (seriously, what took them so long?). Not only is Biggio one of, if not the best second baseman to play the game, he is one of those very rare players these days to earn all of his incredible stats, including his berth in the exclusive 3,000 hit club, with the same team. No matter the reason, the honor is much deserved for all four of these incredible talents. Congratulations.

Phoenix Moirai Wedding Videography and Design prepping for facelift

For the past couple of weeks, I’ve been considering re-branding the wedding division of my business by giving it a more appropriate identity that differentiates it from the main design/writing/videography portion of Phoenix Moirai Design and Publishing. Along with developing a new website specific to weddings, I have given my logo a facelift to help brand the new sub-division with a softer, more appropriate and elegant personality:

I’m also nearing completion of the final draft of my newest novel, Memoirs of Keladrayia (book two in the Jaxxa Rakala Saga). When finished (which should happen in the next couple of weeks), I will be announcing the release date. Stay tuned!