E.R. Torre's Blog, page 72
July 15, 2018
Sketchin’ 83
Seems like forever since I last posted a new piece. Blame it on my latest Corrosive Knights novel, Book #7. As it nears completion, its been taking up most of my free time (and sanity).
But I needed to get away and my subject is the wonderful Talos scene from the also very wonderful 1963 film Jason and the Argonauts. The legendary Ray Harryhausen provided the special effects for this movie and while most people (perhaps rightfully!) point out the great sequence involving Jason fighting off the skeletons, I’m partial to Talos. He’s a giant metallic creature that comes to life and makes life quite miserable for Jason and his gang and I just love that sequence to bits. Sure, the effects are crude compared to what can be done today, but I loved it then and still love it today!
July 13, 2018
Corrosive Knights, a 7/13/18 update
Yeah, I know, I just did an update a couple of days ago.
This is going to be a quick one:
Yesterday, I began the process of transferring my pen & ink revisions from the printed page to the Word file and in that first day I made it through 32 pages of material. The full printed work comes to 233 pages as printed (full 8 1/2 x 11 pages, single spaced font sized 10).
If I were to keep up that incredible (and it is incredible!) pace, I could theoretically be done with the entire Word file/draft in a matter of 6-7 more days.
Of course, that won’t quite happen. As I said before, I do have people doing some work on my house and these early pages of the book are pretty close to being “done”… there are some pages toward the middle and end of the book that will require more scrutiny.
More scrutiny = more work = more time spend on them.
Still, it’s not entirely inconceivable that within the next two weeks, perhaps a little more, I’ll be done with the 7th draft completely and be on my way to draft #8 and this represents a hell of a speedup versus the months it would take me to do earlier drafts.
The bottom line is that this book is getting very near being done, which is what I said in my last update.
Now, let’s get back to it! 
July 11, 2018
Corrosive Knights, a 7/11/18 update
It isn’t often when you finally get that glimpse into the culmination of one of your fondest -and long held- dreams.
Today I finished reading/revising on paper the 7th draft of 7th book in the Corrosive Knights series.
[image error]When writing my novels, this is the way it goes: I finish up a draft on the computer, print it out, then read the printed version carefully and put down any additions/subtractions by pen. Once done, I transfer all those pen & ink revisions into the computer and once done with that I print it out and go over the print out once again.
So, as mentioned, I’ve read and done the pen & ink revisions seven times now and, perhaps starting tomorrow (we’ll see, got some workers around the house fixing some stuff up), I’ll get on the computer and begin transferring those revisions into the Word file.
For those keeping track, I started reading and proofing the book on 6/28, which means its taken me a little less than two weeks to do this reading/revision. I suspect it will take perhaps another couple of weeks, give or take and depending on that work being done on the house, to transfer those revisions into the Word file and fully complete this 7th draft of the book.
Getting all this done to the 6th draft of the book took two months and five or so days, which means I’m speeding up the time it takes to finish a revision. This in turn means there is less revision needed which in turn means the book is that much closer to being completed.
Again, if time permits and I can work in peace on the computer, I suspect this entire draft from printout to printout/start to end will take me roughly a month and that culmination of the dream becomes that much closer to being a reality.
So yeah, its fair to say I’m elated. Not just because of this book, which I’m so damn proud of, but this entire series.
It has come out far, far better than I dared think it would, and, you know what? I’m not just elated. I’m freaking ecstatic!!!!!!
All right, calm down.
There’s still some work to be done. There are parts in the novel’s mid section which need to be tightened. The story beats are good, but the way I described what happens during these parts needs sharpening. There are also a couple of small add-ons needed toward the book’s conclusion. However, nothing very big.
The story itself, as they say in movies, is basically locked down.
When I started this novel, I hoped November 2018 would be my far end deadline to finish everything up. Sure, I hoped it could be done and released earlier, but these novels do have a way of taking their time and this one, just like the others, certainly has done that. I don’t believe I’ll get it done much earlier and there is the possibility I might take a little longer.
As with all things creative, it’s extremely difficult to predict with any kind of absolute certainty when this will be finished.
Regardless, it’s close, dear readers. It’s very close now. Another two or three drafts might just do it.
Keep those fingers crossed!
The Commuter (2018) a (mildly) belated review
I have to give those who made The Commuter props for trying to create an interesting mystery/suspense film which clearly offers a tip of the hat to the works of Alfred Hitchcock.
If you’re unfamiliar with the movie, here’s the trailer:
is effectively the entire show here, playing ex-cop and now -but not for long- Insurance salesman Michael MacCauley. He has a loving wife and son and, day after day, commutes by train from his home to the “big city” for work.
As the movie begins, he goes through his day’s office routine while alert, and not so alert, viewers begin to see clues as to where the story is going. This, sadly, is one of the movie’s big problems and I’ll get into that in a moment.
MacCauley is called to his boss’ office and is told that he’s being laid off. MacCauley is understandably disturbed. He has mortgages and is only a few years away from retiring/getting a severance and *poof* that’s all out the window.
He then goes to a bar to meet a cop friend of his () and there also meets the Chief of the police and more hints as to the plot are laid out.
From there, he heads back home via the train and it is there that he eventually meets Joanna (, rounding out with Mr. Wilson the two leads from The Conjuring movies… though they share no screen time together here).
Joanna offers MacCauley an intriguing proposal: There’s $25,000 hidden in a bathroom within the train. He can take it and for that money and, for another $75,000 given to him afterwards, he is to identify someone on this train going to its final destination.
After making the offer, Joanna departs from the train and, curious, MacCauley checks the specified bathroom and, sure enough, finds the money. Obviously, its a welcome relief considering he just lost his job, but soon enough he realizes there is a sinister reason for all this.
Duh!
I wanted to really, really like The Commuter, and as I said before it was clear the makers of the film put a great deal of effort in this Hitchockian pastiche.
However, and as I already mentioned, the film unfortunately hits you over the head with things you can see a mile coming. When the camera early on lingers on a news report of someone’s suicide, you know that this is going to mean something later in the film. When MacCauley shows off his wedding ring to his wife and she reciprocates in the movie’s opening minutes, that too comes back in force later on.
The movie’s villain(s) are also pretty easy to discern and whatever “shock” you’re supposed to have later on in the film regarding their allegiances are simply not all that shocking.
But the worst thing about the film, something my wife noted perhaps halfway through the movie, was that if these villains are so good and so connected and “high up” and all seeing as to what MacCauley does while in the train (including, for example, while quite hidden writes a “call the police” note in a newspaper), then how come they don’t know who the person is they’re hunting?
Given their efficiency and all, that becomes something that’s just too hard to swallow. And don’t get me started on this question: Why is this person everyone is hunting traveling alone if s/he is so damn important?
With all that said, the film isn’t a total bust.
If you are able to turn your brain off and enjoy it for what it is and not ask too many questions or scratch too hard under its obvious surface, the film is a decent suspense flick with some decent action.
Still, for me its hard to outright recommend The Commuter and that’s a crying shame. Despite good acting and a clear attempt to create a modern Hitchock suspense drama, this film really needed a little more work on its script and a lot more work on how to more subtly deliver the story.
July 9, 2018
Zooropa, 25 years later
There was a time I was a HUGE U2 fan. Loved, loved, loved their albums and thought they were one of the best bands out there.
Yeah, they stumbled a bit with the album Rattle and Hum (too long, too meandering) but, overall, they released some exceptional works. War. The Unforgettable Fire. The lovely ep Wide Awake in America. The Joshua Tree.
After Rattle and Hum, one could understandably be worried they were spent. Then came the wonderful Achtung Baby and, suddenly, they were again on top of the world, IMHO.
While touring on that album and with creativity to burn, they released the album Zooropa in 1993. The album was met with… confusion, perhaps, by audiences in general. The album was very experimental and, compared to some of the previous U2 albums, perhaps a little too radical to some.
I personally loved every second of its wonky bizarreness, including the way it ends with a song sung by, of all people Johnny Cash!
Over at vox.com, Dylan Scott offers his positive opinion on…
The unexpected resonance of Zooropa, U2’s least remembered album, 25 years later
Mr. Scott seems to share similar opinions to mine. I loved U2 up to Zooropa but, sadly, from that point on the band seemed to drift off into directions that no longer interested me. Their follow up album, Pop, I could barely listen to. Their subsequent albums had songs here and there I liked but, overall, nothing that stood out like everything that came before.
And, to me, its a really sad thing to see.
Mr. Scott notes that U2 themselves seem to hold Zooropa in low esteem, barely singing any of the songs from that album in their shows.
Again, that’s too bad.
Still, reading the article is fascinating and, if you’re a fan at all of U2 -or even a lapsed fan as I am of late- its an interesting read.
July 4, 2018
Sketchin’ 82
I consider three films my all time favorites and one of those three, quite possible THE #1 in the group, is the subject of this piece, the 1927 sci-fi classic Metropolis.
Directed by Fritz Lang and written by Thea Von Harbou, the movie was a flop when originally released and the German studio that financed it, desperate to turn a profit on what was a very expensive undertaking, clipped the film down. For many years, the original cut of the film was thought lost but, by a miracle, an almost complete print, damaged but watchable, was found in South America and today we can see the film almost as it originally was intended (there remains a sequence which was too damaged to salvage, but otherwise you have most of the film available).
HIGHLY recommended.
Too damn funny… July 4th Edition
So Alex Jones, the oh-so-stable radio “commentator” who espouses some wild conspiracy/right wing theories, claims that today, the 4th of July, the despicable “liberals” will begin a second Civil War.
How else does a reasonable, though clearly despicable, liberal react to this? Why, by posting hilarious Twitter statements about, you guessed it, the ongoing second Civil War.
Amy B. Wang over at the Washington Post wrote an article about this, and I HIGHLY recommend you check it out if you want to have a damn good laugh:
‘No place to recharge my Kindle’: Letters imagine the front lines of America’s ‘second civil war’
The twitter link itself:
https://twitter.com/hashtag/secondcivilwarletters
Some of my favorites:
Particularly love #2’s comment about Trump and his tweets.
Hilarious stuff!
July 3, 2018
I’m probably quite late pointing this out…
…especially since it made the round a few days back.
Probably one of the funniest store-cam movies you’ll ever see…
As someone far more clever than I put it, this video has more twists and turns in its two and a half minutes than most Hollywood big budgeted blockbusters.
And the climax!
I won’t give it away, but the climax/conclusion of this video will have you in stitches.
Btw, the version I embedded has the “Yakety Sax” music (ie, The Benny Hill Show music). Works incredibly well for this!
July 2, 2018
This is ridiculous…
…and I want to be very clear: I have absolutely nothing to do with it.
If you’re interested in buying any of my books, whether digital or physical copies, you can go over to Amazon.com and you’ll find all my stuff in this convenient little nook I’ve made for myself:
Today, I went over there just to see how things were going (always am on the lookout for reviews… whether good or bad), and I find the listing for the physical copy of my graphic novel The Dark Fringe (it is available for digital download for a mere $4.99, free with kindle unlimited), is being sold by someone for… $619.13.
That’s right: Six hundred nineteen dollars and thirteen cents.
Here’s the proof:
[image error]Now, as I said at the start of this post, I have nothing at all to do with this. Indeed, at this point in time I have nothing at all to do with the physical copy sales of this graphic novel. The books being sold are copies originally released some 10 years ago and are still circulating within comic book stores and/or used bookstores.
Anyway, once I picked my jaw back up from the floor, I investigated who exactly was selling my book for that much. Here’s what I found:
As you can see, there are four listings from which one can buy a physical copy of The Dark Fringe. However, if you look closer, you see that despite the four listing, the book is being sold through two companies. One listing, the very reasonable $10.00 one (the book originally sold new for $9.95 when it was initially released), is from Comics4Less and they ship from Illinois. The other three listings are for a company called Red Rhino which ships from North Carolina.
Frankly, all three of their prices, from $69.73 to the outrageous $619.17 (which, strangely, is different from the $619.13 listed in the first graphic) are… well… outrageous. Especially considering the fact that the “cheapest” copy on that list, for $69.73, is the one that’s listed as “like new” and the subsequent copies are “very good” ($74.52) and “acceptable” (Big Bertha at $619.17).
I… don’t get it.
Again, I have no affiliation with Red Rhino. I have no idea what type of company they are, though the nearly 7500 reviews do paint them in a very positive 91% approval light.
Perhaps this is some kind of typo?
Given there are three prices, I somehow think not.
Regardless, I’m posting this because I don’t want anyone to think I’m somehow behind the pricing of these books through this company.
Mind you, I’m well aware of the collector market and I know older publications can become “hot” and command high prices, especially if they’re rare (and given the limited print fun, physical copies The Dark Fringe TPB are indeed fairly rare).
I personally would love to think my older works are worth that much but… I don’t think so. At least not quite yet.
Maybe someday.
June 29, 2018
Sketchin’ 81
Humphrey Bogart made many, many films. Several of them are stone cold classics while others… not so much.
Arguably the most bizarre film he made is likely the subject of this piece, 1939’s The Return of Doctor X. Bogart said of this film:
“This is one of the pictures that made me march in to [Warner Bros. studio chief Jack L. Warner] and ask for more money again. You can’t believe what this one was like. I had a part that somebody like Bela Lugosi or Boris Karloff should have played. I was this doctor, brought back to life, and the only thing that nourished this poor bastard was blood. If it had been Jack Warner’s blood or [Harry Warner’s] or [Sam Warner’s] maybe I wouldn’t have minded as much. The trouble was, they were drinking mine and I was making this stinking movie.”
Clearly, Mr. Bogart had little love for the movie but, you know what? He really wasn’t bad in it in a role that, let’s be honest, probably would have worked better with Karloff or Lugosi.
