Austin Dragon's Blog, page 13

Theme of the Month: February 2016

The After Eden Series. The Sleepy Hollow Horrors. And now Liquid Cool!

I’ve been teasing my new upcoming cyberpunk detective series, Liquid Cool, for awhile now. So to help I released a prequel short, These Mean Streets, Darkly. As you can read from a featured Amazon review below, that only partially “eased the pain.”

Well the wait is over, or the wait is practically over. Liquid Cool will be released in two weeks for the Valentine’s weekend on February 13th! So for the next two months it will be all about the Liquid Cool Detective Agency, our protagonist, Cruz; and the rainy, super-city of Metropolis with its tech-tricksters, analog hustlers, digital gangsters, and assorted cyborgs.

Here are two previous blog posts about the new series of interest:

http://www.austindragon.com/cyberpunk-re-imagined/

http://www.austindragon.com/inspirational-art-my-upcoming-cyberpunk-series/

Interested?

Pre-order Liquid Cool today on Amazon or Kobo today!

 

#LiquidCool #Cyberpunk #ScienceFiction #BladeRunner

The post Theme of the Month: February 2016 appeared first on Official Website of Author Austin Dragon.

My January 2016 Kindle Fire Giveaway

Here we are in 2016, but before January gets away from us we’re kicking off our first giveaway of the year. One lucky winner will get Amazon’s #1 bestselling Kindle Fire Tablet, 7″ Display, Wi-Fi, 8 GB, in Black! Our Kindle Fire Giveaway starts this Friday, January 22nd and ends on January 31st.

So enter below for your chance to win!

And for those Leaving Comments on this page, the question is simple:

Which Kindle do you think we should give away next time, and why?

Author Austin Dragon’s January 2016 Kindle Fire Giveaway

 

#Win #FREE #Amazon #Kindle #Giveaway

The post My January 2016 Kindle Fire Giveaway appeared first on Official Website of Author Austin Dragon.

Category Conundrum: The After Eden Series

I think most people know the iconic story of the Diary of Anne Frank. Anne and her family hid in an attic for two years during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands, and were eventually captured.

Well, let’s say instead of 1942, we have a fictionalized version of the story set in the year 2432, with hovercraft, robots, bio-engineered birds (the real ones became extinct). The same basic story, and all the main characters are practicing Jews and family helping them are Christians. What category should it be in? Broadly, science Fiction, yes, but what sub-categories? Religious Fiction? Christian Fiction?

Every author (until they supposedly make it “big”) struggles with discoverability for any of his or her works. Pick the right ones and you have a better chance of being found. Pick the wrong ones and your natural readers won’t find you and you get lost in the crowd. Things can be further complicated by have a novel that doesn’t fit nicely into one category.

Honestly, I struggled with this. The After Eden is an international, science fiction, thriller series spanning several decades and features different religions, politics, and nations.  My solution: I decided to do something unique and have the After Eden books listed under Christian Fiction (Futuristic) and the other half listed under Religious Fiction (Futuristic), with the companion novels in Cyberpunk. Does that accurately describe the series? No, but that isn’t the point. It is about connecting with readers who are most likely to enjoy the books.

Most of you know The Hunger Games books and now the movies. In a dystopian future, teenagers are sent to a self-contained, booby-trapped island for a fight against each other to the death. Look on Amazon and what categories are the books in? Science fiction? Dystopia? No. Self-Esteem and Reliance (Teens) and Friendship, Social Skills & School Life (Children’s Books). Yes, I started laughing too, but it illustrates the point better than anything. Categories are not to describe the book, but to connect with the readers who will love your book.

For me this is especially important because the series enters its final four books—collectively, more dramatic, more emotional, and events more destructive than its predecessors. I want those readers to find the series, because it is quite unique.

The After Eden Series Page (Check out the cool animated covers)

The post Category Conundrum: The After Eden Series appeared first on Official Website of Author Austin Dragon.

Bobba Fett’s Top 12 New Year’s Resolution Tips! (Complete)

Since I absolutely blasted the Star Wars:The Force Awakens movie, I thought it would be fun to resurrect my last Star Wars-themed blog post from last year.  Yes, I still a Star Wars fan (well, at least the original). Instead of two posts, I put it all together in one. Enjoy!

 

At the beginning of every January is the perennial debate as to whether New Year’s resolutions are good or bad, stupendous or stupid, beneficial or a complete, self-defeating waste of time.  The simple question back should be: What’s wrong with wanting to improve yourself or your quality of life? That’s what we homo sapiens on Earth do. Shouldn’t we all be doing that in some way? While you don’t need a special day or month to do it–get in shape, lose weight, learn a foreign language, get another degree, become involved in a local charity, join a bible-study group, become a gourmet chef, change careers, start your own business, start saving twenty-five percent of every dollar you make, travel the world, write a novel; the list is endless–it does put the topic front-and-center.

I checked around for someone with a good list to share with us. I cleaned up the language, but kept his irreverence.

#1. “Don’t Be a Nerf Herder.” Have a Solid Plan First.

Simply jumping into your resolution may work if you’re a ruthless, Mandalorian bounty hunter and warrior, but he’s an expert.  Eagerness is commendable, but before you start your new resolution, you should have a solid plan first to maximize success and it should be written. (Both broadcast to yourself that you’re serious and you’re not messing around.)

It should:

(1) Be specific in terms of action steps. What to do?

Think of what your main goal is, and then work backwards. Every major step has to move you one step forward towards that goal. To use a financial example, (which was very effective on me as a kid and allowed me to buy my first car oh so many years back) if you saved at least $20 a week, you’d have just over $1000 at the end of the year. It’s all about incrementalism–step-by-step.

(2) Be specific in terms of goals. What should I achieve when I do it?

You don’t have to write an encyclopedia. It could be as simple as a one page bullet-point outline, if you like. The point is whether it’s weekly, bi-weekly or monthly, you know exactly what you’re supposed to accomplish at the end of each time period.

(3) Track your progress. What are my milestones and set-backs?

You don’t need to accomplish everything in a day. You acknowledge the milestones you reach. Another success! Pat yourself on the back to give yourself that positive reinforcement and keep pushing forward.

You also note the set-backs. But there’s no need to frustrate yourself at the start or burn yourself out at the end. Having the plan allows you to re-adjust as needed. You may need to start over, because you were too over-ambitious in your goals, or vice versa. All of that is fine. Soon you will know exactly what your capabilities are and be able to add accurate benchmarks to chart progress. Keep adjusting, move forward, keep tracking.

Last year, I decided that I was going to run a marathon. Though I was naturally a good runner as a child and teenager, and especially in my three years in the US Army (I remember myself “floating on the wind” as I ran). However, I came to the realization that I didn’t like running at all. Twenty years later, after my own personal declaration that I “hated running,” this decision to run a marathon seemed to come out of the blue. It would be as if someone who was clinically afraid of heights woke up and then decided to go sky-diving. That was my view of running a marathon–or more precisely–me running one.

Then I added another seemingly insurmountable obstacle: I was going to run before work which meant getting up at 5:30 am. I am not a morning person.

Well… I did it. I wrote out my plan in broad strokes, since I had no idea what my capabilities were. I viewed my course not a one long stretch, but six different legs of the run. The only major goal was to make progress monthly toward my overall goal of being able to enroll, run, and finish my first marathon. I checked off being able to run, at least, from one end of the block to another, then being able to run two of the six legs without stopping, then three out of six, running my first mile straight, then two, and so on.

When I started running, it was a huge struggle. My internal voice buzzed in my brain to quit. Now, I don’t even think about the run anymore; I just do it.

#2. “Fuzzball, the Planning is the Second Step.” The Pre-Plan is Just As Important As the Plan.

No need to start cold. Do a trial run. And depending on what it is, research everything about it.

In my case, it was looking at running schedules online of other marathoners. Learning about the foods they ate, drinking lots of water throughout the day, supplements they took, the kinds of running shoes they wore, etc. How long did it take to build up to the real marathon?

#3. “Forget the Force. Just Do It!”

The pre-planning and the planning is over. Don’t overthink or get stuck in planning paralysis. You have to pull the trigger and get started!

So how did I start my marathon training? Simple. By not running at all. Yep, I walked. For about a month, all I did was walk the course I mapped out. Why? I had to get into a routine. Just getting my butt out the bed, every morning at 5:30 am, was a major mission by itself. Once I had that down, then it was simply to walk my path. Ease into the plan. Incidentally, walking alone is great exercise and if you were to do just that for two miles a day, you’d be in good health.

The next obstacle was me. I couldn’t run worth a damn. I remember my days in high school and in the US Army right afterwards of “floating on the air” running ahead of everyone. Now I couldn’t even run half the block. That’s when I was able to adjust my plan as I was starting to learn what my capabilities were. Then I could create realistic micro-goals or benchmarks.

And so it began. Step-by-step. When I started I only walked my course. Now, thirty pounds lighter, I run the entire course. At the beginning, when I finished (not even running the whole thing) I was a mass of sweat and collapsed on the floor out-of-breath. Now, I come back home and I look like I never went running at all. My body automatically gets up at 5:30 am even without the alarm clock. If I don’t run, I feel like my day is out of alignment somehow.

They say it takes 30 days for a new task to become a habit. It is absolutely true. The longer you stick to it, the more it becomes part of your DNA.

#4. “Don’t Look At the Death Star. Keep Your Eyes on the Goal.” Sidestep the Distractions.

Distractions. They are more plentiful than Storm Troopers in the Empire. They’re everywhere. In fact, many people sabotage themselves–consciously or subconsciously. Externally and internally, distractions have but one goal: to make you fail.

Notice I didn’t say “avoid” distractions. That takes you out of your zone, disrupts your focus and off-mission. Don’t try to prevent random distractions. Let them come. You can even acknowledge their existence. Accept them as a natural–and welcome–fact of life. But you sidestep them and stay on plan.

If you have to gawk at the Death Star or any other distraction, come back to it on your down time–after you do your resolution work.

#5. “You See With Your Mind. Not Your Eyes.” Adjust Your Perspective.

People always think to prepare themselves physically and mentally, but there are levels of our existence more fundamental than that. Success is also about changing your mental perspective on a thing. I’ve always been a Glass-Is-Half-Full person rather than a Glass-Is-Half-Empty person. Both facts are true and valid. It’s the reason why the Democratic Party and Republican Party can look at the same set of problems and come up with completely different solutions. It’s comes down to your worldview or your perspective—how you see yourself, your goals, the world. If you ultimately feel you’re a failure or you will never accomplish something, no amount of planning or focus is going to change that. But the good thing is your mental view can be changed. You can Jedi mind-trick yourself to change that perspective.

The simple reason why I’m successfully moving forward to running my marathon is I changed my thinking. I changed “I can’t run,” “I can’t get up at 5:30 am,” and “there’s no way I can run a marathon,” to running everyday, early in the morning, and now planning which marathons I’ll be running.

#6. “I Dream of Han Solo in Carbonite.” Visualize It!

Human beings are visual. A single frame of a movie can be more indelible and longer lasting than thousand pages of the greatest novel. If we know this about our basic psychology and physiology, then use it to your advantage. Visualize yourself fulfilling your resolution. Again, the resolution plan has to be solid and realistic.

#7. “I Admire the Cut of Your Jibb, Darth.” Look for Inspiration in Others!

“100-year Old Marathoner Finishes Toronto Race”

How am I supposed to process that story headline? I was lollygagging about starting my marathon training and this man, at age 100, runs a marathon. It’s like that car insurance commercial where the couple is sitting in a coffee shop and the woman asks him, “you believe men are better drivers than women?” and the man enthusiastically nods his head “yes.” She then proceeds to show him her Good Driving Discount Check. “Then how do you explain this?” The man doesn’t know what to say. He tries mumbling something when she holds up her hand, and says, “Silence!” There’s nothing to be said.

So Mr. Fauja Singh, a British Indian Sikh, became my inspiration for my marathon training. If he–more than half a century older than me–can stick to his plan, then I can surely stick to mine.

 

 

#8. “Have The Best Tools, Man!” Use the Best Tools to Help You Achieve Success.

In my last post, I talked about training for a marathon. The “tools of the trade” would be everything from the proper diet to the proper running shoes. As an author, my tools include the best writing software, my author platform (website and social media), etc. If your resolution is to be a world traveler, be that thing. If it’s to be a top cyclist or to learn scuba diving, then learn what tools others, who have gone before you, recommend and use. Doing the research (Tip #2) is so important–and fun. Since I’m an author, this also includes being on the lookout to converse and hang out with fellow writers. It would be the same as runner, cyclist, skydiver, amateur race car driver, amateur boatsman, etc.

#9. “The Team!” (Okay, my father and I ignored this one, but we were bounty hunters. Bounty hunters don’t work well with others. But you aren’t us.) Others Help You Do Your Best.

You have the tools. Now you need the team. Some resolutions you can complete solo with no problem. With others, having a team behind you is essential to success. If it’s getting in shape, why not join a cross-fit team. If it’s to visit all fifty states or start visiting overseas countries, why wouldn’t you want to team up with a group? As an author, only I can write the story, but without others, I would never be able to put out the best product. For me, my editors, book cover designers, network of promoters to get the word out about the book, and so on are all essential.

#10. “Relax!” Make Sure “Nothing” is Also Part of the Plan.

In some religions, like Judaism and Christianity, a day of rest (the Sabbath) is actually obligatory–though most ignore it. God took six days to create the time, the universe, and everything else, but rested on the seventh. Whether religious or not, the concept is critical to success. You are not the Terminator. You actually must stop at some point and rest. To use a bodybuilding example, it isn’t the reps you do on the bench press that builds strength. It’s the time that you rest in between and afterwards.

Go further. Schedule not just rest, but fun! (Two separate things and you schedule them as such).

You have a good plan to start your New Year’s task or adventure. Make sure you don’t overdo it or burn yourself out. Schedule your “zero time” into your plan– your time to do absolutely nothing, but breathe. You don’t have to run every single day to get in shape or go to a meeting everyday for your new gourmet chef beginner classes. Work hard, play hard. And play equals: Rest, reflect, recreate.

#11. “Expect the Unexpected.” Stay Focused.

Tip #4 talked about avoiding the distractions that keep you from starting your resolution strong at the beginning. But once you get over that hurdle, there could be many more distractions to come–or just life in general. Adjust and stay focused on your plan.

It deserves repeating: It takes 30 days for a new task to become a habit. Stick with it and it becomes part of your DNA–the new “you.”

#12. “Why Are You Even Doing This? I’m Sure It’s Not to Read Bobba’s 12 Amazing Resolution Tips.” Motivation Matters.

Why are you doing this? Yes, why? “I want to get in shape because I want to have that beach body to attract the babes.” Hmm. Is that really a motivation worthy of you? “I want to get in shape to have a better quality of life, have more energy, and have an overall healthier life.” That’s better. Know what your own motives are for starting your New Year’s resolutions, because that in itself could lay the foundation for your ultimate failure. Sure, having a beach body is great, I guess, but are you really going to do all this work, so you can drive all the way to the beach, spend half an hour or more to find parking, trek to the beach, hang around trying not to get sunburn, then realize that you’re in a lousy spot (no babes/dudes around), then you have to go all the way home, but this time it takes twice as long. You walk through the door frustrated and tired. How long do you think you’ll stick with your plan to get in shape after a few instances likes those? But how about have a beach body wherever you are, whether on the beach or walking through the supermarket. Which do you think is better? The big picture is always a better motivator than the small and trivial.

Here’s a Recap of Bobba Fett’s Top 12 New Year’s Resolution Tips:

#1. “Don’t Be a Nerf Herder.” Have a Solid Plan First.

#2. “Fuzzball, the Planning is the Second Step.” The Pre-Plan is Just As Important As the Plan.

#3. “Forget the Force.” Just Do It!

#4. “Don’t Look At the Death Star. Keep Your Eyes on the Goal.” Sidestep the Distractions.

#5. “You See With Your Mind. Not Your Eyes.” Adjust Your Perspective.

#6. “I Dream of Han Solo in Carbonite.” Visualize It!

#7. “I Admire the Cut of Your Jibb, Darth.” Look For Inspiration In Others!

#8. “Have The Best Tools, Man!” Use the Best Tools to Help You Achieve Success.

#9. “The Team!” Others Help You Do Your Best.

#10. “Relax!” Make Sure “Nothing” is Part of the Plan.

#11. “Expect the Unexpected.” Stay Focused.

#12. Why Are You Even Doing This?” Motivation Matters.

 

What do you think of the post? 

Leave a comment below.

 

#NewYearsResolutions #Inspiration #StarWars #BobbaFett

The post Bobba Fett’s Top 12 New Year’s Resolution Tips! (Complete) appeared first on Official Website of Author Austin Dragon.

Happy New Year 2016!

This is actually my first post of the new year. My controversial “Top 10 Reasons Why Star Wars Sucks” was posted on the 1st, but was actually my last post of 2015. So what’s the plan for 2016? On the home page of my website, I did lay out most of it. Do everything bigger and better!

Lots of people have their New Years’ resolutions, short-term and long-term plans. But my plan started back in 2013 with the publishing of my first book. This is Year Four of that plan and first up will be the re-release of my first two books, Thy Kingdom Fall and Stars and Scorpions. In a way, I’ll begin this year with how I began three years ago, but this time I actually know what I’m doing writing and publishing-wise.

This month is all about my science fiction and international thriller After Eden series; the series that started it all. This year I also release the fourth main book of the series Red Halo and may even have a surprise for fans. Red Halo will the final installment of our introduction to the groups that make up the Resistance or the Continuum. After that will be the actual beginning of War World III.

It’s quite a thing to hold such a massive work in your head for all these years. When I wrote the first word of the first book, Thy Kingdom Fall, I also had the last word of the seventh book. It is a series that is set eighty years in the future and spans some sixty six years–all the characters, the groups, the factions, the history, politics, religion, and technology. Add to that the three companion books—Metal Flesh, Hell’s Menagerie, and Pure Conspiracy—which were not part of the original seven book series, but were created to give away. Now, I can’t image the series without those three books.

Let’s see how all of it turns out as the year unfolds.

If you’re not a VIP Readers’ Club member already, join and get Metal Flesh for free. And if you’re on Amazon or Kobo, pick up Pure Conspiracy for free. (Just click on the book links in this paragraph.) Enjoy.

The post Happy New Year 2016! appeared first on Official Website of Author Austin Dragon.

Top 10 Reasons Why Star Wars Sucked (or Yep, JJ Abrams and Disney are the Devil…I mean…the Sith) – Austin Dragon

When the first trailer for the Star Wars: The Force Awakens came out, like a lot of fans, I was quite unimpressed. But then came the second trailer! We beheld a crashed Imperial Star Destroyer in the desert, Mark Hamills’s narration over flashes of action scenes, and ended with the entrance of… Chewbacca and Han Solo with a “Chewie, we’re home,” uttered by Han. Okay, I admit it. I (almost) teared up.

Much of the uneasiness from Star Wars fans was over what would happen to the franchise now that it was owned by Mickey Mouse (or, sorry)…Disney. To be fair, Master George Lucas did a pretty good job of damaging the franchise, all by himself, with his prequels. Yes, we got Jango Fett, Jedi Master Mace Windu, and Darth Maul! But we also got Jar-Jar Binks, some of the worse acting performances from Hayden Christensen and Natalie Portman ever on screen, and some of the worst and clunky dialog in a major studio film ever. Taken all together, the prequels were nothing but some dead Kowakian monkey-lizard on the side of the road. (Here’s a pic of one–Salacious Crumb, Jabba the Hutt’s favorite little pet–pecking out C3Po’s eyes)

The other concern, from many, was over writer-producer-director, JJ Abrams at the helm. Would we get Star Trek movie I JJ (a brilliant reboot) or get Star Trek 2: Into Darkness JJ, which in many eyes, including mine, destroyed the new Star Tek movie franchise. If you doubt that, have you seen the trailer for the disaster that is the upcoming third Star Trek movie?

Well, I saw the new Star Wars on opening night—December 17th. Not the first showing, but close and no, I didn’t stand in a line. The only movie I ever stood in line for ever was the 10th year anniversary showing of Blade Runner at the historic Nuart Theater in West Los Angeles. I never expected to get in to see the new Star Wars on opening night, but I did. The theater was packed and my main motivation for going on opening night was I thought it would be so fun to experience the film with other fans.

So as you can see, I am a genuine Star Wars fan, even despite the prequels. But you already know my quick movie review: Star Wars: The Force Awakens sucked!

Okay, that was my emotional (Leonard McCoy) response as I walked out the theater two and half hours later. Let’s get into my intellectual (Spock) analysis. The movie is one of the most uneven movies I’ve ever seen: the good parts are very good—the casting of Daisy Ridley as Rey is the best thing about the movie, but bad parts are pretty bad; and, unfortunately, it is the bad that remains. I still expect it to become the highest grossest movie of all time (sorry Avatar), but is it a good movie? No, and here are the reasons why: (But first…)

DO NOT READ ANYMORE OF THIS POST IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS AND PLAN TO SEE IT. THERE ARE TONS OF SPOILERS BELOW SO GO AWAY NOW! BEAM AWAY NOW! RUN AWAY NOW! I DON’T WANT TO SPOIL IT (PUN INTENDED) FOR YOU. MY CRITIQUE IS VICIOUS!

Top 10 Reasons Why Star Wars Sucked (or Yep, JJ Abrams and Disney are the Devil Sith) – Austin Dragon
Part One: Race and Star Wars

1: I’m Sick of Hollywood’s Quest For “Diversity.” Get a Life and Stop the Obsessing Over People’s Skin Color!

You can see all the magazines and articles all chattering about it everywhere. Star Wars: The Force Awakens is the latest movie engaging in Hollywood’s (selected) obsession with “diversity.” Oh, look at us! We got a White female, Black guy and Hispanic guy as the leads. Aren’t we so progressive? Aren’t we so hip? Look how much we’re pushing the envelope? Well no, you’re actually being stupid and are too stupid to realize it.

Let me ask you this. There’s a meeting of the senior executive leadership of a major corporation—one White guy, one Black guy, one Hispanic guy, one Asian guy, one White female. They all grew in the same place, went to the same Ivy League schools, vote for the same political party, and have the same political and social ideology. Would you say this company’s leadership team is diverse? If you say, “Yes,” then you’d get a big fat F (as in “fail”) in my class.

Really are we back to this again? A person is their skin color? I thought we had decisively kicked that bigoted notion to the curb for trash pick-up back in the ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s. Yes, we did win that war (of racial equality) in America—though we have quite a few people out there who act as if the opposite were true. The measure of success is not that racists exist (a version of them always will); but can the racist stop you from life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.  It is parents, upbringing, character, values, and culture that make the person, not their skin color.

The racial color barrier (and gender barrier) had to be torn down—and ripped apart— in a post-slavery, segregated America, but do these 2015 Hollywood filmmakers really think that’s what they’re doing. Sorry, but a whole generation of filmmakers and actors already beat you to it starting in the ‘30s through the ‘80s. It’s shocking to me how ignorant and self-absorbed these guys are. Do they know these names? Lena Horne, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, Woody Strode, Diana Ross, Richard Pryor, Sidney Pointier, James Earl Jones (and I’m not talking about him as the voice of Darth Vader), Dorothy Dandridge, Nichelle Nichols, and many more. They were the trailblazers in Hollywood. We are all the beneficiaries of those struggles they faced and the battles they won, in the face of real prejudice and racism. We may live in the house, but we didn’t build it. Today’s Hollywood, you’re not doing anything special.

I hate the Racial Bean Counter People; that’s what I call them. They come in all races, ethnicities, nationalities, religions, and both genders. I’ve been aware of them since the ‘70s and implicit in their moronic over-simplification of the human race is the preoccupation on superficiality (skin color) and not substance (values, character, decency, culture) of people. Ironically, it is they who are the ones perpetuating the racial stereotypes of the past, today.

So why is this mind-set so toxic in Hollywood? Why is it a big problem in the new Star Wars movie? Because it affects the choices these filmmakers make, and most often those choices are bad.

JJ Abrams and Disney, you want to be judged by your push for “diversity”? Good. Let’s do so. Here is why this false diversity is troubling.

2: John Boyega as a Black Stormtrooper is Offensive. Here’s Why.

We, the fans, didn’t ask them to do this, but George Lucas had to introduce the concept that the Stormtroopers were actually clones and what they looked like. But what race were they going to make the clones? Well, they wisely side-stepped the whole issue by making them…not Black. Instead, they cast Maori actor Temuera Morrison as not only Bobba Fett’s (clone) father, but the template for the clone army.

Then 13 years later, what do they do? JJ Abrams re-imagines the Stormtroopers and makes them Black! I’ll admit that ticked me off from the moment Finn (John Boyega) took off his helmet at the start of the movie. Why did Star Wars want to insert race into Star Wars, why?

They would deny that’s what they did. Their cover story is, as JJ and Disney would have you believe, that the First Order needed to add to their ranks because they ran out of clones so they began taking children from families for Stormtrooper service. That’s BS for these three reasons.

One. I’m sorry, theses are clones. If you need more clones, then you…clone some more.

Two. Remember, these are Racial Bean Counter People. Notice that all the First Order people are White, and not just White, but really White. Why didn’t their quest for diversity apply to the First Order people that we see? So we have White People snatching Black children from their families to be used as shock troops, at the front line, in their battles. Yea, okay, that sounds like a script and casting idea that I can get behind. (dripping sarcasm)

Three. No, the Stormtroopers are clones. I guess with three screen writers, they can’t keep their cover story straight. There’s a scene near the end of the movie when our good guys are fighting the Stormtroopers. One Stormtrooper after another yells, “Traitor!” at Finn in the battle. How would the average Stormtrooper even know that Finn was a Stormtrooper. He has no helmet, no uniform; he’s in civilian clothes. Do the filmmakers really expect us to believe that this insignificant guy in Finn (sorry, but  true and even the character says this) is known on sight by every random Stormtrooper in the vast First Order Empire. Oh, stop it. They know who he is because they have the same face. They’re clones. Otherwise, that scene makes no sense whatsoever.

3: The Black Lead As the Comic Side-Kick and No game. Yep, That’s Groundbreaking.

We have all seen movies where we’ve sat there and asked, “Why did they cast him or her in that role?” It’s nothing against him as an actor, but that’s my feeling about the casting of John Bodega in the film. Can you imagine (in a parallel universe) Johnny Depp as Iron Man, or if they cast Tom Selleck as Indiana Jones? Very good actors and I’m a fan of both, but Robert Downey Jr. is Iron Man and Harrison Ford will always be Indiana Jones. Casting matters.

Also, I thought all Mr. Boyega was going to do was walk around with his hyperventilating as an acting technique for the whole movie. But then we got to it. Mr. Bodega was cast to be the comic relief in the movie. I thought he is, to use the words JJ and Disney, a lead? Okay, that’s strike three for me.

4: You Cast the Beautiful Lupita Nyong’o and Turn Her into a Four-Foot, Bug-eyed Yellow Lizard Alien.

You think I’m being harsh, but look at the Star Wars poster—and not the Chinese one where they removed the Black guy. Where’s Lupita? She’s the four-foot, bug-eyed yellow lizard alien (Maz Kanata), barely taller than R2-D2.

 

 

If Paramount Pictures and Marvel Studios in casting Chris Hemsworth as Thor, digitally had him run around in the movie with a big bag over his head and a poncho over his body, everyone would laugh at them. We’d all say these guys are foolish.

      

Using my Jedi mind powers, I can hear some of you saying, “But Andy Serkis is in the Star Wars movie too as Supreme Leader Snoke and he’s digitally changed.” My snappy comeback would be that he’s not a four-foot lizard alien, but a Dark Sith Master and whenever seen he’s a humongous holo-image. But motion capture technology is what actor and director, Andy Serkis does. He’s carved out a nice acting niche with Lord of the Rings and Planet of the Apes and that’s what he does, and does well. Lupita may be an Academy Award winner, but no one knows who the heck she is. She can stand on the Star Wars stage but no one knows she was even in the movie. And let’s be blunt, movie studios want their beautiful actors to be seen, which again makes the choice to turn her into a four-foot lizard alien all the more bizarre.

Let me very clear in what I’m alleging. I don’t believe, for a second, that Mr. Abrams or Disney is racist. The “R” word has been so over-used and misused that the word no longer has the meaning it should. But JJ does have a “race” problem. Again, it’s the choices.

I know JJ is sincere in his concern about “diversity,” but there are actually quite a few Blacks in Hollywood who could get a film or television series made if they wanted. If, however, all they want to do is make some Selma or slavery biopic for the millionth time, the occasional minstrel show in the sky, Soul Plane (2004) or nothing at all but live large like everyone else in Hollywood (regardless of race and gender), so be it.  The right people will emerge in the due course of time. It’s this kind of Hollywood mindset that makes me nervous and leads to things like “It’s Hard Out There For a Pimp” winning the American Academy Award for Best Original Song in 2006.

Also, I don’t ever remember anyone running around after the release of Empire Strikes Back talking about Billy Dee Williams as the Black guy; it was “how cool is Lando!” That movie came out 14 years after the end of segregation in all of America (I use 1969 as the benchmark year). Can you explain to me why skin color in a film is a major topic of conversation 46 years after the end of segregation, Mr. Abrams? The majority of people in America are still White (70%), the majority in China is Asian, and the majority in Latin America is Hispanic, so why is it weird that their movies would reflect that?

5: You Champion Having a Latino Lead in Your Movie and then Give Him No Movie Time.

This is a pattern with Mr. Abrams that precedes Star Wars. “Khan!” Moving to Hispanics, Ricardo Montalban was Khan in every way in the 1982 Star Trek: the Wrath of Khan. JJ Abrams does the Star Trek reboot (again, an excellent movie) and then re-imagines, of all people, actor Benedict Cumberbatch (great actor; watch the BBC series Sherlock as soon as you can) to play the titular role as Khan. Just, stop it! The villain Khan Noonien Singh was Eurasian, which means the actor can’t be Caucasian. I get that Hollywood when faced with casting a Eurasian character presents too complex a category for them so they will cast either a Hispanic or Asian actor, but Benedict Cumberbatch?

In Star Wars, the other big thing (according to them) is their Hispanic lead in actor Oscar Isaac. Okay, we see him right at the beginning of the movie and then poof—gone. He died in the crash when he and Finn escaped, it was said. Okay. Then he reappears at the very end of the movie and the explanation for this absence was so pathetic.

Why would they do this? If you call him a movie lead, then the actor actually has to have some screen time in the movie. Again, it’s JJ and Disney running around patting themselves on the back about how this is the first major motion film without any White males as a lead. A segment of Hollywood obsessed with “diversity” and this is what they give us: a Black male comic side-kick, a Hispanic male with no movie time, a Black female as a four-foot lizard alien. Yep, very impressive. (more dripping sarcasm)

Quick Diversion: You see how much I despise Hollywood’s “diversity.” So let’s compare the Racial Bean Counter People with me. I’ve published 10 books to date and here is a sample breakdown of MAIN characters:

A teenage White Amish girl (Kristianna)
A Black husband and wife; leaders in the Resistance (“General” Moses and M)
A Jewish husband and wife; leaders in the Resistance (Tova and Mr. Tova)
A Mexican priest; leader of the Underground Railroad (Father Marcos)
A Jewish female paramilitary leader (Shoshana)
A Mormon commander (Vincent)
A Sikh religious and military leader (Sikh Bob)
A Japanese Christian “governor” (Kanji)
A Japanese atheist female tek-lord (Zen)
A Black male and White female husband and wife; the Magi (Wings and Top Hat)
A White female Wicca leader (Athena)
Her Black and Asian Wicca female lieutenants (Czarina and Titania)
Bolivian female twins and slave liberators (The Betty Boop Twins/Sisters Guerras)
A female Venezuelan anti-slaver leader (Sister Cyclops/Sister Serena)
A Goth Christian female leader (Goth Lila)
A Conservative Jewish “secret agent” (Gideon)
An African Catholic bishop and military commander (Archbishop Masai)
An Italian Catholic bishop leader (Cardinal Cassiano)
An Orthodox Jewish anti-slaver and gunman (The Cowboy Rabbi)

This is from one of my series, After Eden—sci-fi with, obvious, religious and political themes. I’m releasing another new series (my cyberpunk detective series – Liquid Cool) where the protagonist is Puerto Rican, his girlfriend is Chinese, his best friend is Black, and his staffer is French. Another series I have coming, which probably is going to be my most diverse, everyone is Black. I see people not skin color, which is why my world is diverse and theirs is “diverse.”

Part Two: Disrespecting the Star Wars Universe

6: Really, That’s How You Kill Our Cherished Han Solo?

Star Wars has always liked to kill popular characters in stupid ways. Really, you kill the great inter-galactic bounty hunter Bobba Fett like that? Really, that’s how you’re killing Jedi Master Mace Windu?

This movie is no different, but it’s how they do it this time.

One of the charms of Han Solo was how he could get out of danger by the seat of his pants and even when the bad guys thought they had bested him, it was always Han who had the last laugh—take that you fat bastard, Jabba the Hutt! On a serious note, we understand that some parents are known to do unwise things when it comes to their children. However, let’s be clear. Han and Leia’s son is basically a Nazi. Remember, at the beginning of the movie, Kylo Ren has the Stormtroopers round up the innocent villagers in a circle to blast them to death.

The scene arrives. Anytime you see anything that looks like a catwalk in Star Wars you need to run away fast because it means someone is going get a hand cut off or killed—Luke Skywalker, Qui-Gon Jinn, the Emperor, Darth Maul. It is a very bad place to be in Star Wars. Everyone should know this by now.

From the moment we see Han Solo looking out at his arriving son on a…catwalk, we know Han is dead. The reason we continued to watch is because we couldn’t believe JJ would be so criminal in how he did it. There is no explanation as to why Han and Leia want to reconcile with their Nazi son. Also, the staging of the scene is so infantile —Chewie on this side, Rey and Finn over here to watch from above, the especially ominous CGI-ing of the scene to make all dark and spooky.

Why would Han do it? You try to reconcile outside on solid ground, not alone, preferably not while you’re trying to blow up their Death Planet. You don’t do it on this elevated catwalk many stories up with no railings while you’re trying to blow up their Death Planet. The scene made no sense because the motivations of Han’s character made no sense. It was the filmmaker forcing an emotional scene, which only back-fired on fans like me. Han’s dead. Okay, who cares? Even Leia’s reaction of the death of Han, sensing it through the Force, was pathetic. Not even a tear?

If a fan of your franchise doesn’t care about the death of an iconic character, then you have royally screwed up. Such deaths should matter to the fan, but not so in this case. I feel it’s the perfect metaphor. JJ didn’t just kill Han; he killed Star Wars.

7: First He Can Force-Freeze a Pulse Blast, Then He Gets Beat Up By a Girl.

Let’s remember how Star Wars introduces their new baddie Kylo Ren. Poe shoots a cannon laser blast at him and Kylo Ren, using the force, freezes the laser blast in motion and when the action is done releases it so it can hit what it’s going to hit. Not even Darth Vader ever did that. The closest we saw was Darth Vader blocking a laser pistol blast with his hand from Han Solo in Empire Strikes Back.

In the original movies, Luke Skywalker was strong with the force, but he had to go to Dagobah to train with a real Jedi Master, Yoda. At the time Luke left, his training was still not done. In this new Star Wars movie, we are introduced to Rey who basically gets out of the bed and spontaneously masters the force to beat the powerful Sith lord, Kylo Ren in her first ever light-saber battle. No knowledge of the force, no training, nothing. That’s just stupid. The set-up was good with Finn trying his best to stop Kylo Ren, and failing (since I trashed Mr. Bodega, I’ll say that this was the only time I actually liked him in the movie) But Rey beating Kylo Ren? What I expected them to do is have Rey train with Luke (in the next Star Wars movie) and then fight and defeat Kylo Ren in the next one.

To go even deeper, the subtext of this scene in elevating this one female character to such a ridiculous level is to say that all the Jedis that we have seen before—Luke Skywalker, Ben Kenobi (played by Ewan McGregor), Mace Windu, etc.—were nothing. It’s saying—which is why I always hated the introduction of the whole midichlorians nonsense in the prequels—is that you become a great Jedi Knight not through training or skill, but by blood. In other words, only the midichlorian-superior can be a Jedi. Only those with the right blood can be Jedis? Are you freaking kidding me, Star Wars? What twin evils does that sound like that we defeated in America with the Civil Rights Movement and defeated in the world with World War II. I already used the “N” word (Nazi), three times I won’t repeat it again. But are we comfortable with that concept, the supremacy of blood, embedded in a popular culture movie franchise? I’m not.

8: What Exactly Has the Rebel Alliance Been Doing For The Past 30 Years? They Did Actually Defeat the Galactic Empire.

And had Darth Vader throw the Emperor to his death off that catwalk!

In the original Star Wars, we had the Death Star. It was destroyed and then our baddies rebuilt it, but was destroyed in Return of Jedi. In the new Star Wars, we have a Death Planet! It is like a 100 times larger and can blow up not just one planet but several at a time.

I’m sorry but do the filmmakers know that the Rebel Alliance actually defeated the Empire in Return of the Jedi? These bad guys call themselves the First Order, but it’s the same Galactic Empire. Same uniforms, same White actors with an over-representation of British actors (I watch quite a bit of British TV so I noticed many right away), same tie-fighters, same Imperial Destroyers, and same Stormtroopers.

What the heck was the Rebel Alliance doing over the past 30 years? The movie never explains itself, and the subtext is that none of what happened in the original three movies mattered.

The First Order (Galactic Empire) got a new Death Planet and a new guy to replace Darth Vader. The Resistance (Rebel Alliance) has a C3PO with a new red arm. Isn’t that special? The Rebel Alliance that we knew and loved at the end of the Return of the Jedi would never have let that happen.

9: Yep, Luke Skywalker is found. And He’s a Homeless Cyborg Bum Hangin’ Out on a Cliff.

The movie’s ending is just plain odd.

They touch down on this planet thanks to this map and Rey is just walking and walking. Then she reaches a hill to see that hooded figure—Luke! Yep, there’s Luke standing on the top of a hill looking out over the ocean. At first you ask, why didn’t they just land the Millennium Falcon right there? Then you ask, what the hell is Luke doing? There’s nothing—I mean nothing around. No tent, no structures, no animals, people, nothing. So here we end the movie in this awkward moment staged for the camera of Rey stretching out her arm to hand Luke his light-saber but he’s not taking it.

Some of you might be saying that I’ve been a long-time hater of Mr. Abrams. Actually that is not true, but again we see a pattern. I never watched his television series Lost, but how they ended that series for the fans should be classified as criminal abuse. I did watch his series Alias (can’t remember why I stopped watching it), I was a big fan of his series Fringe (until they relocated it to the parallel universe), I was a fan of Persons of Interest (until the bad guys stole the machine and the writers didn’t know what the hell they wanted to do with the show), and I will always be a fan of his “small” film, Cloverfield. So my critique of him is not as a hater. As the reboot of the Star Trek movies also clearly shows, Mr. Abrams knows how to start things (sometimes brilliantly) but often times doesn’t know how to do the middle or end part.

10: Yes, it’s confirmed. JJ Abrams and Disney Signed a Pact With the Devil are actually all Dark Lords of the Sith Order.

I always had fond memories of Disney as a kid. Fantasia, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, etc. The greatness continued through their purchase of Pixar. But this Disney is not that Disney. Disney owns Star Trek, Star Wars and Marvel Studios. There is something unsettling about one entity owning all those movie franchises. JJ destroyed the Star Trek franchise, I believe the same will happen with Star Wars, and all of us Marvel fans know that the amazing Marvel movie empire is coming to an end soon. (Ant Man?). Monopolies are bad and I say that as a capitalist. Hollywood monopolies are even worse. It would be one thing if all of this consolidation also consolidated the best of the best, but far from it. Frankly, I don’t think these Hollywood executives actually know what a good movie is.

Some might say: “Hey Austin, the movie is the fastest grossing a billion dollars ever!” Yeah, so what? My critique is not about box-office grosses, it is about movie quality for the general audience and the Star Wars fans that made the franchise and made George Lucas and company a gazillionaire. Does anyone think that Transformers: Dark Side of the Moon and Revenge of the Fallen are good movies? They sucked, but still are huge commercial successes. Same with the Hunger Games movies; they’re awful (not to be confused with the books which are awesome, especially the first two of the trilogy). What about Specter? Really, is that a good movie? Conversely, the original Star Trek was cancelled after three years of its five year “mission” on television. Blade Runner was a box-office flop. Modern Hollywood is doing what it always does: try to big money with bad movies.

Will this trend last? No, but it will go on for awhile. Transformers and Iron Man III have already shown us the future: Hollywood will continue to shift its focus away from America to China. Jacking up ticket prices and focusing on the post-movie theater life of a film (DVDs/BluRay, streaming, cable, broadcast TV, etc.) were previous strategies to make profits from mediocre and bad movies. The problem is that when the trend does end this time, it’s going to be very messy, and all it will take is one or two of these committee-approved, planned “blockbusters” to fail at the box-office to bankrupt an entire studio.

What is sad about Star Wars is that a great franchise has ended, and it didn’t have to happen. With all the money Hollywood has to make a modern movie, including on writers, was it not too much to ask to get quality in The Force Awakens that surpassed the original three movies? I guess the answer is yes. The year 2015 has ended and, for me, Mad Max: Fury Road is the best movie of the year.

With the coming tsunami of endless Star Wars movies and television series, I’m quite content with watching the first Stars Wars, the Empire Strikes Back (the best) and Return of the Jedi annually to remind me of that nostalgic time as a kid when movies were magic.

#StarWars #TheForceAwakens

 

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The post Top 10 Reasons Why Star Wars Sucked (or Yep, JJ Abrams and Disney are the Devil…I mean…the Sith) – Austin Dragon appeared first on Official Website of Author Austin Dragon.

Happy Holidays (2015)

Wow, is it that time already? Yep, the end of 2015 is upon us. Well, this will be my last blog post for the year, which has been incredibly busy with the release of a half dozen books and becoming a multi-genre author. But 2016 will be even better! Have a Happy Thanksgiving and Happy Hanukkah, Christmas, and New Year’s Day in advance. See you back in 2016!

Always Writing,

Austin

The post Happy Holidays (2015) appeared first on Official Website of Author Austin Dragon.

Favorite Blog Post #4: Cyberpunk Reimagined

There’s nothing like creating and then launching a new series. Liquid Cool is my third and it was so much fun to do. I wanted to do a cyberpunk detective novel, but more than that, I wanted to “re-imagine” cyberpunk for 2015 and beyond, as explained in fan favorite blog post, Cyberpunk Re-Imagined.

#Cyberpunk #ScienceFiction #BladeRunner

The post Favorite Blog Post #4: Cyberpunk Reimagined appeared first on Official Website of Author Austin Dragon.

Favorite Blog Post #3: Shakespeare or a Chain-Smoking Albino Midget?

I’m not a fan of political correctness at all and much of the talk of “diversity” is shallow and stupid. So I had fun writing this fan favorite blog post named, Shakespeare or a Multi-racial, Chain-smoking, Albino Midget?

The post Favorite Blog Post #3: Shakespeare or a Chain-Smoking Albino Midget? appeared first on Official Website of Author Austin Dragon.

Favorite Blog Post #2: Dear Veterans, I’m Sorry

Every so often I write a personal blog post. This was one I originally wrote a year ago about my fellow veterans and it got some good response. I expect for politics to be played coming out of Washington DC, but when politics are played with the lives of our veterans, who go where they are told, my blood boils.

In honor of our Vets for Veterans’ Day is a fan favorite blog post, Dear U.S. Veterans, I’m Sorry.

#Veterans #Vets #Military #VeteransDay #America #Iraq #Afghanistan

The post Favorite Blog Post #2: Dear Veterans, I’m Sorry appeared first on Official Website of Author Austin Dragon.