Betty Adams's Blog, page 140

The Death of Harper Lee

Yesterday one of America's most famous novelists passed away. Harper Lee is of course the author of "To Kill a Mockingbird". The novel was made into a movie before hollywood had even switched to color films and both the book and the movie have been central to American culture for decades.
Generations of school children have been assigned the book and read it (or not) or have watched in fascination as parents, school boards, and librarians have battled over banning the book. There is enough, shall we say earthy, language in the story to make some people at least question the propriety of having children read it. Others embrace it entirely. 
Cartoonist Berkeley Breathed based much of his famous "Bloom County" on Maycomb, Alabama and would later become a pen pal of Lee's. The relationship started when he wrote to ask for permission to reference her work in one of his strips. She in turn was charmed by his bumbling penguin Opus according to recently released letters.
"Get Fuzzy", another newspaper comic, depended on the readership knowing what "To Kill a Mockingbird" was for the punchline to have a kick, when its main character explained to his cat that it was not in fact a 'how to' book.
It is probable that generations more high schoolers will sit down to read and analyze Lee's classic, and generations more authors and artists will draw inspiration from the story she told. Here's hoping that hollywood doesn't get any ideas about a remake. What are the chances that there will ever be another actor capable of doing Atticus Finch justice? 

The Dark Side of the Moon

Project Apollo Archive In May of 1969 NASA sent up three astronauts to perform what would be a dry run for the moon landing.  Apollo 10 circled the moon searching for any problem that would endanger the lives of the crew that would launch only two months later and hopefully set foot on the dirty beach that was the moon.
​They found ... something.  The strange musical interference has been explained as everything from moon NAZIs having a party to the lunar lander's radar pulsing feedback into the UHF system. Clearly some of the theories get more credence than the others.  Still after six decades the noises have never really been one-hundred percent explained. Every decade or so the media notices it again and giddily does a news cycle of alien speculation.
As an author it is easy to see the appeal. Readers are attracted to the unknown, and this has all the markers of great story.
Where would you go with this? 

Pretty Picture Friday

Snow makes everything pretty. 

Grade B Science Fiction - Megawhirlpool vs Non-mechaiceflow

We all know that science fiction movie. Yes that one. The one you are embarrassed you watched and downright ashamed you laughed at. The science was terrible. You would need three days and a powerpoint to go over everything that it just got wrong. Despite your guilty pleasure, or perhaps because of it you wonder where on Earth or off the writers got their ideas.
Well, here is one source. Enjoy. 

Remembering Your Perspective

Several decades ago a chain of grocery stores on the east coast did a promotion. For every so many dollars of groceries purchased the customer could buy an educational book at a great discount. Now all this little Pacific Northwest girl knew about it was that every few months Grandma would send some wonderful book full of pictures and information. This was back in the day when encyclopedias were still very much a viable market. First came the bright grey science encyclopedias full of the latest trends in science and tech. Then came the brilliant yellow children's books. They were full of numbers and letters and colors and shapes. Between these were fascinating little stories about sweaters that were suddenly too small and the importance of recycling. On those cardboard pages my siblings and I learned to read and internalized various life lessons. 
One that really stuck with me was a story about two friends who were painting. (Painting was awesome and all the kids at the play group couldn't wait to use the easel and the watercolors and these friends each had their own! So awesome.) But the first friend asks the second what the second was painting. The conversation went back and forth as the second friend described what was going on the canvas and the first agreed that that was wonderful and copied the pipe, glasses, and truck (which was very much cheating and little me scolded the first friend roundly). But the point of the story was that even using the same instructions the two friends came up with two very different picture. One was calmly logical and practical and one was whimsical and silly. Because they were very different and that was a good thing.
It was a good first lesson on personal perspective and "The Lab" youtube channel took it to the next level in this awesome video. 

Tolkien Poems

Tolkien penned a lovely poem
and sent it to the press.
The lines were published in due time,
and printed with the rest.
Our Lady’s school enjoyed the works
and then moved on in time.
The poems lay patient in the bin
awaiting a new chance to shine.
Forgotten till some idle rifle
through the records found
a tale of Christmas, rather classic,
and spread it all around!


Two poems by J.R.R. Tolkien were found in the Oxfordshire, Our Lady’s School. One went on to become one of Tom Bombadil’s stories. The other was a traditional Christmas poem. 

Fight Scenes

Whether an author is writing a children's book or a fantasy epic there is a good chance that if enough time goes by in the story the characters are going to get into a fight of some sort or another. As usual with writing it is best to write what is known. And what better way to get to know fighting than to take a martial arts class (putting aside the vast range of other benefits to the author's person of course). 
It is one thing to say that the character absorbed the blow and kept fighting.  It is quite another to know what it feels like to take a sidekick to the ribcage, let the pain flow through ones body, and use the momentum to knee an opponent if the face. It also allows the author to learn what real warriors think, and how they respond.
For instance: according to Seifu Bronson of Mountain Warrior Kung Fu Academy the first five rules of martial arts are:
1) Get Away
2)Get Away
3)GET AWAY
4) GET AWAY!!!!!
5)Get a weapon
The very last thing a warrior wants to do is to come to blows.
Little tidbits like this can really help to enrich a character. 

Happy Birthday a Little Late Verne

February 8th came and went and with it took the birthday of one of the them most influential science fiction writers in the world. With a firm grasp of Newtonian Physics and a seemingly boundless imagination the late Jules Verne crafted works that still hold up today. Okay there might not really be a giant supervolcano at the north pole surrounded by every known species of penguin but the characters and the adventures they had will surely stay with the reader from dedicated medical doctors with hearts of gold and minds of steel to passionate villains dedicated to destruction.  Here's to the man who took us to the moon a century before Armstrong set foot on that dirty beach. 

A Brief Description

"That feeling you get when someone shows genuine interest in you fandom."

​A Brief Description
By Betty Adams
​
“So what are you reading?”
The question burst into her awareness and was immediately flagged as urgent. The dragon who had been drinking from the mountain stream in front of her turned and gave the girl an annoyed glare before it dissolved with the world around it. The crisp mountain air was replaced with the perfume of diesel and human existence of the Anchorage mass transit system. The bright sun gave way to December  afternoon darkness and instead of a gleaming golden dragon the girl focused on a rather rumpled old grandmother sitting across the aisle from her.  How much did she really mean that question?
“It is a fantasy story,” the girl carefully started to reply as she seized up her audience. Did she want a conversation starter? Or was she sturdy enough to take the full fandom description? The girl didn’t want to drown another random stranger under her eager fanaticism. It was just the two of them up close to the driver of the bus. No one around to annoy and the woman’s round, native face and bright black eyes spoke of either genuine interest or a desperation to talk about something.  “It’s about dragons and old world history.”
“Really?” the woman pressed. “That sounds interesting. How does the author work them in?”
A fierce grin split the girl’s face. Detailed questions showed genuine interest. This lady was in for the long haul now.
“Well she starts out assuming that the dragons are really naturalistic so it’s more speculative fiction than fantasy.”
The ride just got a lot more fun.  

The Perfect Villain

Most stories of any length feature an antagonist; someone for the protagonist to struggle against. This time of year (at least in the United States) one ready and available antagonist springs readily to mind. The tax collector.  From the ancient Roman tax collectors who were considered traitors to their people, the Sheriff of Nottingham, to modern IRS agents everyone loves to hate the state sponsored thief responsible for greasing the gears of civilization.


As it was so eloquently explained in the movie "Stranger than Fiction";
 Dr. Jules Hilbert:"I can't imagine anyone hating you Harold."
Harold Crick:"Professor Hilbert, I'm an IRS agent. Everyone hates me."