Joshua Unruh's Blog, page 2
May 26, 2021
93. An Animated Discussion ��� STAS: Mxyzpixilated
Yes, it’s An Animated Discussion, strange podcast from another planet! Join superhero scholar Joshua Unruh and film critic extraordinaire Caleb Masters as they fight a never-ending battle for Truth and Justice!
It’s a visit from the Fifth Dimension and Metropolis will never be the same! Caleb and Joshua discuss the many faces of Mr. Mxyzptlk, how Mxy unleashed a small flood of Fifth Dimensional imps on the DCU, and also just HOW THE HECK DO YOU SAY HIS NAME ANYWAY?!
Pulp Diction Productions Patreon
The Cinematropolis
Apple Podcasts
Alternate Media Recommendations
Cuphead
Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions
JLA: Justice for All
JLA: Deluxe Edition v. 1
May 5, 2021
92. An Animated Discussion – TNBA: Critters
It is vengeance! It is the night! It is…An Animated Discussion! Join superhero scholar Joshua Unruh and film critic extraordinaire Caleb Masters as they fight a war on crime!
Critters sure is…something. Joshua and Caleb aren’t sure what to say about this frankly bizarre episode of The New Batman Adventures. Is it urban v. rural? Folk wisdom v. science? No, it’s Batman v. mutant barnyard animals with all the weirdness that entails. And that goat, though!
Pulp Diction Productions Patreon
The Cinematropolis
Apple Podcasts
Alternate Media Recommendations
Okja
Tremors
April 21, 2021
91. An Animated Discussion – STAS: Target
Yes, it’s An Animated Discussion, strange podcast from another planet! Join superhero scholar Joshua Unruh and film critic extraordinaire Caleb Masters as they fight a never-ending battle for Truth and Justice!
Caleb and Joshua agree! STAS finally hit on all cylinders! It’s a Noir-flavored tale of investigative journalism and the enemies it makes as Lois Lane becomes a Target. Great twists, a truly masterful whodunnit, and even some secret identity shenanigans lay in store.
Pulp Diction Productions Patreon
The Cinematropolis
Apple Podcasts
Alternate Media Recommendations
Knives Out
Spotlight
The Long Goodbye
The post 91. An Animated Discussion – STAS: Target appeared first on Pulp Diction Press.
91. An Animated Discussion ��� STAS: Target
Yes, it’s An Animated Discussion, strange podcast from another planet! Join superhero scholar Joshua Unruh and film critic extraordinaire Caleb Masters as they fight a never-ending battle for Truth and Justice!
Caleb and Joshua agree! STAS finally hit on all cylinders! It’s a Noir-flavored tale of investigative journalism and the enemies it makes as Lois Lane becomes a Target. Great twists, a truly masterful whodunnit, and even some secret identity shenanigans lay in store.
Pulp Diction Productions Patreon
The Cinematropolis
Apple Podcasts
Alternate Media Recommendations
Knives Out
Spotlight
The Long Goodbye
March 31, 2021
90. An Animated Discussion – TNBA: The Cult of the Cat
It is vengeance! It is the night! It is…An Animated Discussion! Join superhero scholar Joshua Unruh and film critic extraordinaire Caleb Masters as they fight a war on crime!
The Cult of the Cat is a purrrrrfect opportunity to discuss our collective fascination with cults, the aesthetics of Wolverine’s claws, and how Batman might not be that into Catwoman anymore.
Pulp Diction Productions Patreon
The Cinematropolis
Apple Podcasts
Alternate Media Recommendations
Dr. Sleep
MidSommar
The Invitation
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
The Babysitter
Satanic Panic
March 27, 2014
Everybody Knows I’m A (Particular Kind) Of Monster
A week or so ago, I had a really frustrating conversation. This conversation was with someone who admits to not really being a "fiction person." That is, they don't read fiction very often and therefore don't want to be bothered with things like metaphors or representative qualities.
(You know who you are, nonfiction person. Please take this snark with a healthy dollop of "you know I love you.")
This came up as we discussed Twilight. I have not read Twilight, nor do I plan to. I do plan to watch the movies as a drinking game, though. I have also read enough excerpts from Twilight to realize it might not be very good. I'm also prone to hyperbole. So anybody who loves Twilight and reads this blog (though the odds do seem slim...), please don't flip out in the comments. Twilight is not the point.
What I said was that Twilight had one good idea in it and it was too bad that a hack had the idea. My NonFicFriend asked what this good idea was.
"Celibate sex monsters?" I said. "C'mon, that's gold." His response was a somewhat blank stare. "Vampires are sex monsters," I said a little too loudly. He wasn't having it. "This can't lose you, it's on the label," I insisted. "I mean, I shouldn't lose you until I start talking about how the sex monsters used to be racist monsters and were loneliness monsters before that."
At which point I took many deep breaths and realized I had a blog post.
Monsters are not just things that try and eat your face. Not the really interesting ones, at any rate. Monsters represent concepts we find legitimately terrifying but are so nebulous a concept that we have to give it fangs or weird powers or something in order to get a grip on it.
Take sex, for example. Sex is freakin' frightening, you guys. It has powers over us we barely understand or control. It sells us things. It convinces us insane actions are totally reasonable in the name of short term gain. And that's before I get into the really controversial stuff. Sex is TERRIFYING.
And that's why Vampires are usually (at least these days) sex monsters. They are super attractive despite being incredibly dangerous. They mesmerize us, make us do things against our will, and remain ever-youthful (see also: potency/virility/fecundity) even while sucking out our life force (blood and fertility have a lot going on mythologically). They're also the "bad boys" or "femme fatales" that attract otherwise "pure" or "good" women and men with their darker qualities. Which is a reflection of other weird things sex does to us (ie, making us want what we shouldn't want).
Where this gets particularly interesting to me is when the thing the monster represents drifts with culture. For instance, today vampires are sex monsters, but this is a holdover from Dracula. Except Dracula wasn't a sex monster...or at least, he wasn't only a sex monster. In fact, he wasn't even primarily a sex monster. He was a foreigner monster, and the sex just got tacked on because that made the foreigner even more terrible.
If you don't know what I'm talking about, let me explain. This may be blunt, so keep grace in mind. Dracula is a foreigner monster because he is a hairy-knuckled Slav who shows up in Victoria's England and starts assimilating himself into society while not leaving any of his barbaric, Eastern European customs behind. This is exactly what Victorian society feared the most. The sun may never set on the Empire, but that only allowed a bunch of grubby heathens on the edges of it to claim they were English.
Here's where the sex monster part comes in: Dracula "ruins" the good English women! He forces them to lust after him with his swarthy skin, fantastic mustachios, and monstrous mesmerizing powers! Then he becomes intimate with these women, thus stealing their virtue and ruining them for the Empire as women of (literally) good breeding! Surely this is theft of the flower of English womanhood is how the Empire will eventually fall!
Dracula is a monstrous, racist caricature of what Victorian England most feared: It's own slow destruction from inside at the hands of the less savory edges of the Empire. And this attack would not come from a military force, but by occupation of the nation's wombs.
These days, we like to think we're more enlightened and less overtly racist, so the feared foreigner has worn off Dracula leaving us with only the sex monster. Which a whole host of creators have happily polished to a gemlike quality in the intervening century and a half. So much so that it's often hard to think of them as anything but sex monsters.
As weird as that is, I'm still not entirely sure how Stoker took a Romani loneliness monster and turned it into a racist sex monster. I'm pretty happy he did, though.
What do you guys think? Am I reading too much into monsters? Do you want to hear about a few more before you decide if this is a good theory? Which ones do you think break the concept? Let me know in the comments!
February 24, 2014
I Feel Like The Floor of a Taxi Cab (RIP Harold Ramis)
Obviously he was tremendously talented. Obviously he was tremendously funny. Just look at the . It wasn't all gold, but there are some true gems in that treasure hoard.
And just as obviously, he will be greatly missed. By his family, his friends, his industry, and by everyone who likes to laugh. Harold Ramis made hilarious things and a world without him won't have as much laughter as a world with him.
I am not exaggerating when I say that Ghostbusters is one of the most formative films in my personal history. I saw it in the theater when that was the only way you were going to see a movie. I was 7, so, yes, my mother may have had questionable ideas about what films I should or should not see. I don't think I've thanked her for this enough. (Mom, expect a call.) HBO and home video technology followed quickly which meant that Ghostbusters was also one of the very first movies I never had to stop watching. It is still to this day the most quoted movie in my house.
So in addition to my sadness about Ramis dying, I'm also sad because I'm getting older. I mean, I know I'm alway getting older, but this is the kind of thing that makes me feel it. Not so much the aches and pains or even my kid growing up at lightning speed. No, what really makes me feel the weight of years are the deaths of performers I've loved my entire life.
I mean, Ramis had 33 years on me. We aren't exactly contemporaries. But even if you only consider Ghostbusters (which you shouldn't), I have never lived in a headspace without Harold Ramis and his sense of humor. And now my headspace - and the headspace of all his fans - is the only place he does exist. If that's not one more stony gray step toward my own grave, I don't know what is.
Thanks for the laughs, Mr. Ramis. I miss you already.
February 20, 2014
And where…is the BATMAN?! (Hint: Right here.)
Some time ago, friend and rabble-rouser Bernard Shaffer started the idea of a fanfic anthology. I'd never really messed about with fan fiction. I tend to end up wanting to make my own things rather than play with other people's. But at the same time, there are large chunks of real estate taken up in my mind by several corporately owned characters. As you could guess from talking to me for more than five minutes, one of those is Batman.
It also just so happened that I had invented what I consider to be one of the greatest Riddler riddles of all time while playing with my son. It came up spontaneously and my wife yelled from the other room, "That's really good! You should use that!"
Guys, seriously, she loves me and thinks I'm a talented guy, but she's long since given up telling me when she thinks something is actually good. Unless it almost literally BLOWS HER MIND.
But this unexpected complement left me wondering, "Where the HELL do I use a Riddler riddle?" And then, just like Edward Nygma himself, Bernard gave me the answer...while cackling maniacally.
So I wrote the story. I'm very happy with it. It's set during the time when Bruce Wayne was lost in time and presumed dead, leaving his adopted son - Dick Grayson - to take up the mantle of Batman and his biological son - Damian Wayne - to take on the role of Robin. They match wits with the Joker in a game of money, lies, and vast property damage.
But then the anthology fell through. And I had no place to put that story. So, dear friends, I now put it right here for all to enjoy (I hope). Kindle users, here's a mobi version. Nook users, here's an epub version. If you prefer good ol' Microsoft Word or similar, try this. I really hope you all enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Please let me know what you think of it in the comments.
Let me make it clear that I claim no ownership to any of any characters who appear within this story, all of trademarks are locked up tighter than a drum by DC Comics. Please don't sue me, big scary corporate lawyers. A cease and desist will wor just fine.
February 3, 2014
Edge of Oblivion (Guest Post by Courtney Cantrell)
It's blog o'clock on the dot, y'all! And today I'm coming at you with a guest post from my very good friend and colleague Courtney Cantrell, oh she of the demon novels and fantasy stories with complicated gender politics. She's in a new science fiction anthology for charity with a few other Kindle All-Stars and some new faces as well. Full disclosure, I haven't read the anthology yet because (as you all know) my January has been COMPLICATED. But I plan to. More than that, I'm looking forward to it. But for now, here's Courtney is to tell you more about it.
Merciful Schadenfreude, We’re Skirting the Edge Here
When Tony Healey put out a call for sci-fi short stories, even he probably couldn’t have predicted what a hodge-podge of results he’d get.
Geekery. Motherhood. Twistedness. Comedy. Gaming. Policework. Artistry. Obsession.
And that’s just the authors.
Sci-Fi Anthology EDGE OF OBLIVION
With sixteen stories clocking in at approx. 76,000 words, Edge of Oblivion takes readers on a sci-fi ride that leaves heads spinning and minds wondering.
There’s something in here for every lover of sci-fi, fantasy, or the weird: X-rated aliens, bounty hunters, time-travel, nostalgic Horsemen of the Apocalypse, genetically retrograded animals, the US Remote Viewing Project, creepy local legends, and world-conquering demons.
And that hodge-podge of authors I mentioned? They've brought the force of their collective quirkiness to bear on these tales so as to craft a collection of stories to knock the socks off a nanite-monkey*.
Court’s Short
Me, I had help from two characters by name of Grace and Jack who’ve been dogging my writing footsteps since 2005. In Edge of Oblivion, they grace us (grace, ha ha, get it?) with their perplexing presence via “The Mercy and the Schadenfreude of the Soulless.”
Yes, that is the actual title. I don’t know why. It was probably Grace’s idea.
Trying to explain Grace and Jack is like trying to explain quantum physics to a 3rd grader.
I love quantum physics. But I do not understand quantum physics.
Similarly In exactly the same way, I love Grace and Jack but do not comprehend them in the least. I don’t understand a lot of what they say. I don’t understand how they think. Jack, my first-person narrator of the G&J stories, comes up with imagery and metaphors that flabber my gast. And deeply disturbed as she is (or is she?), Grace is likely to spout off with stuff that would confound even the most brilliant cryptanalysts.
Grace and Jack come from a place in my psyche I don’t like to look at too closely.
Oh, I’m sure it’s all benign enough. Grace and Jack can be gritty sometimes, but there’s nothing truly dark or insidious about them (I think). Still, writing-reading them leaves me with that feeling you carry around all day after you’ve had a particularly odd dream.
A dose of G&J, and the whole world shifts a fraction and I’m squinting to see where reality ends and imagination begins. When I resurface from one of their stories, everything around me suddenly bears a hint of “off,” a slight taste of Other.
“The Mercy and the Schadenfreude of the Soulless” delves into time-travel, marriage, dimension-hopping, the soul-drain of (undeserved?) guilt, and redemption.
In their convoluted and passionate relationship, Grace and Jack ask and answer the questions of what insanity really looks like...how far love really has to go...how far love even should go...and whether or not madness is catching.
Also, there are Mighty Galumphing Histrionic Sky Gods.
Edge of Oblivion is available for purchase here. All proceeds from the sale of Edge of Oblivion are being donated to the Cystic Fibrosis Trust.
Connect with me on Facebook here.
Happy reading, y’all!
*I don’t actually know that there’s such a thing as a nanite-monkey. But there SHOULD be.
_________________________
NOTES FOR ME
'Bloodline' is about a posh young man, in a rundown flat, with a monumental hangover and a locked bathroom door.
Tig, a bounty hunter, is in pursuit of a deadly female assassin on a backwater planet in the most x-rated alien encounter ever written…
"A Taste for Eyes" by Jay Wilburn is about a world terroized by genetically retrograded birds. The people in authority take a desperate measure to try to remain safe, but not everyone agrees with the plan. A couple holdouts attempt to flee across and abandoned post office.
"Remotely Viewed" is about the fictional UK equivalent of the US Remote Viewing Project. However, higher powers have other ideas.
To pass the time on a train ride to Cincinnati, a charming old man convinces a fellow passenger named Colin to exchange short stories. As the train barrels toward a creepy old tunnel known to locals as "The Starlight Mile," Colin learns the true tale behind the legend, and discovers that not everyone is as they seem.
In HIGHER ORDER a demon materializes in the modern day world, determined to conquer the earth.
In "Dinner," Death and Famine of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse sit down to a dinner of chatting, reminiscing, and gossiping about War and Pestilence.
January 3, 2014
You Say You Want A Resolution? Well, you know…
Hey guys!
This assumes there are still guys - in a general, gender-neutral sense - who are still reading this. Which is an unreasonable assumption considering how neglected the blog has become. Well, that's actually part of the reason I'm doing a post right now.
Last year was a helluva year for life-sized shake-ups. I lost a whole giant job, I got another much smaller job, we pulled my kid out of school, we decided he'd probably need to be homeschooled at least a year, I grappled with the issues that led to the stuff with my son, I sold a few short stories, I pushed a few more short stories, I started some new projects, I failed utterly to finish a lot of old projects. Honestly, I believe in getting the damn work done, but life came along and prioritized which jobs were going to get done more than the others. This understandably moved "blogging for an audience I'm not sure exists and with no remuneration" to the bottom of the list, shifted "loving support and education of my child" to the tippity-top, and "write things for money" into a muddy middle.
But after all that, I think I've got a handle on my working life. And I'd like to get back to blogging. I have so much stuff going on and I really want to tell people about it. And I really want there to be a place for these theoretical people who care about these things to visit. So I'm going to try and get better about blogging. Once again, I throw open the floodgates for questions you'd like answered or topics you'd like discussed. And I do mean discussed, I've always really enjoyed getting comments and interacting with them. So, you know, do that if you want. 
Mostly I wanted to make sure that everyone knew I wasn't dead, that I planned to make this more of an informational hub, and what I've been working on that I can share. I'm not calling a renewed interest in blogging and communicating with the people who like to read what I write a resolution. The main reason is that resolving things is the fastest way for me to grow to hate them, and I don't want that here. The blog shouldn't be a job. It should be an overflow of words after I've finished the work as well as an overflow of the joi de vivre writing all those other words gives me.
I will however note that it feels like I've got a lot going on and that, for the first time in a long time, I've got a real handle on it. And this seems to be happening at a moment the calendar considers liminal. That feels significant. So I will try and ride the momentum of significance rather than find myself pushed by the guilt of failed resolutions.
So to that end, here are a few of the things I'm working on. Some of them may never actually work out. Some may be fantastic but never see the light of day because of factors beyond my control. Some, though, are going to hit the world and get enjoyed by a lot of people. WHICH WILL BE WHICH? ONLY 2014 KNOW FOR SURE AND SHE AIN'T TELLIN'...YET!
Buzz Books USA will publish a series of Young Adult short stories just in time for Back To School. The series is part of Mythology High, a retelling of ancient myths and legends in a modern high school setting. I'll be tackling some of my favorite stories from the Tanakh, aka The Old Testament, and I can't wait for you all to see them. Incidentally, if you are or know a middle or high school teacher of literature and would like to have class visits by authors who are translating ancient myths into modern stories, you should totally email me or comment here.
I'm working with award-winning filmmaker George Adams on a television pilot we hope to shoot this year and sell as soon as a network likes the look of it (traditional or internet, we are down with old and new media). It's called Red River County and it's a based on true events tale set in rural Oklahoma that will turn CSI on its head. George is great and I'm really excited to work more with him because, in addition to this project, it'll lead to other film projects, eventually written, directed, and maybe even shot by me.
I've been a comedy scriptwriter and blogger for Pulp Gamer Media for several months now. It's mainly for Mayfair Games's comedy webseries The Bog & Angus Show, but I've also done some work on a sitcom webseries we hope to sell soon. Think Cheers meets Community in a game store.
I write book reviews, mainly for comics, on Bookgasm. If you want to skip immediately to my bits, they're here.
I'm looking at starting a Patreon account so as to offer monthly, subscription/patronization based superhero prose fiction. First up, the Archangel. Second up, Catfight & Hell Kitten.
I still have all the old novels in the works at various states of completion. I'd really, really like to see Myth Reaver 2: Electric Boogaloo and Hell Bent for Leather see the light of day this year. But, honestly, longform writing is taking a backseat lately and this trend is likely to continue. Still, I'm writing a LOT of things, and the more writing I do, the more writing I want to do, so some sort of critical mass may occur.
I've got a couple irons in the fire for some work in roleplaying games, but that isn't really going anywhere yet. The irons are annoyingly cool at the moment, but I have high hopes for heat in the near future!
And that's about it...for NOW! But as you can see, I've got a lot on deck I hope to share with you in the future. Stay tuned to this space, hit me with any and all questions or concerns, and I'll do my best to post some interesting and entertaining stuff more regularly than, well, never.
I love the smell of new years in the morning! Smells like...victory!
