Sidney Blaylock Jr.'s Blog, page 12
September 8, 2020
Godzilla King of Monsters: Mini-Review
Yesterday, for the Labor Day Holiday here in America, my parents and I watched Godzilla King of Monsters. I actually found it to be a pretty good movie, far above the lowly Rotten Tomatoes score (43% critics, 83% audience). I feel that the critics were overly harsh with this movie and that, while it has problems, still is a better movie than the critics give it credit for.
The Good
There is much to like about this movie, but the acting and the special effects are very good. Sure, like all things, there are exceptions within the movie, but I really liked the actors and their performances in this movies. I think the actors do a fine job with their roles in this movie. I thought the hero/protagonist was interesting, if a little one note at the beginning of the movie. Think “grieving dad” and you’ll have a pretty god idea the performance for the 1st third of the movie, but then the role opens up a little for the actor and gives him more to do. The same is true for most of the actors’ roles in this movie.
Another highlight was the special effects. This movie definitely prefers spectacle over characterization and emotions. Most of the visual effects in this movie seem to be computer generated (CGI), but it didn’t look fake to me. So many CGI movie monsters look a bit “rubbery” meaning that the folds of the skin, the coloration, the way they move, and other factors make the monster (or CGI) creation look as if they aren’t real. Usually this is because of a “rubbery” look on the part of the CGI creation where nothing moves underneath the skin as it would in real life. For the most part, the CGI monsters avoid this in the movie, although Godzilla walking sometimes doesn’t move like I would expect and so it breaks that “suspension of disbelief,” but on the whole, this is one of the better examples of CGI and an example of how CGI should be done in movies. In fact, the flying monsters were done so well, that the movie’s best, and most intense scene, is depicted in a flying chase between one of the monsters and the plane of the heroes. It manages to keep the tension high as well as clearly defining what’s happening on the screen and where everyone is in relation to one another. Good stuff!
The Bad
The script.
Yet again, the script lets down the movie. While there are many differing opinions on why the movie isn’t good. Of the 3 critics that I turn to watch their internet reviews after I watch the film, only one liked it. One was mixed, but leaning towards the dislike camp, and the other liked elements of it, but overall didn’t seem to care for it.
While setting up the main characters’ problems, the script does that old trope of setting up a scene and letting us infer what happened without us having any emotional investment in the characters. They don’t want to take the time (waste time) setting up what happened to the main protagonists’ child, but we are expected to “care” when they are sad.
Nope. Doesn’t work like that Hollywood. That’s why Star Trek (reboot) worked so well. In 10 minutes of screen time, they set up what happened to Kirk’s father and why it mattered that we empathize with Kirk, who let’s face it, for most of the movie, until he finds “Spock the elder,” is an out of control “brat.” We want Kirk to succeed because his father sacrificed to save his mother and Kirk, and his father wanted him to succeed.
That is how you do it, Hollywood. Now there are many more problems than just character motivation. The story isn’t great and the way it jettisons old characters from the storyline is, borderline disrespectful. However, the plot holds together well enough to tell a story of “titan” fighting each other and humans caught in the middle and that’s what a Godzilla movie should do.
The Ugly
Critics vs audience. This is another movie that isn’t as bad as its Rotten Tomatoes score indicates. I can usually see why a movie has a low RT score, but this one is a bit of a mystery. Sure, San Andreas featuring the Rock has a higher RT score, but its audience score is directly aligned with the critical consensus (currently, 50% critic, 52% audience). That is how you can tell the movie probably isn’t good.
However, in the case of this movie, there is an insane 40 point difference in opinion. I can only think that, for this movie, spectacle = boring, which it isn’t, at all. Again, I’ll note that critics don’t seem to understand, or care, that watching “real life” drama can be fun and intense, we see much of this in everyday life. Godzilla is literally a property about a larger than normal creature, wreaking havok on cities, created/restored by man’s use of technology. The newest movie includes these tropes and shouldn’t be penalized because it isn’t The Joker or The Dark Knight Rises with equally “silly” concepts (a man with a painted face like a clown who is “criminally insane”) just because it doesn’t delve into the nature of violence acts or the reprehensible qualities of human nature when people are under duress. Spectacle doesn’t automatically equate with bad, which seems to be the case with most critics.
I’ll stop here as I feel a critics “rant” coming on, but I found the movie to be enjoyable despite its flaws in the storytelling department.
Overall Rating: B (83-85)
Rating: 4 out of 5.
I thought long and hard about what I would give the move, but settled about where everyone else settled. The characterization and the story elements alone would have earned a C, but because the acting was good–the actors tried their best with the weak material and the special effects created tension where the story could not, I found it to be a satisfying experience (and maybe that’s the difference in audiences and critics–the audiences are able to accept tension in other places outside of story/characters, where critics are not–they see story (plot) and characters–especially characters–as the end all, be all tension makers in the story). For me, the scenes with the monsters were strong enough to balance out the flaws elsewhere in the movie and the movie, while not the best iteration of Godzilla I’ve ever seen, it was still a fun movie to watch that I wouldn’t mind watching again (unlike The Dark Knight Rises which I will never watch again if I can help it, or The Joker which I’ve still yet to see and have no real desire to see any time soon).
Sidney
Please consider supporting these fine small press publishers where my work has appeared:
Read Skin Deep for Free at Aurora WolfRead Childe Roland for Free at Electric Spec
Purchase HawkeMoon on Amazon.com (Paperback) or eBookPurchase Dragonhawk on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase WarLight on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase Ship of Shadows on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase Faerie Knight on Amazon.com (Paperback) or Kindle
Currently Working On (8/2020):
“Project Wall” (Science Fiction Story)
Drafting: 2nd Draft
Unhallowed (Weird Western Story)
Revising: 2nd Draft (Working Draft)
KnightWatch Graphic Novel (Fantasy Graphic Novel)
Drafting: 1st Draft (Issue 1)
September 4, 2020
Gaming Log: September 2020
These past two weeks have been difficult–more difficult–for me than normal. In addition to the Covid-19 remote learning, I’ve spent the past 2 Sundays going up to Murfreesboro to clean out my apartment since my lease ended my lease on August 31st. Normally, I would read fantasy and sci-fi books and play video games to reduce my stress level, but since my schedule has been all over the place, so too has my writing and recreation schedule. I’m very much afraid that gaming and reading have taken a major hit over the past 2-3 weeks, as readers can tell by the inconsistency of the blog. I do have a trio of games to discuss for the gaming log section–although it will probably be more of a wrap-up than a long detailed analysis/review of the games.
Shadow of the Tomb Raider
So, this is my main game for the month of August. For the few times that I’ve gotten to play it, I managed to move pretty far in the game. I think I’m halfway to two-thirds of the way through it. I’m not liking it nearly as much as I liked Rise of the Tomb Raider. I think its story, while trying to do an admiral job of showing an indigenous population unaffected by colonization and the perils of an encroaching modern world on the society, just isn’t as appealing in terms of story as a more fanciful, made-up story that made up the last game. This story is trying to weave Central American myths and deities into an end of the world scenario that, for me, just isn’t mixing together well. The puzzles, always a highlight in the TR games, just aren’t that fun. I’ve even bypassed a couple of “challenge tombs” just to complete the main story and finish the game (something that is normally inconceivable to me as the puzzle aspects are often some of the things that I find most fun in a TR game). They’ve added several annoying mechanics (piranhas anyone? Who thought it would be a good idea to make you have to “hide” from piranhas and that hiding from piranhas would make a fun gameplay loop). There are other design choices, like limiting you to bow and arrows in certain sections even though you have heavier weapons, like shotguns, assault rifles, and revolvers in your arsenal–silly things like that which just (ultimately) mar the gameplay experience for me. This one is headed for a solid C average game unless the puzzles and gameplay experience improves markedly in the latter portion of the game.
The Crew 2
I love my racing games–anyone who knows me will attest to that fact. While I don’t love all racing games, all the time, I do have an affinity for them and will pick up many/most of the games in the racing genre as I enjoy the sense of speed that racing games provide.
The Crew 2 is a game that I first hated for not being the original game, The Crew. Then I came to like it as it had more exploration opportunities and more cool “easter eggs” to see even if you couldn’t track your progress as to what roads you’d driven like you could in the first game. I learned to love it as I figured out the “mission” structure and began to slowly conquer each of the challenges. I hated it as I had to do missions/event types that I didn’t want to in order to earn the platinum trophy and then loved it as I finally achieved the Platinum Trophy in the game for doing all of the games “events.” Unfortunately, I’m back to hating it and I’ve deleted it from my PS4’s hard drive due to the fact that a car that I was “gifted” from the game’s publisher’s (Ubisoft) reward program got “taken away” from me and locked behind that game’s “season pass.” Now, if I want to pay them extra money, I can access the car that I’ve been using for the past 2 years in the game again, but that is such a “slap in the face” that I simply uninstalled the game. This is an example of why I often have blog posts that decry corporations: their own rewards program allowed me to have the car, but now, in a bid to force me to put more money into the game, they’ve removed the car from me who earned it legitimately (for buying and playing their other games and racking up reward points and then “purchasing” said car with said rewards points when it was offered in their rewards “store.”). I won’t go off on corporate greed here, but one of the easiest ways to make me angry is to offer me something that I legitimately earned through legitimate means and then to take it away because you want “more” for it. I’ve not decided yet, but I may not buy the newest Assassin’s Creed game in protest–how do you like them apples Ubisoft? You may have endangered a 59.99 dollar purchase, all because you want to sell a $29.99 add-on to a 2.5 year old game, where the game (and season pass) is often on sale for below $20, and that I can probably get for $7.99-$9.99 on pre-Christmas sales). So, in your mind, Ubisoft, 7.99 > 59.99? Okay, good for you. That type of math is not going to be sustainable for long.
Eliminating the Backlog: Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain
In an effort to get rid of my backlog, I decided to start pulling games from my backlog, installing them, and then try to play them from where I left off. If I can continue and get into it, then I will play it and keep it on the list of games to play. If not, then I will give it away or put it on the shelf, watch a YouTube video of the gameplay and move on to the next game, thereby playing the games that are fun and not wasting time with those that aren’t.
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain was the first game on the pile. I loaded it up and then played the mission that I was on. I got to the first town and snuck in, but I went “loud” to try to take out the guards (really I just wanted to see if I could “shoot” my way out rather than trying to finesse the mission with stealth). While I could, shooting was the much more difficult option. However, I hit a dead-end when I came up against enemy “supernatural” special ops as I tried to complete my first extrication mission. This game wants stealth and I’m NOT on-board. So, I decided to shelve this game and move on.
I’ve never really cared about the Metal Gear series. I bought (and still have) the original MG for the NES back in the day and I didn’t like it because it relied on hiding/timing for the guards. I never made it far in the game. I skipped all subsequent MGs and MGSs (Metal Gear and Metal Gear Solid) games from then on, only relenting with MGS 4 on the Playstation 3 because it seemed like that one was going to be the last game–but, in reality, it was MGS 5. I bought Kojima’s newest game, Death Stranding (which is also on my backlog), but I think that stealth games just aren’t my genre. Even if it looks cool, I may just have to give stealth games a hard pass from here on out.
Well, that’s all I have for today! Have a great weekend!
Sidney
Please consider supporting these fine small press publishers where my work has appeared:
Read Skin Deep for Free at Aurora WolfRead Childe Roland for Free at Electric Spec
Purchase HawkeMoon on Amazon.com (Paperback) or eBookPurchase Dragonhawk on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase WarLight on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase Ship of Shadows on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase Faerie Knight on Amazon.com (Paperback) or Kindle
Currently Working On (8/2020):
“Project Wall” (Science Fiction Story)
Drafting: 2nd Draft
Unhallowed (Weird Western Story)
Revising: 2nd Draft (Working Draft)
KnightWatch Graphic Novel (Fantasy Graphic Novel)
Drafting: 1st Draft (Issue 1)
September 2, 2020
Car Problems, 2020 Edition
This will b a shorter blog post than usual as today I need to take the car into the shop. 2020 has been filled with memes of how terrible a year its been so far with Covid, the lockdown, etc. You have but to look at yesterday’s blog and see my retrospective on the untimely death of Chadwick Boseman to see how stressful this year has been. For me, currently car problems lead the way in terms of my own overall stress level for this year.
Beginning of the year: Battery
At the very beginning of the year, the week after New Year’s Day, I came back up to Murfreesboro to do some work, get some preliminary planning for my classes done, and to work on my prospectus. Everything was going fine until that Thursday, when the car wouldn’t start. I tried everything, but finally, I had to walk to school. I called a repair shop in Murfreesboro and they could look at it if I could get it to them on Friday, but not before (and they warned me they had a lot of cars already ahead of me). I thought I was going to have to have it towed, but surprise, surprise, it started on Friday. Now, I could have packed everything in the car and risked the trip back to Chattanooga. I probably would have made it as it was only when the car was shut off that it wouldn’t start. However, I went ahead and took it in and they diagnosed the problem as needing a battery, but it would be Monday before they could get to it. So, I ended up spending all weekend in my apartment, getting nothing done, just killing time until Monday when they could fix the car. I popped home shortly after and then went back up for a truncated week for orientation and other school related things. While batteries aren’t expensive, diagnostics and labor were and I was at the end of my money from the last semester, so the next 2-3 weeks before school started were a bit tense/tight.
Summertime Blues: Water Pump
So, shortly after the Covid-19 lockdown began, and the US government sent out their only set (so far as of this writing) of Stimulus Checks, I felt fairly confident that I could make it through the summer. May, June, July, and especially August are hard months as they come at the tail-end of school year and the money doesn’t refresh until the beginning of school in the last week of Aug. However, right at the beginning/middle of May, when I was going to do a weekly store run, my car began to overheat. I wasn’t far from the store, so I made it to the parking lot, and opened the hood of the car. What was left of the cooling fluid was gone and the rest was steaming and bubbling out. Luckily, a very nice man who knowledgeable about cars came up and helped (we were both wearing masks). I took it to the service place (that was luckily right across the street from the store) and they diagnosed the problem as a water pump failure. It was an outstanding amount of money because of the time and labor involved at getting at the water pump in my particular car. I basically spent my entire Stimulus check on the car, and had to really strain to get through the end of July and the first 3 weeks of August.
Freaky Fall: Check Engine Light
So, now its Fall (well, not officially, but school’s started and that’s pretty much the unofficial start of Fall around here), and there’s yet another problem with the car. Everything was fine until the Tuesday after I got out of the hospital. There were several things that I needed/wanted to do in Murfreesboro for school and so I attempted the trip, having gotten out of the hospital only 2 days prior. I couldn’t make it as I began to feel ill again, I turned around and came home and went back to bed to rest. On Wed., I felt better, so I decided to go for a weekly store run, but, you guessed it, my Check Engine light came on. I drove the car to the store and back with no issues. In fact, I’ve driven all around town with no issues (so far). I took it to the service place that did my water pump and they suggested trying a simple oil change as that’s what the “computer codes” for my particular issue were coming up with. Well, we did that, but no dice, and the check engine light came back on and were giving the same codes. I’m now headed to a different service place as my first one said that they weren’t really designed to handle detailed engine work, so I’m crossing my fingers and hoping it isn’t something major.
So, you’re now caught up on my car situation. I have a friend who leases cars for just this very reason, not wanting to put up with issues that crop up. However, my family doesn’t like that because you don’t own anything once the lease is up. We’re a “sweat-equity” type of family who, despite the problems, soldier on and find a way through it, no matter what, keeping the experience and the spoils gained in the process. That’s my life in a nutshell–especially, in the year 2020.
Sidney
Please consider supporting these fine small press publishers where my work has appeared:
Read Skin Deep for Free at Aurora WolfRead Childe Roland for Free at Electric Spec
Purchase HawkeMoon on Amazon.com (Paperback) or eBookPurchase Dragonhawk on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase WarLight on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase Ship of Shadows on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase Faerie Knight on Amazon.com (Paperback) or Kindle
Currently Working On (8/2020):
“Project Wall” (Science Fiction Story)
Drafting: 2nd Draft
Unhallowed (Weird Western Story)
Revising: 2nd Draft (Working Draft)
KnightWatch Graphic Novel (Fantasy Graphic Novel)
Drafting: 1st Draft (Issue 1)
September 1, 2020
Wakanda Forever
Like others, I would like to take a moment to remember Chadwick Boseman, the actor who played the role of T’Challa/Black Panther and who tragically passed away from colon cancer a few days ago. While I never met Chadwick Boseman in person and only saw him in his Marvel Universe role, I have to say that I was impressed by both his on-screen persona and his off-screen demeanor.
Chadwick Boseman, The Actor
It is no secret that my favorite movie in the MCU is Black Panther. While I’ve not updated my rankings for Marvel movies in a while (I need to go back and do that now that I’ve finally seen all of the movies to date), Black Panther is still my favorite (spoilers: yes, Infinity War and Endgame were fun, but I don’t think they had the same narrative cohesion that Black Panther did and so I rate them slightly lower). I like quite a bit about the movie, but it was Boseman’s quiet intensity that I found so captivating. While not given to outbursts of emotion, the quiet dignity found in the character was refreshing when compared to traditional Hollywood portrayals of African Americans (or even most Anime portrayals). Boseman allowed T’Challa to be funny (“I never freeze”), angry, or sad, but never in the overly bombastic way that is stereotypical in many films. All these emotions, Boseman filtered through the lens of the character’s quiet reserve. Even a vengeful T’Challa/Black Panther in Civil War was still in control throughout and able to see through Zemo’s ultimate plot to destroy the Avengers. His character was a major reason why I believe the movie worked so well and his talented portrayal of the character will be sorely missed.
Chadwick Boseman, The Man
I watch YouTube a lot, or rather, I should say that I watch a lot of YouTube content. One of the types of content that often gets posted are interview segments with celebrities (usually from the longer, full length show that is shown on air). I remember seeing quite a few of the interviews back in 2018 when Black Panther was released and I remember seeing some of the more fun things that he did, such as surprising fans who had stopped to “record” a message thanking him for all that he’s done. I remember watching some of the outtakes of him from the Black Panther movie, and I can dimly recall some of the other fun stuff that came out about that time. Chadwick Boseman appeared to be both genuine and fun-loving. Again, while I’m watching from afar, some of the things that I remember were laugh out loud funny and were really awesome. I just saw a segment in which Chadwick was telling a lady who had stopped to record a thank you to him for his T’Challa/Black Panther role that she was genuinely funny and had she considered working in show business. Even there, where the event was focused on giving his fans a surprise “treat” to see him live and in person, he took a moment to encourage a kindred spirit who, in his eyes, had talent enough to be in show business. He seemed like a great guy, and while I’m on the outside looking in, perceptions do matter.
Chadwick Boseman, The Inspiration
While I’ve only really seen Chadwick’s Marvel movies, I’ve been inspired to try to seek out some of his older work. I knew of 42 (Jackie Robinson) and his other movie about James Brown, Get on Up, but I’ve not yet seen those films. I tend to go for Science Fiction and Fantasy films first, with Action movies and Thrillers, second and third. However, historical movies, while I don’t actively avoid, tend to get less attention from me and I see them when there’s little else to watch or I make myself watch them. I fully intend to see 42 in the near future, and I had intended to watch Chadwick’s latest movie, Da Five Bloods, on Netflix this past weekend, but moving out my Murfreesboro apartment before the last day of the lease took precedence. However, I’m older than Chadwick was when he passed away, and he was able to accomplish so much in the time he was given, and he has inspired me to try accomplish my dreams as well–even if they are ridiculously high, because Chadwick was able to scale to heights I never dreamed possible and he was a gracious person while doing so.
I also have to say I feel the loss particularly keenly as my own uncle also died from colon cancer. Unlike Chadwick’s long struggle with the disease, my uncle felt ill in the Spring and Summer of 2000 and finally went to the hospital in the late fall time-frame. By the time my uncle was diagnosed with colon cancer, it was already too late and he, too, died of colon cancer a few days before Christmas in 2000.
However, the best way that I can honor the memory of both of these fine people is to work hard, finish my education, continue to write, and teach with empathy, and do the best that I can, every day to be and do better, so that I might be, someday, even half of the bright shining lights that both of these men were while they lived.
Sidney
Please consider supporting these fine small press publishers where my work has appeared:
Read Skin Deep for Free at Aurora WolfRead Childe Roland for Free at Electric Spec
Purchase HawkeMoon on Amazon.com (Paperback) or eBookPurchase Dragonhawk on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase WarLight on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase Ship of Shadows on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase Faerie Knight on Amazon.com (Paperback) or Kindle
Currently Working On (8/2020):
“Project Wall” (Science Fiction Story)
Drafting: 2nd Draft
Unhallowed (Weird Western Story)
Revising: 2nd Draft (Working Draft)
KnightWatch Graphic Novel (Fantasy Graphic Novel)
Drafting: 1st Draft (Issue 1)
August 31, 2020
Writing Log Update: Interpreting Feedback
So, I’m not sure how long this will last, but I’m writing during breakfast to try to make sure that I stick to a more consistent schedule. Today’s blog is going to be a sort of mid-writing log update on The Independent (a space-“trucker” type story that I finished a couple of months ago). I’ve sent it off to a couple of markets–I won’t name them–but I do want to touch on some of their feedback.that I’ve received so far.
Market #1 — Too Slow to Get to the Action
The first market that I sent the story to liked the beginning, felt that my characters were pretty well fleshed out and felt that I had a fairly well drawn out world. After reading that beginning statement, I felt pride in doing a good job on what I’d set out to do with the story — make my characters and my world-building a little more consistent and real. However, the market declined to publish my story (no animus here) because they felt that it took to long to get to the action. I believe the approximate wording was something like: “We, at X publication, believe the writer should start where the story begins and felt that the story took too long to get going.” Again, these are the approximate words as the market uses a submission manager and I’d have to go back and log in again to get the exact wording. Also, even though it seems like I’m being sarcastic, I’m actually not–this is what the business of writing is all about. I actually am “blessed” in that the story was good enough to get feedback–unless the market actually says you’ll get feedback, you know your story has promise when editors take time to comment on it. So, my takeaway for this market is that they liked the action in the 2nd half of the story, but felt that all the world-building and characterization that I did in the first half was too much. I slowed the story down too much for their tastes.
Market #2 — The Beginning Caught My Attention, but the Story Ultimately Ended Conventionally
This market had the exact opposite concerns. They highlighted the fact that the beginning really caught their attention and felt unique to them. However, they noted that the ending followed on a fairly conventional narrative structure that they felt hindered the story. In this case, the editor loved the slower, more character-based narrative with the extra attention to detail with both characterization and world-building. However, when I moved to the “action” part of the story, the narrative didn’t hold up for the editor and he ultimately decided to pass. Now, again, getting feedback from the editor was valuable and, even though it was a rejection, I still feel a sense of pride, in that, this market is a “major” market, and I don’t remember getting personal feedback from here before (that I can recall). I feel that I’m slowly moving in the right direction and I feel that this story has potential.
Interpreting Feedback
Okay, so I have two pieces of feedback that are exact opposites of each other. One says that I should start the action sooner and eliminate some of the characterization and the world-building at the beginning. The other seems to indicate that, no, the characterization and world-building are strong, so keep that and go with a more contemplative ending rather than one that is focused on action.
This is where writers get into trouble–who’s right? Which is the best path forward for the story. As a writer, I can see three solutions to this problem:
Revise the story and make the action the focus (cut part of the beginning and get the action going sooner)Revise the story and make the character/world-building the focus (rewrite the conflict and the ending so that it matches the tone of the beginning)Leave the story as is (Do nothing and continue to submit until you find an editor or market that loves both parts.
Now, as the writer I can do any or all of these things. I can choose one (action/character) over the other or I can do nothing at all. The thing is, I can’t tell you what you should choose as a writer–that choice depends upon your conception of the story and your own personal goals for the story. I want to have an action story, but I also want practice more with characterization. So for me, I’m considering a fourth option:
I’m either going to split the story into two (2) different stories–one where it is character-based and one action-based, or i’m going to do option 3 and leave it alone. I’m leaning towards splitting the stories and I’ve already started brainstorming possible conflicts for the character-based version of the story. Maybe the “action” story occurs when the protagonist is older and wiser? I’m still early in the process. I’ll probably still send it out to a couple more markets before Christmas, but if there are no takers, I’ll probably use Christmas Break to split it into two stories and see what happens then.
Writing, while having business considerations, is also an art. The artist has to know what his or her intentions are with the piece in order to better navigate the feedback given in regards to the business side of the craft.
Sidney
Please consider supporting these fine small press publishers where my work has appeared:
Read Skin Deep for Free at Aurora WolfRead Childe Roland for Free at Electric Spec
Purchase HawkeMoon on Amazon.com (Paperback) or eBookPurchase Dragonhawk on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase WarLight on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase Ship of Shadows on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase Faerie Knight on Amazon.com (Paperback) or Kindle
Currently Working On (8/2020):
“Project Wall” (Science Fiction Story)
Drafting: 2nd Draft
Unhallowed (Weird Western Story)
Revising: 2nd Draft (Working Draft)
KnightWatch Graphic Novel (Fantasy Graphic Novel)
Drafting: 1st Draft (Issue 1)
August 27, 2020
Potpourri
I’m sorry for being away for most of the week, but this has been the first week of classes for Middle Tennessee State University. For those who don’t know, I’m a PhD student at the college, but I’m also a Graduate Teaching Assistant. This means that, in addition to any schoolwork that I have, I also take on teaching two classes. Normally, I teach Freshman composition I & II. However, this year I was given two literature classes. These are higher level courses than the Freshman classes, but because of Covid-19, we’re doing these remotely with Zoom as the major “touchstone” factor to keep community. While I don’t often talk about the school-related things in my life, I do touch on them every now and then, especially when I have something to talk about. So, to today I’m going to do a Potpourri post that will (mostly) be about school.
Bedford New Scholar Blog Post
So, one of the neat things that has happened to me over the past year is that one of my professors (Dr. Pantelides) nominated me to be a Bedford New Scholar and work to Bedford/St. Martins books to work with other scholars across the world to learn about new ways/techniques to teaching. I’ve enjoyed my time (even in this strange Covid world).
I recently completed a blog post for them. You can find it here: https://community.macmillanlearning.com/t5/bits-blog/how-bedford-new-scholars-fostered-collaboration-quot-to-help/ba-p/11580
While I don’t want to spoil it and I do want people to click on it, I also want to give a bit of a preview. It is a blog post in a question and answer format. It also has one of the assignments that I use in my Freshman composition I classes.
New Computer–Macbook Pro
I’ve talked a lot about my old Macbook Pro (2008) and my Chromebook. Well, unfortunately Monday revealed a major weakness in my workflow. And that weakness has a name: Zoom. I tried to do my first class via Zoom on my Chromebook and it completely FAILED. My students were able to log in to the Zoom call, but my video was laggy and my voice couldn’t be heard. I had to ask my students to look over their syllabus and then end the session early. The next day went better as I used my iphone and the Zoom app, but I can’t show things that I need to on my computer using the phone, so I had to bit the bullet and get a new computer.
I’m not writing this specific post on the new computer, but I will shortly, once I have all my settings and passwords set up on the new computer. I had to have the computer to be able to teach the class effectively. I investigated several options, including holding my nose and considering a PC (Dell XPS). Finally, I decided on a Macbook Pro because I love the Apple operating system and I found a model with the power that I needed to run the class.
Schedule
Hopefully, September allow me to stabilize my blog writing schedule. From a transition from work during the summer, to orientation, to planning and implementing the class, and then through the first week of classes, August is ALWAYS a stressful month. It is particularly stressful this year with Covid.
I keep trying to “bank” blog posts–I have two now that I want to work on, but there’s no time it seems. Between answering email, beginning to start grading discussion posts, trying to get my stuff from my apartment by the August 31st deadline, etc., it seems that I have very little time to write/work on the blog. So expect it to be spotty at least through the end of this month, but settling down (hopefully) by the beginning to middle of next month.
Well, that’s all I have for now. Thanks for reading!
Sidney
Please consider supporting these fine small press publishers where my work has appeared:
Read Skin Deep for Free at Aurora WolfRead Childe Roland for Free at Electric Spec
Purchase HawkeMoon on Amazon.com (Paperback) or eBookPurchase Dragonhawk on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase WarLight on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase Ship of Shadows on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase Faerie Knight on Amazon.com (Paperback) or Kindle
Currently Working On (8/2020):
“Project Wall” (Science Fiction Story)
Drafting: 2nd Draft
Unhallowed (Weird Western Story)
Revising: 2nd Draft (Working Draft)
KnightWatch Graphic Novel (Fantasy Graphic Novel)
Drafting: 1st Draft (Issue 1)
August 25, 2020
DC Fandome
So, over the weekend, DC had an event in which they detailed several movie and video game projects. While I did not have time to watch all the panels and discussions, I did watch most of the trailers and associated content. This will be a shorter blog post discussing some of the content out there that I saw from the event.
The Batman
So, I wanted to start here because this is probably one of the “biggest” announcements from the show (at least for the upcoming movie slate). It was a “teaser” trailer for the Robert Pattinson Batman movie. While Batman is not my favorite character, I do like the character, and I was looking forward to a non-Nolan, non-Christian Bale new Batman movie, but after viewing the “teaser” trailer, I’m not sure how much I’m going to like the “new” direction. As the movie is still in production, I’ll hold my reservations, but I was hoping for something a little different than what was shown. There was an animated show called The Batman that I initially didn’t think that I would like, but because of the animation studio and the way the first and second seasons came together, I really enjoyed it. So, I’ll reserve my judgment on the movie until it comes out. From what I’ve heard and seen, this was the star of the DC event, but for me, it didn’t really “move the needle” from Neutral. I was cautiously optimistic before I saw this trailer, but now I feel slightly apathetic towards the movie. We’ll see.
Wonder Woman 1984
For me, this one was a great new look at the movie. I enjoyed the original Wonder Woman movie and thought that DC should have used it as a template for all its solo movies–which they did slightly for Aquaman which I also enjoyed. Wonder Woman 1984 looks like, based on the trailer, a return to form for the series and I’m looking forward to it. However, because I’ve seen the first trailer and now this second trailer, I feel that I’ve seen much more of the movie than I probably should have. I believe I’m able to guess more of the plot than I probably should at this point and I’m able to put together the disjointed scenes in the trailer into more of a cohesive narrative than I’d like at this point–take a look at the scenes in which Wonder Woman is fighting and you’ll see that many of the one-on-one battles take place in what appears to be the White House and the main villain is standing in front of an image of the White House as he appears on the camera which may link the two ideas/scenes together. That’s why I try to stop watching trailers after a certain point–because if the marketing team isn’t careful, you can start gleaning plot and plot elements which ruins the “surprise” of the movie. I also don’t think I needed to see “CG Cheetah.” I think that the Cheetah “costume” they fashioned out of the character’s “clothing” was visually suggestive enough–DC trailers always seem to go a step too far. I remember that they gave away their version of “Doomsday” in much the same way. Still, this one looks good.
Gotham Knights
So, this one, for me, was the showstopper of the various trailers released from the event. Batman has had his own trilogy of games with the Rocksteady developed Arkham games (or quadrilogy if you count Arkham Origins which was made by WB Montreal). However, due to events that are detailed in the above trailers, you take on the role of four of the “Bat Family” of heroes: Robin, Batgirl, Red Hood, and Nightwing. Each one of those heroes has different abilities that they bring to the game and you can play the game solo or in 2 player cooperative mode. This makes the game very intriguing to me. I really like the way this one looks and feels and I hope that it will be an awesome entry into the series and will have tons of lore from the Batman universe. I saw a lot of, but didn’t actually play, the Marvel Avengers “Beta” and was unimpressed by much of what I saw. Here, I’m hoping that it will capture much of the magic of the Arkham games. I’m a bit concerned as it is being developed by WB Montreal, and if I’m not mistaken, they did the aforementioned Arkham Origins, which was the only Arkham game that I didn’t buy based on the review scores which were lower than the other games in the series. Still, I’m hopeful based on what I saw, that the developer has turned the corner and might be able to develop a fun game which is also rich in lore.
While these aren’t the only things I’ve seen, these are all that I have time to talk about today. I may do a second part to this if there’s interest, but for now, this is my impressions of some of the announcements for the event.
Sidney
Please consider supporting these fine small press publishers where my work has appeared:
Read Skin Deep for Free at Aurora WolfRead Childe Roland for Free at Electric Spec
Purchase HawkeMoon on Amazon.com (Paperback) or eBookPurchase Dragonhawk on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase WarLight on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase Ship of Shadows on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase Faerie Knight on Amazon.com (Paperback) or Kindle
Currently Working On (8/2020):
“Project Wall” (Science Fiction Story)
Drafting: 2nd Draft
Unhallowed (Weird Western Story)
Revising: 2nd Draft (Working Draft)
KnightWatch Graphic Novel (Fantasy Graphic Novel)
Drafting: 1st Draft (Issue 1)
August 18, 2020
Double World Mini-Review
After missing watching a movie on the Saturday that I was released from the hospital, I wanted to get back into the movie watching habit, so I decided to forgo my plan of watching movies from different streaming services and just watched a movie on Netflix. I was looking for something fun and breezy, in the same vein of The Forbidden Kingdom movie starring Jackie Chan. A while back Netflix had a movie called Monster Hunt (a martial arts takeoff of Monster Hunter, I believe) and while I thought about watching that one, I saw a featured movie on Netflix that looked similar: Double World.
Chinese Martial Arts Movie
Double World is a fantasy martial arts movie that plays it mostly straight, except there are a couple of fairly major fantasy elements. While in no way Game of Thrones, there is a light fantasy element to the movie that, in addition to light “unreality moves” (a la Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon), lend the movie less realistic bend than most martial arts movies, which was what I was looking for.
After a little research, I seen that the movie is based on a fairly popular MMORPG in China. This makes sense, as there is a bit of Warcraft to the proceedings–a sense of a fully realized world in which only part of it exists on-screen and the audience should know more about what is happening in the world and is able to fill in the gaps because the movie never explicitly explains the world or the relevance of all the players.
Suprisingly Dark Movie
So, did I enjoy the movie? Surprisingly, no. Or at least, not as much as I was hoping I would. Unlike other movies in the same genre, this one has a completely different tone. I was hoping for a movie more like The Forbidden Kingdom or the Detective Dee movies or even The 14 Blades, but the movie’s tone is much darker than those movies. Death is rampant in the movie and not just heroic death, but also capricious death and violent, visceral death. I can’t go into too much detail here without spoilers, but suffice to say that this movie is more in line with movies like Ip Man and Kung fu Killer that are more intense and more contemplative about the nature of death and honor than what I was hoping to watch.
I really just wanted a fun, breezy martial arts movie–and it is that (mostly), for the first half of the movie. The second half, however, devolves into the nature of revenge and vengeance, of characters finding out their heritages and it isn’t what they were expecting, and characters doing silly things, like going off on their own, which we all know from the horror movie icon Scream, that that is a sure way to not survive to the end of the movie.
Not Sure that I Understood Everything in the World
As I mentioned above, I’m pretty sure that I missed quite a bit of the world/world-building. I originally intended to talk about this in relationship to Chinese history/mythology, as it always seems like I was missing part of the puzzle of the world. The world never quite felt “complete” to me, and I thought it was because I was lacking in enough knowledge of Chinese history (of which I have a pretty good foundation, but I’m no expert/historian) or Chinese mythology (of which I only have a passing knowledge).
However, in looking up articles about the movie, I see it is because this world is built on a video game property that I’ve never heard of, let alone played. That is why the world seems missing or incomplete as I’m sure the director and screenwriters believed that their audience would be familiar with the game world and, by extension, would be able to fill in the gaps with prior knowledge. However, like Warcraft, the movie world ends up feeling incomplete in some way as if you only have a partial grasp of what’s happening in the world of the story. Compare that to something like Brandon Sanders’ Stormlight Archive series where the world is an integral part of the story.
Overall Rating (C + 78)
Rating: 3 out of 5.
So, I think this one could have been something special as I really like the characters and the story (especially the first half). However, the fight scenes, while inventive for the fantasy world, weren’t the best ones I’ve seen in a martial arts movie. Also, the dark turn in the 2nd half of the movie was at odds with the fairly light, happy-go- lucky beginning of the movie. I think this movie is one that, while not a wasted opportunity, could have really been something special. The Forbidden Kingdom was one that had an American who was center stage–I think that without the dark tone to this one, Double World could have been as impressive The Forbidden Kingdom.
Sidney
Please consider supporting these fine small press publishers where my work has appeared:
Read Skin Deep for Free at Aurora WolfRead Childe Roland for Free at Electric Spec
Purchase HawkeMoon on Amazon.com (Paperback) or eBookPurchase Dragonhawk on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase WarLight on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase Ship of Shadows on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase Faerie Knight on Amazon.com (Paperback) or Kindle
Currently Working On (8/2020):
“Project Wall” (Science Fiction Story)
Drafting: 2nd Draft
Unhallowed (Weird Western Story)
Revising: 2nd Draft (Working Draft)
KnightWatch Graphic Novel (Fantasy Graphic Novel)
Drafting: 1st Draft (Issue 1)
August 17, 2020
Avatar: The Last Airbender: Book 2 — Earth Review
During the the past two weeks, I’ve managed to finish the second season of Avatar: The Last Airbender. I thought I’d take a moment to talk about my thoughts. This will be a shorter blog entry, but I wanted to try to slowly get back on schedule for my blogging.
Favorite Character – Toth
Again, I must emphasize that I’ve seen many of these episodes before (but not all of them). In season 2, we get introduced to Toth and she (spoilers) joins the group. I’ve always liked Toth’s character. While the biting sarcasm sometimes grates, she is always such a “can do” character who refuses to let herself give up because of her “blindness.” She’s a character who has adapted to a new way of seeing and goes about her life, once she joins the group, with a pluckiness that is at once normal and inspiring. It also helps that her humor, while sometimes course, is also funny. There are times where she rivals Sokka for the title of top “funny” character. However, her determination is also a match for Aang’s and Katara’s when she’s truly focused. I also like the way the voice actor portrays her voice–it is very distinctive and can go from “rough” to “sweet” in a heartbeat.
Much Darker in Tone
I didn’t always enjoy Season 2, however, as the story has a much darker tone. Many of the stories are not resolved happily and it deals with some of the baser emotions of the characters, especially in the Oppa storyline. Anger, rage, regret, and recrimination are all a part of the season, and while I expect that from Prince Zuko’s storyline, the fact that it also happens inside the storyline of the protagonists make this season feel much less joyful and happy than the first season.
I understand why this is, deepening of the conflict and all, but there’s something almost dour in the storyline when you see Sokka as the “level-headed” person of the group while everyone else is dealing with their own version of the ever darkening events of the story. I have to say, I was mightily glad when the season finale came around, not because of the ultimate resolution of the season’s story arc, but for a chance a eliminating some of the unrelenting gloom that had settled over the storyline during Season 2.
More and Less (Story Arcs vs Episodic)
I think, for me, much of my dissatisfaction came from the fact that there were more story arcs in Season 2 than in Season 1. Season 1 felt more episodic and more liberating. I understand that in Season 1, Aang was still “running away” from his responsibilities and wanting to have fun above all, but in Season 2, they show him coming to understand his purpose as the Avatar, and the conflicts that he must face. However, my point is that they used more stories that referred back to previous stories in order to do this and if you liked those stories, then it was great, but if you didn’t like the stories, it made the season seem to drag on. For example, I didn’t particularly care for the Oppa storyline, especially since Oppa had been shown earlier to be canny and smart in terms of evading hunters (the Swamp hunters). I know why the creators did it–to show how much Oppa meant to Aang and to show various (hitherto unseen) facets of Aang’s personality–it just felt a bit manipulative (but this is from hindsight).
Overall Rating: B
Rating: 4 out of 5.
I’m giving it a 4/5 rating (or B = Above Average). I probably would give the storytelling/storyline a 3.5 stars or C+. but I like Toth so much as a character and as an addition to the team, that I feel the bump is justified. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed this season. It’s just that I enjoyed it less than Season 1, mostly because of the darker tone that happened because of the story choices made by the writers and because of the multi-story arcs that those storylines were told in. Had there been a few more one-off episodes, I think this might have a stronger season for me, but the introduction of Toth’s character and her subsequent joining of the “team” really made up for a lot of the storytelling deficiencies that I felt Season 2 had overall.
Sidney
Please consider supporting these fine small press publishers where my work has appeared:
Read Skin Deep for Free at Aurora WolfRead Childe Roland for Free at Electric Spec
Purchase HawkeMoon on Amazon.com (Paperback) or eBookPurchase Dragonhawk on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase WarLight on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase Ship of Shadows on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase Faerie Knight on Amazon.com (Paperback) or Kindle
Currently Working On (8/2020):
“Project Wall” (Science Fiction Story)
Drafting: 2nd Draft
Unhallowed (Weird Western Story)
Revising: 2nd Draft (Working Draft)
KnightWatch Graphic Novel (Fantasy Graphic Novel)
Drafting: 1st Draft (Issue 1)
August 14, 2020
Life Update Post
Author’s Note: This originally was supposed to be released on Sunday/Monday, the day after I was released from the hospital. However, I felt horrible all day–so much so that I seriously considered calling the doctor. However, I felt better on Tuesday and made an attempt to go up to Murfreesboro to pick up some school items and to bring back some things from the apartment. However, before I made it 20 miles, I began to feel ill again, so thought it best to turn around and come home where I spent the rest of the day in bed. I felt better on Wednesday, but Orientation for school began that day and is going through Friday (today). Between recovering from the illness and doing orientation, I’ve not really had a lot of time to myself (almost no gaming whatsoever this week, which for me, is shocking). So, this update is already longer than the blog post (update written Friday, blog post written Sunday evening), but I just wanted to let you know where I’ve been and why I’ve not been working on the blog. Hopefully, next week will be (a bit) better.
School
So, this is just a quick update to let you know the blog will be very irregular for the next two weeks. School is starting in two weeks, and while the bulk of it will be online because of Covid-19, I still need get syllabi ready, along with PowerPoints and set up my course shell. This is usually done in “orientation,” but with Covid, our orientation is virtual this year as well.
Hospital
If you were wondering what happened to the blog, last week, I apologize. I caught a bad infection (luckily not Covid) that required a two day stay in the local hospital. I’m back to being okay, but I’m still a little slower than I’d like to be. So, apologies to all the readers for last week.
Slowing Down
That’s the theme of this post. I have so many projects that I want to work on, but simply not enough time (or energy at this point). I’m bringing the writing projects back down to one at a time. Write now this = Unhallowed. I will continue to work on it until it is ready to submit.
Sidney
Please consider supporting these fine small press publishers where my work has appeared:
Read Skin Deep for Free at Aurora WolfRead Childe Roland for Free at Electric Spec
Purchase HawkeMoon on Amazon.com (Paperback) or eBookPurchase Dragonhawk on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase WarLight on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase Ship of Shadows on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase Faerie Knight on Amazon.com (Paperback) or Kindle
Currently Working On (8/2020):
“Project Wall” (Science Fiction Story)
Drafting: 2nd Draft
Unhallowed (Weird Western Story)
Revising: 2nd Draft (Working Draft)
KnightWatch Graphic Novel (Fantasy Graphic Novel)
Drafting: 1st Draft (Issue 1)
